COOPERATION & DEVELOPMENT CENTER - CODEV

____________________________________________
UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development
CM 2
STATION 10
CH-1015 LAUSANNE

Tel:
E-mail:
Web Site:

+41 21 693 60 12
cooperation@epfl.ch
http://cooperation.epfl.ch

Brazilian-Swiss Joint Research Programme (BSJRP)

SEED MONEY & WORKSHOP GRANTS

I NTR O DU CTI O N A ND BA CK GR O U ND
In the framework of Switzerlands strategy to promote bilateral research cooperation with extraEuropean countries, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) mandated
the EPF Lausanne as the Leading House to develop and coordinate joint research cooperation
programmes with India (since 2008, after a pilot phase between 2005-2007) and Brazil (since 2012,
following a pilot phase between 2008 and 2011), and as the institution leading exploratory activities
with Latin America and Vietnam (since 2013).
For the current phase 2013-2016, EPFL has been entrusted by the Swiss State Secretariat for
Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) with the mandate to deepen existing scientific
collaboration with Brazil and India, and implement new funding instruments.

S E E D M O NE Y & WO R KS H O P PRO JE CTS WI TH BR A Z I L

Building on the success of the Seed Money Grants implemented in 2013-15, this second phase will
enable research projects and scientific conferences between Swiss-based and Brazil-based
scientists. It mainly aims at strengthening or formalizing existing research partnerships, developing
a joint project proposal to be submitted to other funding agencies and will also include Workshop
grants.

20 15 -16 CA LL F O R PRO PO S A LS
Two types of projects can be submitted, namely Seed Money projects and Workshop projects.

Seed Money
The Seed Money grants supports the strengthening of informal partnerships or initiating larger projects
between two partner institutions or labs based in Brazil and Switzerland respectively. Seed funding
can for instance be used to develop a joint full project proposal to be submitted to other funding
agencies. The maximum grant sum is CHF 25,000.

Workshop Grants
Workshop grants support Swiss scientists and their partners to organise joint workshop, conference,
scientific event or meeting 1. The maximum grant sum is CHF 10,000.

The Swiss National Foundation also provides funding for workshops held in Switzerland. Please refer to the requirements on
the SNF webpage.

EPFL CODEV Leading House

SEED MONEY & WORKSHOP GRANTS

This application must be submitted by the Swiss main applicant. It is the responsibility of the Swiss
main applicant to ensure that the content in this application form is accurate. Incomplete forms will not
be considered.

TI M E L I NE

Launch of the call

1 Sep 2015

Applications deadline

23 Oct 2015

Selection of projects

30 Nov 2015

Start of the projects

15 Dec 2015

End of the projects

14 Dec 2016

Reporting deadline

14 Feb 2017

F U NDI NG A ND BU DGETI NG
The maximum amount of funding per project is
Seed Money:

CHF 25,000.

Workshops, events, conferences:

CHF 10,000.

The funding may be used to cover expenses such as salaries of Swiss-based researchers, research
activities, travel expenses, workshops and equipment. Please refer to the guidelines for further
details.
Co-funding or in-kind contributions from the research partner in Brazil are a condition for receiving a
Seed Money grant on the Swiss side. The role of the Brazilian researchers and their financial
contribution and source of funding must be clearly shown in the proposal.
Note: this Seed Money grant was designed and launched in view to evaluate the interest of Swiss
scientists to collaborate with their Brazilian counterparts on some selected research fields; as a
consequence, the grant targets only the expenses of the Swiss investigators; the Brazilian partners
are requested to have internal or third party funding, therefore there is no institutional co-funding
from the MCTI nor the CNPq.
A detailed budget is required; please refer to the budgeting guidelines in the annexe. Projected
expenses must be well justified and match the proposed research activities and expected results.
The contribution of each partner must be made explicit in cash and in kind. A careful assessment of
the costs regarding the research objectives will be performed.

E VA L U A TI O N CR I TE R IA
Applications will be evaluated by the selection committee on the basis of the following criteria (these
are not listed in any order of priority):

Scientific, educational or technological merit and relevance of the project and anticipated
outcomes
Quality and clarity of the proposal (research plan, financial plan, etc.)
Coherence between the budget and the proposed activities
Co-funding or in-kind contributions from all partners involved
Gender balance and promotion of young researchers
Originality and feasibility of the proposed research activities
Expertise and complementarity of the partner laboratories/institutes
Potential for long-term collaboration and follow-up activities.

