Description:.Under this scheme, grants are awarded to individual researchers and research units in 80 science-and-technology-lagging countries (S&TLC) to enable them to purchase the research facilities they need to enhance their productivity.
The programme aims to:
* Reinforce and promote scientific research in basic sciences in developing countries;
* Strengthen developing countries’ endogenous capacity in science;
* Reduce the exodus of scientific talents from the South;
* Build and sustain units of scientific excellence in S&TLC over a longer period to help them achieve a critical mass of highly qualified and innovative scientists capable of addressing real-life problems facing their countries.
The TWAS Research Grants Programme in Basic Sciences complements that of the International Foundation for Science (IFS). The two organizations maintain close contact to ensure the complementarity of the two schemes and to avoid duplication.
Please note that the TWAS Research Grants Programme supports research in the basic sciences. Proposals focusing on more applied research should be submitted to IFS. Thus, projects submitted to TWAS that relate to applications in agriculture or medicine or that use existing techniques to screen, for example, medicinal plants for bioactive substances or to monitor an environment for pollutants will be rejected.
Eligibility Individual applicants must be nationals of developing countries. They must hold a PhD, be at the beginning of their careers, but already have some research experience. They must hold a position at a university or research institution in one of the 80 S&TLCs. As a general rule, the grants are awarded to competent scientists under the age of 45 years.
Applying research units must be led by a renowned researcher who is a national of a developing country, who holds a PhD and who has good research experience. The research unit must operate within a university or a research institution in one of the 80 S&TLCs and consist of a core number of research scientists, postgraduate students and technicians. There is no age limit for unit leaders.
Individual scientists and research unit leaders who submit a satisfactory final report on a previous grant may apply for a renewal.
Deadline: 31 August 2011
