| |
Announcement of the award of grants for funding research projects in topics in the
Social Sciences and Humanities (PBR - DGR).
Preamble
The Autonomous Government of Catalonia and the Anglo-Catalan Society (ACS) wish
to acknowledge the figure of Doctor Josep Maria Batista Roca, lecturer at the
University of Cambridge, where he instituted the teaching of Catalan culture in 1948 for
the first time ever, and promoted Catalan studies in the United Kingdom through the
creation of the Anglo-Catalan Society in 1954.
Since then, this society has promoted the awareness, knowledge and love of Catalan
culture in the British Isles, particularly supporting initiatives that allow both communities
to come closer together.
Since 1991, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia has been awarding the Batista
Roca scholarships, which have permitted student and researcher mobility in both
directions.
Fifteen years since the creation of these scholarships, and in the same spirit,
highlighting the path of this famous Catalan, research project grants with participation
of Catalan, British or Irish researchers were first announced in 2006, on any topic
pertaining to the area of the Social Sciences and Humanities.
—1 Object
To award scholarships for funding research projects addressing topics in the Social
Sciences and Humanities, with the joint participation and supervision of Catalan and
British or Irish researchers.
—2 Beneficiary organisations
These scholarships are open to research teams from universities in Catalonia, Great
Britain and Ireland, as well as teams from non-profit public and private centres whose
core activity is research on Catalonia, Great Britain and Ireland.
The research teams will be comprised of at least 3 investigators, at least one of whom
must be a doctor permanently linked to the beneficiary institution.
The research teams will be mixed: at least one team member must be from a British or
Irish institution if the project is submitted from Catalonia, or else from a Catalonian
institution if the project is submitted from Great Britain or Ireland.
Permanent link will be taken to mean contracts with a minimum term of two years,
effective throughout the tenure of the grant.
Each researcher may only be part of one team, and cannot therefore appear as a
member in any other application submitted to this announcement.
—3 Period
The projects must be implemented between the deadline for the submittal of
applications of the document and September 30, 2010, at the latest.
No extensions on the period of implementation of the project will be entertained without
prior justification, and even then must be accepted by the executive direction of the
AGAUR. If an extension is applied for, the application must be submitted before the
end of the initial implementation period.
—4 Amount
4.1 The maximum amount of the aid is 12,000 (twelve thousand) Euros.
The grants may be allocated only to the funding of the following concepts:
a) Recruitment of support personnel to the project by means of any temporary
employment regime and/or as research fellow, in accordance with the legislation
applicable to the centre receiving the aid. Awards cannot be granted for the
remuneration of civil servants or of permanent personnel linked by statute or by
contract to the applicant or participating centres.
b) Acquisition of minor, inventoriable or bibliographic equipment. The acquisition of
computing equipment is not subsidisable.
c) Acquisition of consumable material.
d) Publication of theses, dissertations or works of outstanding relevance on the areas
to which the call for applications pertains.
e) Other expenses, such as researcher mobility, the use of support services, etc. They
must all be duly justified. Maximum percentage 20%.
4.2 This announcement will permit the subcontracting of services or activities related to
the object of the grant and which cannot be performed directly by the research team,
provided that it is thus indicated in the budget and is not more than 40% of the total
amount awarded. The total or partial execution of the activity that constitutes the object
of the grant may not be subcontracted, and proof must be furnished, as applicable, that
any activities subcontracted cannot be performed by the research team.
—5 Application forms and documentation
5.1 The application, submitted on the standard form, will be completed by the
investigator in charge of the project, with the approval of the competent vice-Dean
according to the topic, or the director of the research centre or equivalent post, and
may not surpass the established number of sheets.
5.2 The applications will be submitted on paper and electronic format to:
a) The Agency for Administration of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), as
provided for by article 38.4 of Law 30/1992, of November 26, on the law and jurisdiction
of the public administrations and of the common administrative procedure, for projects
from institutions in Catalonia.
b) The ACS, for projects from British or Irish institutions.
The standard application form and the rules may be obtained from the offices of the
AGAUR (Via Laietana, 28, 2a planta, 08003 Barcelona) or from its web site:
http://www.gencat.cat/agaur, at the ACS (c/o Dr. Josep Saval Hispanic Studies,
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JX, jose.saval@ed.ac.uk) and on its web site:
http://www.anglo-catalan.org, and on the web site of the Commission for Universities
and Research (CUR): http://www.gencat.cat/diue/ur.
5.3 Formalisation of the application consists of two steps:
a) Submittal, within the application deadline, of the paper version form, duly signed, to
the AGAUR or the ACS registry, with the corresponding signatures. The registry will
validate the applications.
b) Sending, by e-mail, a file with the same application as the one presented on paper,
to the following e-mail address: pbr@agaur.gencat.cat. Any application submitted by email
but not on paper within the deadline will be regarded as not submitted on time.
In the event of any discrepancy or difference between the forms sent by e-mail and
paper, the paper version will always prevail in terms of determining eligibility for the
grant.
5.4 The application form, as indicated in the standard model, is comprised of the three
following parts:
a) General details of the beneficiary institution.
b) Details of the research team.
c) Details on the researcher/s (Catalan, British or Irish) collaborating on the project.
d) Budget applied for and justification thereof.
e) Project description: brief summary of the purpose, objective, Anglo-Catalan interest,
background and state of the art, objectives, work plan, methodology, envisaged
mobility actions, impact and applicability of the results.
f) Abridged curriculum vitae of the head of project and a brief summary of the research
record of the other researchers on the team.
5.5. If the application has to be amended, the interested party will be informed by
means of a notification by the executive director of the AGAUR on the AGAUR notice
board with the list of basic and non-basic documentation to be amended. The
notification must indicate the reasons for the modification, and it must state that failure
to modify the basic documentation within a period of ten days as of the publication of
the notification on the AGAUR's notice board will be taken as a withdrawal of the
application by the applicant, as provided for article 71 of Law 30/1992, of November 26,
on the law and jurisdiction of public administrations and the common administrative
procedure.To further dissemination, and for information purposes, the contents of the
notification may be queried on the AGAUR and ACS websites.
—6 Period for submittal of applications
The period for submittal of applications begins the day after the publication of this
resolution in the DOGC and runs until March 10, 2009.
—7 Evaluation and selection
7.1 The applications will be assessed by external organs and experts of the scientific
community, in accordance with the mechanisms established in the framework of the
current Research and Innovation Plan of Catalonia and the AGAUR's evaluation
regulations, based on the following criteria and scoring (score out of 100 points):
a) The interest of the project, taking into account how suited it is to the object of the
announcement in terms of the research topic and objectives (15/100).
b) Background and current state of the art on the topic (15/100).
c) Rationale of the objectives, plan of work and methodological rigour (25/100).
d) Feasibility of the work in the envisaged time and budget suitability (10/100).
e) Impact and applicability of the results (15/100).
f) Curriculum vitae of the principal researcher and the members of the research group
with regard to the object of the announcement and the research topic (20/100).
This evaluation will result in a scientific and technical evaluation value, expressed on a
scale from 1 to 7. The scientific and technical evaluations of projects including
someone who is a member of a currently acknowledged research group of the
Autonomous Government of Catalonia will increase by 0.35 points.
7.2 The ACS will send the AGAUR a prioritised list of applications within the term of
one month as of the end of the deadline for the submittal of applications, together with
the applications submitted to it.
This prioritisation must take into account the Anglo-Catalan interest of the proposals,
assessed on the basis of the promotion of interinstitutional links and collaborations, the
creation of and operating support to Anglo-Catalan research teams, the publication and
dissemination of Catalan culture in the United Kingdom/Ireland and of British/Irish
culture in Catalonia, and the exchange of research tools and/or resources. 7.3 The projects are selected by a selection committee, which will take into account the
AGAUR's general rules, the assessments made pursuant to rule 7, the prioritisation
established pursuant to rule 7.2 and budget availability.
7.4 The Committee, when making its proposal will take the following percentages of the
different assessments into account: external evaluation, 70%; prioritisation of the ACS,
25%; someone from an acknowledged research group, 5%. The Committee may also
propose a distribution between different fields of topics in accordance with the
institutional interest of the proposals, as applicable.
7.5 The Selection Committee is designated and appointed by the president of the
Executive Commission for Research Grants (CEAR) and the General Directorate of
Research. It is comprised of a chairman or chairwoman, who should be the same
person that chairs the CEAR or someone delegated by them, a maximum number of
four voting members including three members of the ACS and a secretary, who will be
the director or executive director of the AGAUR or the person delegated by them, with
the right to be heard but not to vote. The AGAUR will guarantee gender equality on the
Selection Committee whenever possible.
7.5 The Selection Committee may propose a stand-by list, duly prioritised, comprised
of unsuccessful applications.
—8 Overall amount
This announcement is funded by the General Directorate of Research of the
Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise (DIUE). The maximum overall
amount is 100,000 (one hundred thousand) Euros, charged to budget items 449.0001
and 482.0001, of the Agency's budget for 2009.
