2019 Aubrey Barker Fund/FIG Foundation
Course Development Grant
OUTLINE
The Aubrey Barker Fund and the FIG Foundation are seeking applications
for grants of up to 20,000 euro (spread over two years) with the objective
of building the capacity of academic institutions teaching surveying in
developing countries, and of providing support in teaching and developing
their curriculum more effectively.
Grants will be awarded to individuals who are academic members of a
department working with the full support of the department. Applicants
shall be based in a surveying/geomatics/land administration academic
programme that teaches surveying (See FIG
Definition of the Functions of the
Surveyor http://www.fig.net/about/general/definition/index.asp)
in a country listed by the World Bank as low income or lower-middle
income
(See World Bank Country & lending Groups
http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-
classifications/country-and-lending-groups)
It is desirable that applicants are also able to demonstrate competence in
undertaking and delivering research – e.g. through publication,
qualification or professional practice.
Proposals should contain the following elements:
A demonstration of the local need and how the project
would benefit the community.
The competency and quality of the proposing institution
and staff involved, including details of any accreditation obtained or being
sought.
The type of education or training which is required
including an outline syllabus and time scale.
Resources required.
Details of the personnel involved: these could be
teaching staff or technical staff.
A timetable showing the steps for developing and
establishing the project.
A demonstration of how the teaching/training will
benefit the participants and students both during and in the period
following the course.
A detailed breakdown of costs.
AA proposed means of monitoring and evaluating the impact
of the programme development
It is anticipated that the proposals will be for funding to an individual,
who is associated with a university (or similar), for a scheme for
development and delivery of an area of the curriculum. This could be for the
individual to travel for a training or university exchange (and then return
and share this training). The proposal may include an element of
collaboration with an institution not based in a low or lower-middle income
country if that organisation will provide on-going support or additional
funding or support an international expert visiting the grantholder’s
institution . However, the project leader shall be the grantholder.
It is a requirement of the grant that a successful applicant will provide a
written report at the end of the period covered by the grant, setting out
how and by whom the teaching or training was delivered or undertaken, how it
will be sustained in the host institution and how it can be transferred to
other educational establishments. The outcomes including successes/failures
and lessons learned should also be covered.
A timetable for payment of the funds will be negotiated after acceptance of
the proposal and will be staged to meet needs and on demonstration of each
step of the project. The FIG Foundation may retain some of the funds in
order to manage activities outside of the recipient country when
appropriate.
There are two rounds to the competition. In the
first round, applicants will provide the documents listed below. Upon
evaluation, successful candidates fulfilling first round requirements
will be provided details of information required for second round review.
Applications will be judged on the quality of the application including
demonstration of need.
Applications are to be sent to
fig.foundation@fig.net with
“2019 Aubrey Barker Fund/FIG
Foundation Course Development Grant” shown in Subject Line. Applicants are
not to contact Foundation members individually. Decisions are final. No
correspondence will be entered into during or after the competition.
Applicants should submit the following set of documents in English as a
single file in PDF format:
A cover sheet showing the candidate’s personal details and
those of his/her institution
A 200 word abstract. This should be written in terms
understandable to the lay person; similar to a press release and which the
FIG Foundation/Aubrey Barker Fund could use as a press release in the event
of a successful application.
A one page proposal as per the template below (Section 1) on
A4 size paper using 25 mm (1” margins). Note that the one page limit will be strictly enforced; material that
extends beyond one page will be deleted.
A list of peer reviewed journal publications (Section 2) over
the last 6 years using the International Journal of GIS reference list format. See Notes for Authors on the IJGIS
website.
A list of funding obtained over the past 6 years, indicating
which grants are peer reviewed or not (Section
3).
A list of highly qualified personnel whom the applicant has
supervised over the last 6 years, Postdoctoral, PhD, Masters, senior
undergraduate (Section 4).
A description of research compliance, the research account
and activity auditing structures and processes in their institution. (Section 5) For example, if a scientist spends money
inappropriately, are there structures in place to refund the granting
agency?
A description of the structures and processes in their
institution that pertain to research ethics, in particular ethics relating
to research involving human subjects, if that is relevant to the grant application.(Section 6)
A preliminary budget and a one page justification of the
budget. Note that as a general rule, equipment will not be funded. Travel to
FIG Conferences to present results may be included in the budget. Per diems for field work will not be funded, but reasonable actual costs of field work
are refundable. (Section 7)
PROPOSAL TEMPLATE
Please note each section should start on a new page. The proposal should be
written using Time New Roman 12 point font using the stipulated Section
numbers and (where given) headings. Throughout use layman’s language;
evaluators are unlikely to be familiar with jargon.
Section 1: The Project This should be a maximum of one A4 page. Any additional pages will be
deleted from the proposal.
PROJECT TITLE – new page - (maximum one-line Times New Roman 12 point
capitals)
Objective: State in a sentence or two the central objective of the research.
Educational Significance of the project:
Why is this project worth doing? What problem or situation does it address?
What are the practical
applications of the project research? What does it contribute to the
community?
Methodology and Methods:
Describe the way in which you will approach the work and how progress will
be reviewed and methods adapted to respond to problems.
Key Contribution:
Describe the key contribution(s) of this project, both practical (i.e. to
society at large) and theoretical.
References used in the proposal
This should be on a new page in IJGIS format.
Section 2:
Please supply a list of peer reviewed journal publications for which you
were a listed author over the last
6 years using the International Journal of GIS reference list format. See
Notes for Authors on the IJGIS
website.
Section 3:
Please supply a list of grant funding obtained by the applicant, or on which
the applicant has worked as an investigator, over the past 6 years,
indicating in each case whether the grant was peer reviewed or not.
Section 4:
Please supply a list of highly qualified personnel whom the applicant has
supervised over the last 6 years, Postdoctoral, PhD, Masters.
Section 5:
Please supply a description of research compliance, the research account and
activity auditing structures and processes in your institution. For example,
if a scientist spends money inappropriately, are there structures in place
to refund the granting agency?
Section 6:
Please supply a description of the structures and processes in your
institution that pertain to research ethics, in particular ethics relating
to research involving human subjects, if that is relevant to the grant
application.
Section 7:
Please supply a preliminary budget (in UK pounds) and a one page
justification of the budget. Note that as a general rule, equipment will not
be funded. Travel to FIG Conferences to present results may be included in
the budget. Per diems for field work will not be funded, but reasonable
actual costs of field work are refundable.
Sources of Useful Information for Writing a
Proper Grant Proposal:
A simple internet search on how to write a good NSERC or SSHRC proposal
should yield a number of useful articles. Here are some suggestions: