Application Deadline: July 31, 2020
Proposals are invited for the ProSPER.Net Joint Research Projects 2020-2021. Since its inception, ProSPER.Net member institutions have launched a wide variety of joint projects ranging from the creation of an online postgraduate programme in public policy and sustainable development practice to the integration of sustainable development in business school curricula.
For this year’s ProSPER.Net joint research project call for proposals, ProSPER.Net members are invited to submit joint project proposals for 2020 – 2021 with the aim of designing and conducting researches by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to integrate sustainable development into post-graduate education and curricula and various learning initiatives.
Theme
Research proposals should include an education component, exemplifying how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can be used to educate students and/or community members on the topic and the findings of the research. The following topics related to ESD are welcomed:
- Water or Governance from the Perspective of Sustainability
- Biodiversity and Eco-system Services
- Disaster Risk Management
- Climate Change
- Traditional/Indigenous/Local Knowledge
- Community Participation and Governance
Due consideration will also be given to any project proposal that incorporates the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on ESD. Due to the pandemic, online and distance learning modalities for education modules – such as online courses, online training videos, and online manuals – are highly encouraged outputs.
Funding
- Approved projects should be implemented within six months following approval and should be completed during the course of one year. Seed funding amount per approved project is up to USD 25,000.
Eligibility
- ProSPER.Net Joint Projects are designed to be participatory among members, partners and affiliates. The wider the participation, the better it is for the project. However, a minimum of three member institutions participating in the project is required, according to ProSPER.Net By-Laws (Article 5.1).
- It is strongly encouraged that non-Board members of ProSPER.Net are also involved. Please note that while members of the Secretariat at UNU-IAS may be consulted on research matters during the course of a project, they may not be listed as investigators within the proposal and/or application stage.
- All project investigators should herald from ProSPER.Net member institutions, partner institutions, and/or affiliate institutions.
Selection Criteria
Applications shall be examined by the Board and will be discussed according to the following criteria:
- Relevance: The proposed project must be relevant to postgraduate education and research on SD, as well as consistent with the overall strategy and goals of ProSPER.Net.
- Funding availability: For projects that require external funding, the interests of donors are important and shall be considered accordingly. For those not requiring external donors, the participating institutions must be committed to provide the necessary funding.
- Extent of participation: The more ProsPER.Net institutions participating, the better, provided that a minimum of three members are participating from the development stage of the project. Participation of experts and/or other relevant and related networks shall also be encouraged.
- Benefits: The more potential benefits the project offers to member institutions, the better it is for the network as a whole. Project partners shall be prepared to share the outcomes of projects within the network, i.e., with other ProSPER.Net members. This means developing a curriculum component of the research for dissemination within the network, including a teacher training workshop (in person and/or virtual) on how to teach the curriculum as part of the final stages of the project.
- Sustainability and self-sufficiency: Funds for projects are seed funds that shall help institutions initiate a project and therefore, sustainability and self-sufficiency of the project in the long term shall be demonstrated, in a way that continuity of activities, sharing, testing and implementation of developed projects are ensured.
Application
Download the following documents:
- ProSPER.Net Joint Project Proposal Guidelines and Project Proposal Application
- ProSPER.Net Joint Project Midterm Report Template
- ProSPER.Net Joint Project Final Report Template
Proposals need to be prepared with at least three ProSPER.Net members participating, following the updated ProSPER.Net Joint Project Proposal Guidelines and Project Proposal Application and to be submitted to the ProSPER.Net Secretariat via ProSPERNet@unu.edu
For more information, visit ProSPERNet Joint Research Projects.