We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
All proposals will be submitted through single application process managed by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC ) and proposals should contain UK and Brazilian components. There should not be additional submission to any Brazilian institutions.
Applicants should provide one joint UK-Brazil proposal, which reflects a joint development programme of work between the two partners. All proposals must be co-created, co-designed and co-delivered in equitable partnership(s) with ‘in-country’ researchers who should be included as project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)).
The UK project lead is responsible for completing and submission of the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this funding opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
- use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words.
- insert each new image onto a new line
- provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
- files must be smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. Applicants should use their discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Deadline
ESRC must receive your application by 4:00pm UK time on 20 August 2024.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
ESRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
Publication of outcomes
ESRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What ESRC has funded.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We may make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policymakers
- the public
- the wider research community
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
- context
- the challenge the proposed activities addresses
- aims and objectives
- potential applications and benefits
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Vision
Word limit: 550
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed work:
- is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
- has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
- how you will benefit from this funding opportunity and the value that this award will bring to your current and future research careers and ambitions
- including benefits and future joint research likely to accrue from the collaboration
- is grounded in the local context, and how research outcomes will address Brazilian regional challenges, including added value to UK and Brazilian social science through the partnership
- is timely given current trends, context, and needs
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
- identify the specific context and challenge that your work will explore, and how your work has the potential to effect genuine change
- identify the tangible and sustainable benefits your proposed activities will make to the welfare of people living in Brazil as the primary objectives, and potential for wider impact on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible recipients in the Latin America region and Least Developed Countries)
- include consideration of core principles: diversity, connectivity, resilience, and equitable engagement.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
References may be included within this section.
Approach
Word limit: 2,750
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
- is realistic, effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- identifies the engagement, co-creation, co-design and co-delivery that will take place with communities and stakeholders in the beneficiary countries
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- uses a clear and transparent methodology (if applicable)
- will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
- describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
All applicants planning to generate data as part of their grant must complete the separate Data management question.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
References may be included within this section.
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,650
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
- included a range of suitable stakeholders and delivery partners necessary to ensure sustainable development and the adoption of technologies in the beneficiary countries
- the principles of equitable partnerships and embedded inclusivity in the delivery of your proposed activities
Other international collaborators participating in the funding opportunity, but not listed as project co-leads, should be named in Applicant and team capability to deliver.
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:
- contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributions to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions
Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
References may be included within this section.
UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.
For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
All proposals have to comply with the ESRC framework for research ethics which includes guidance for applicants and links to related web resources.
All necessary ethical approvals must be in place before the project commences, but do not need to have been secured at the time of application.
If you are generating data as part of your project, you should complete the Data management question and should cover ethical considerations relating to data in your response.
If you are not generating data and have not completed the Data management question you should address any legal or ethical considerations relating to your use of data here.
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
Explain travel and subsistence for exchange, mobility. activities and collaboration, including visa and insurance costs, to and from the host collaborators, accommodation and subsistence during the visit(s).
Justify the application’s other resources, in particular:
- cost of conferences, networking events, workshops, and training (predicted costs for conference attendance will be funded where the conference is named, justified and costed in the proposal. The justification should show how the conference will either directly benefit the research or facilitate future impacts of research. Justification must also be provided for the number of project members attending a conference
- justified project specific consumables, for example setting up websites or other digital platforms
- all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’
- contribution from international partner in cash or kind
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:
- are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
- represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
For detailed guidance on eligible costs please see the ESRC research funding guide.
Official Development Assistance (ODA): compliance eligibility
Word limit: 500
How does your proposed work meet ODA compliance eligibility?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
To demonstrate how your proposed work meets ODA compliance criteria, please explain:
- which country or countries on the DAC list will directly benefit from this proposal
- how your proposal is directly and primarily relevant to the development challenges of these countries
- how you expect the outcomes of your proposed activities will promote the economic development and welfare of a country or countries on the DAC list
- how the proposed activity is appropriate to address the development need
- the approaches you will use to deliver development impact within the lifetime of the project and in the longer term, considering the potential outcomes, the key beneficiary and stakeholder groups and how they will be engaged to enable development impact to be achieved
This funding opportunity is part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment. This is government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its primary objective.
Applicants should ensure that their proposal focuses on the challenges specific to the partner country or countries and not broader global issues, meaning those that are transboundary beyond low and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is accepted that ODA-funded research may have benefits to the UK or other high-income countries, however, these should be secondary to be development objectives of the project.
Applicants should consider whether these countries are likely to continue to be eligible for the duration of the research, noting that ODA funding cannot be used to support research that does not promote a DAC list country. Please note there may be eligibility restrictions specific to the opportunity you are applying to. You and other applicants should refer to the Funding Finder to confirm eligibility before applying. When assessing whether an activity is eligible for ODA funding under this funding opportunity, ESRC will consider whether projects satisfy OECD criteria on eligibility.
Applications will be assessed through a competitive peer review process with ODA eligibility being a criterion for approval, that is, projects must be fully ODA compliant to be considered for funding. Initial ODA compliance checks will be carried out by UKRI. Proposals that do not meet the eligibility criteria may be rejected without reference to peer review. Peer reviewers will also be provided with this guidance and asked to comment on ODA compliance and likelihood of significant development impact.
ODA Gender Equality statement
Word limit: 400
How does your proposed work demonstrate sufficient consideration of gender equality?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a Gender Equality Statement that explains:
- whether measures have been put in place to ensure equal and meaningful opportunities for people of different genders to be involved throughout the project, including the development of the project, the participants of the research and innovation and the beneficiaries of the research and innovation
- the expected impact of the project (benefits and losses) on people of different genders, both throughout the project and beyond
- the impact on the relations between people of different genders and people of the same gender. For example, changing roles and responsibilities in households, society, economy, politics, or power
- how any risks and unintended negative consequences on gender equality will be avoided or mitigated against, and monitored
- if there are any relevant outcomes and outputs being measured, with data disaggregated by age and gender (where disclosed)
All ODA funding must adhere to the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014. To meet this, all applications to UKRI ODA calls must provide a Gender Equality Statement. Read further guidance for applicants on writing Gender Equality Statements and how to consider gender within your research proposal.
For funding opportunities under the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), all ODA funding must adhere to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Gender Equality Policy. See more information on this policy and the related guidance for considering gender equality in your research.
ESRC and expert reviewers will assess whether your proposal has demonstrated sufficient consideration of gender equality.
Primary discipline classification
Word limit: 50
Enter the primary discipline for this project.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Select one primary area of research from the list of social science disciplines below and enter into the text field. This information is used to determine eligibility for ESRC funding and to assist in the selection of appropriate reviewers.
- area studies
- demography
- development studies
- economics
- education
- environmental planning
- history
- human geography
- law & legal studies
- linguistics
- management & business studies
- political science & international studies
- psychology
- science and technology studies
- social anthropology
- social policy
- social work
- sociology
- tools, technologies & methods
Your organisation’s support
Word limit: 1,000
Provide details of support from your research organisation.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a Statement of Support from your research organisation detailing how the proposed activities will develop your future research and professional development. This should include details of any matched funding that will be provided to support the activity and any additional support that might add value to the work.
The panel will be looking for a strong statement of commitment from your research organisation.
ESRC recognises that in some instances, this information may be provided by the Research Office, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) or equivalent, or a combination of both.
You must also include the following details:
- a significant person’s name and their position, from the TTO or Research Office, or both
- office address or web link
Upload details are provided within the service on the actual application.
Data Management and sharing
Word limit: 500
How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a data management plan that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.
Demonstrate that you have designed your proposed work so that you can appropriately manage and share data in accordance with ESRC’s research data policy and ESRC framework for research ethics (if applicable).
Within the ‘Data Management’ section we also expect you to:
- plan for the research through the life cycle of the award until data is accepted for archiving by the UK Data Service (UKDS) or a responsible data repository
- demonstrate compliance with ESRC’s research data policy and ESRC framework for research ethics. This should include confirmation that existing datasets have been reviewed and why currently available datasets are inadequate for the proposed research
- cover any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing or storing the data, including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical issues
- include any challenges to data sharing, for example, copyright or data confidentiality, with possible solutions discussed to optimise data sharing
If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
