TWAS Research Grants Programme for Interdisciplinary Research: Collaborative Grants

The TWAS Research Grants Programme for Collaborative Grants was established in response to the need of researchers in developing countries to link with each other in the context of interdisciplinary projects combining their skills and expertise.

Each grant supports a collaborative project jointly carried out by two Principal Investigators (PIs) in the S&T-lagging countries identified by TWAS.

Aims

• Reinforce and promote interdisciplinary scientific research in developing countries;
• Strengthen developing countries’ endogenous capacity in science;
• Enable scientists from developing countries to tackle complex problems through collaborative research projects;
• Build and sustain collaborative links of scientific excellence in S&TLC to help them combine their complementary skills in addressing real-life problems facing their countries.
• The programme is generously supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The contribution is intended to support research proposals from S&TLCs in dire need of basic research tools.

Subject Areas  

• The Collaborative Grants programme provides support for inter disciplinary research projects that combine and integrate skills from multiple disciplines.

Funding Information

• TWAS Research Grants are awarded to high-level promising interdisciplinary research projects carried out by collaborating scientists in the S&T-lagging countries (S&TLC).
• The Collaborative Grant amounts to a maximum of USD 35,000 per Principal Investigator (with up to USD 30,000 for equipment and consumable supplies).
• The grants, which are normally provided for a period of 24 months, may be used to purchase scientific equipment and consumables. They do not cover salaries of researchers and/or students, field expenses, or travel expenses. In addition, the purchase of laptops, tablets, drones and laboratory animals is not supported.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applying Principal Investigators must be two renowned researchers who are nationals of a developing country, who hold a PhD and has good research experience. The grant should operate within a university or a research institution in one of the S&TLCs and should include a minimum of two Principal Investigators submitting one combined application. The PI may choose to include additional members such as researchers or PhD and MSc students, technicians, etc. There is no age limit for the PIs.
• A collaborative grant application must comprise of two previous TWAS Research Grant award recipients (for Individual or Group). One Principal Investigator (PI) must be from an LDC and the other from any other country from the STLC list of countries.
• Both PIs must be in two different countries.
• Both PIs must choose two different fields to ensure the research project is interdisciplinary across two different subject areas.
• TWAS would give priority to applications showing gender balance where one PI is female and the other male.
• Applicant must at the time of application not have an active research grant with TWAS or OWSD Early Career Women Scientists (ECWS) Fellowship.
• Both Principal Investigators must have completed and submitted a satisfactory final report on their previous grant.
• Please be advised that applicants may apply for only one programme per calendar year in the TWAS and OWSD portfolio. Applicants will not be eligible to visit another institution in that year under the TWAS Visiting Professor programmes. One exception: The head of an institution who invites an external scholar to share his/her expertise under the TWAS Visiting Professor programmes may still apply for another programme.

For more information, visit TWAS.