EPFL CODEV Leading House

SEED MONEY & CONFERENCE GRANTS

PR A CTI CA L M O DA LI TIE S
Project duration
Seed Money projects: up to 12 months.
Workshops & conferences must take place before Oct 1, 2016.

Thematic scope
The call is open for research activities within all scientific disciplines and fields of research.

Eligibility
Switzerland

The call is open to all scientists from any academic discipline at Swiss federal and cantonal universities,
universities of the applied sciences, universities of teachers education, and public research institutions (cf.
http://www.sbfi.admin.ch/themen/01367/01679/index.html?lang=de).
Applications by doctoral students must be submitted by their supervisors. The Swiss Principal
Investigator is the main applicant.
Brazilian partners

Research partners must be scientists affiliated with a university or a public research institute in Brazil.
The principal investigator must hold a faculty or senior scientist position or a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or
equivalent) with several years of research experience.

Reporting
The Swiss Principal Investigator will be responsible for administrating the funds and for the scientific
and financial reporting. A scientific and a financial report must be delivered at the latest 2 months after
the end of the grant period. Reports on workshops and conferences are due 2 months after the event.

Research partnership
Projects submitted must be implemented in collaboration with the partners. The mutual commitment of
the collaborating researchers in both countries will serve as an indicator for the strength of the
partnership. The KFPE Guide for Transboundary Research Partnerships shall be used as a guideline
for the project process (http://www.kfpe.ch/11-Principles/).

Submission of Applications
Applications must be submitted to EPFL Leading House in electronic format (incl. all documents in
modifiable formats .docx, .xlsx) to leadinghouse@epfl.ch.

CONTACT
EPFL CODEV
CM2, Station 10
CH-1015 Lausanne
Switzerland

leadinghouse@epfl.ch
http://cooperation.epfl.ch/bilateral-programmes
Julien Bettler, Programme Manager
Sabine Sperl-Crawford, Programme Assistant

Phone: +41 21 693 14 23

EPFL CODEV Leading House

SEED MONEY & CONFERENCE GRANTS

ANNEXE
Financial and Administrative Guidelines
Financial and Administrative Guidelines
Note: this Grant was designed and launched in view to evaluate the interest of Swiss scientists to collaborate
with their Brazilian counterparts on some selected research fields; as a consequence, the grant targets only
the expenses of the Swiss investigators; the Brazilian partners are requested to have internal or third party
funding, therefore there is no institutional co-funding from the CNPq (National Science and Technology
Development, Brazil).

Budgeting
Submitted projects should comply with the following general rules:
Seed Money grants may only be used for Swiss researchers; the partners are requested to fund
their own expenses.
The Seed Money grant will not cover any costs caused by illness or accidents.
Any unused part of the granted amount shall be refunded to the Seed Money programme after
the end of the project.
The total of other costs budget line (publication fees, patent fees, etc.) shall not exceed 20% of
the total requested budget. Equipment shall not exceed 20% of the total requested budget.
Salaries: generally, only allowances for PhD and Post Doc are funded, based on SNF yearly
rules for PhD and Post-Docs available at
http://www.snf.ch/SiteCollectionDocuments/allg_doktorierende_e.pdf.
Adjustment between budget lines: during the project implementation, an adjustment from one
line to another is tolerated up to max. 10% of each line. The programme management must be
informed of these changes in advance.
No overheads will be charged by Swiss institutions ; a letter by the Dean, Chair or Head of the
involved institutes (for Swiss institutes only) must be provided, stating support for the proposed
activities and certifying that no overhead or other indirect costs will be charged.
Living allowances for Swiss scientists visiting the partner institution
Short-term visits (up
to two weeks):
Long-term visits
(more than two
weeks):

Faculty members:
CHF 160 per diem

Ph.D. Students: CHF

120 per diem

Master Students: CHF 100

per diem

Faculty members:
CHF 3,200 per month

Ph.D. Students: CHF

2,500 per month

Master Students: CHF

2,100 per month

i.e. CHF 800 / week

i.e. CHF 625 / week

i.e. CHF 525 / week

Payment
80% of the funding will be transferred after signing the Grant Agreement. The final 20% will be
transferred after the final scientific and financial reports have been approved.

EPFL CODEV Leading House

SEED MONEY & CONFERENCE GRANTS