Overview of the NRF CSUR Program Presentation of the Wits University Research Office 25 May 2009

CSUR Strategic Objectives To strengthen the Nation’s research base To strengthen the Nation’s research base To increase the nation’s research outputs To increase the nation’s research outputs To support the supervision of postgraduate students To support the supervision of postgraduate students HICD Directorate: “development and support of people, infrastructure, facilities, and systems”.

Eligibility Active researchers with no NRF rating Active researchers with no NRF rating Any nationality Any nationality (Should) hold a research doctorate (Should) hold a research doctorate Employed by a SA research institution full-time permanent or full-time contract for duration of the funding period of the project Employed by a SA research institution full-time permanent or full-time contract for duration of the funding period of the project Involvement of women, black, and individuals with disabilities encouraged Involvement of women, black, and individuals with disabilities encouraged

Expected Outputs At least 3 publications in peer-reviewed journals or any other recognised equivalent research output At least 2 postgraduates supervised or co- supervised

CSUR Programme Budget R for 2009 This is a Highly Competitive programme.

Timeline June 19 : Wits internal deadline for online submission and Head of School endorsement July 3: NRF Deadline for institutional Designated Authority (DA) endorsement.

Major Proposal Sections Project Title and Start/End Date Project Title and Start/End Date Details of Research Details of Research Ethical Clearance Ethical Clearance Participating Members Participating Members Possible Reviewers Possible Reviewers Excluded Reviewers Excluded Reviewers Financials – Operating Costs, Student Support, Other Sources Financials – Operating Costs, Student Support, Other Sources

Details of Research Problem Identification Rationale and Motivation Research Aims Workplan Research Activities Workplan Research Approaches, Methods, Techniques Potential Impact on Redress & Equity Potential Outcomes Progress to date: Summary, Research Outputs, Students Co-Investigator Outputs Ethics, Legislative Compliance, Dissemination Disability

Financials – Operating Costs Research operating budget must be at least R15,000 Budget must align with research plan and be well motivated Need a budget for each year of the project Budget categories: Materials & Supplies – “consumables” for the proposed research; note that photocopying, printing, telephone, FAX, Internet only allowable if directly related to research (e.g., interviews or surveys). Maximum not specified. Research equipment – up to R50,000; PCs, laptops, cell phones not allowable; specialised software/hardware may be funded if need for research is demonstrated. Conferences – 1 local conference per annum (R4000); 1 international conference per annum if Doctorate or biennially if no Doctorate (R17,000); must present paper or poster

Financials – Operating Costs Budget categories (Continued): Study or training visit abroad – R6,000 per week for up to 6 weeks or R10,000 per month for up to 6 months, plus airfare Research assistance – For applicants with a research doctorate; Up to R40,000 per annum; not for secretarial support; employed assistant must have at a minimum a BTech/Honours qualification

Financials – Student Support Greater participation of women and black students is encouraged. Ensure number of students proposed is manageable. Supervision of at least 2 postgraduate students is an expected research output. Student assistantships – for full-time final year undergraduate/diploma (R8,000 for 1 year) and Honours/BTech students (R15,000 for 1 year); at least 50% of the students nominated by the grantholder must be Black, Indian, or Coloured South African citizens; Postgraduate bursaries – Masters full-timeR30,000 (per annum/2 years) Masters part-timeR10,000 (p.a./3 years) Doctoral full-timeR45,000 (p.a./3 years) Doctoral part-time R12,000 (p.a./5 years) Postdoctoral fellowships – R80,000 (p.a./2 years); must have received doctorate within the last 5 years, normally fellowship must be undertaken at an institution other than the one where the Doctorate was obtained.

Financials – Student Support Staff development grants – R25,000 Masters (per annum/3 years) R25,000 Doctoral (per annum/5 years) -staff members at any higher education institution who will receive a higher qualification through involvement with the project -grantholder should be staff member’s supervisor or co-supervisor -for running costs for research and/or travel costs to visit external supervisor -unallowable costs: registration fees, international conferences, books, computer hardware, stationary, phone, etc.

Financials – Other Support Don’t forget to include other sources of funding (operating costs, students) for the project. University start-up funds University start-up funds Faculty Research Committee support Faculty Research Committee support Internal grants (e.g., Carnegie, Mellon) Internal grants (e.g., Carnegie, Mellon) External support (e.g., international grants, private) External support (e.g., international grants, private)

CSUR Scoring Criteria Track record of applicant30% Proposal Scientific novelty10% Research feasibility25% Equity and redress Applicant 10% Students past or current10% Expected research outputs15%

Begin Now Register at NRF Online/Enter CV data Review the online proposal template Alert Research Office and Head of School of planned submission (develop timeline) Enlist collaborators (if any) and get their publication lists Quotes for research equipment (max R50 000) Identify a pre-submission peer reviewer

Need Help? Proposal submission: Proposal development: