Seed Money for Cooperation with Mediterranean Countries
The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) commissioned the HES-SO as the Leading House (LH) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The mandate will last from 2017 to 2020 and its overall goal is to develop scientific collaborations between Switzerland and countries of the MENA region.
This call allows funding of approximately 10 seed money grants, subject to the number of applications received as well as compliance with the criteria for evaluation and selection.
The Mediterranean countries of the MENA region are the target of this call, namely Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.
Eligibility
The call is open to all scientific disciplines and fields of research.
All scientists of Swiss federal and cantonal universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of teachers’ education, as well as public research institutions, are eligible to apply. A Swiss “principal investigator/researcher” holding a faculty or senior scientist position in an eligible Swiss institution must act as the main applicant and is qualified to submit the proposal. Proposals that include bachelor, master and doctoral students must be submitted by their supervisors. Swiss applicants are eligible for research cost funding as well as, to a limited extent, for salary cost funding.
The principal investigator/researcher in the MENA region must be affiliated to an accredited university or a public research institute and must hold a faculty or senior scientist position in addition to several years of research experience. MENA partner applicants are eligible for research cost funding only (no salary cost funding).
In addition to the MENA and the Swiss investigators/researchers, other collaborating partners (third parties), including researchers affiliated to international organisations and think tanks may also qualify to participate if they have a solid track record of research and publications. Third-party applicants are not eligible for funding.
Funding and Budgeting
The maximum amount for a seed money grant is 13’000 CHF. The grant will be disbursed in two instalments: 80% after signing the grant contract and 20% after approval of the final report. A detailed budget must be provided in the project proposal. Budgeted expenses must be justified and related to the proposed research activities. A financial contribution of each partner is expected and must be made explicit in cash and in-kind.
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