—9 Unit with competence for management
The Agency for Administration of University and Research Grants (AGAUR).
—10 Organ with competence for resolution
The Board of Management of the AGAUR and, by delegation, the CEAR and/or the
latter's chairperson, in accordance with the agreement of the Board of Management of
December 5, 2002.
—11 Award procedure
The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, in accordance with the assessment
criteria established by this announcement. The evaluation will take into account only
the documentation submitted with the application and therefore the hearing formality in
accordance with article 24.2 of Law 38/2003, the general law on subsidies, of
November 17, will be waived.
—12 Term of resolution
The maximum legal term for the issue of a decision on the scholarships of this
announcement is six months as of the day after the date for the submittal of the
applications.
Once this term has elapsed without an express decision, the application will be
deemed to have been rejected.
—13 Notification of the decision
Publication on the AGAUR notice board. To further dissemination, and for information
purposes, the result of the decision may be consulted on the websites of the AGAUR,
ACS and CUR.
The express decision of award or rejection of the grants exhausts the administrative
procedure. The interested parties may file, within one month as of the day after the
publication of the decision on the AGAUR notice board, a request for review with the
chairman or chairwoman of the CEAR, pursuant to the provisions set forth in articles
116 and 117 of Law 30/1992, of November 26, on the legal system of the public
administrations and of the common administrative procedure, or directly a contentiousadministrative
appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Court of Barcelona, within
the term of two months as of the day following its publication, pursuant to the
provisions of articles 8, 14 and 46 of Law 29/1998 of July 13, governing contentiousadministrative
jurisdiction.
—14 Acceptance
14.1 The grant will be accepted by means of the standard document signed by the
investigator in charge of the project and by the legal representative of the beneficiary
institution, undertaking to fulfil all the conditions contained in these rules and in the
current general rules of the AGAUR.
The documentation of acceptance must be submitted to the AGAUR registry or in
accordance with the provisions of article 38.4 of Law 30/1992, of November 26, on the
law and jurisdiction of the Public Administrations and Common Administrative
Procedure, within the term of 30 calendar days as of the day following the publication
of the award decision on the AGAUR notice board.
In addition, the researcher in charge of the project undertakes, as necessary, to
become a member of the ACS throughout the project.
14.2 In accordance with the provisions of article 24 of Law 5/2007, of July 4, on tax and
financial measures, at the time of acceptance and in order to proceed with payment of
the grant, the AGAUR shall verify ex oficio whether the beneficiaries are up to date with
their tax obligations. If this verification were not possible, AGAUR shall require the
beneficiary organisations to provide positive certificates substantiating they are up to
date.
The beneficiary organisations must present a certificate accrediting that they are up to
date in their Social Security obligations, together with the document of acceptance.
14.3 The standard document of acceptance of the grant may be obtained from the
AGAUR (Via Laietana, 28, 2a planta, 08003 Barcelona) and on its web site:
http://www.gencat.cat/agaur.
14.4 Beneficiary organisations that fail to submit the document of acceptance and the
other documentation within the deadline and conditions established in the preceding
sections will be understood to have tacitly foregone the grant.
—15 Waivers and replacements
In the event of total or partial waiver, or if the document of acceptance and the rest of
the documentation is not submitted according to the conditions and within the deadline
provided for in this official announcement, the organ in charge of deciding the award, or
the executive director of the AGAUR, may award the grant to candidates on the standby
list. Waivers and substitutions must be notified individually to the interested party, as
provided for in articles 58 and 59 of Law 30/1992, of November 26, on the law and
jurisdiction of public administrations and the common administrative procedure.
—16 Changes and incidents
When the circumstances of the case render it advisable, and are duly justified, the
executive director of the AGAUR may resolve the incidents and authorise, at the
request of the beneficiary, a variation in the plan of work and/or in the project proposed
or the period of tenure of the grant or aid, according to the case, and resolve any
incidents that do not entail a substantial change in the terms of the call for applications.
—17 Payment
17.1 Payment is made directly to the institution to which the researcher in charge of the
project belongs.
17.2 The grant is paid in two instalments. The first, 80% of the total grant, is formalised
once the decision has been taken and the beneficiary has officially accepted. The
remaining 20% is paid following justification of expenses as provided for in rule 18 of
this call for applications.
—18 Deadline and form of justification
18.1 The beneficiary organisations must justify the effective implementation of the
projects and substantiate this by October 31, 2010, at the latest, on the standard
documents.
The documentation of justification should be submitted to the AGAUR registry or in
accordance with the provisions of article 38.4 of Law 30/1992, of November 26, on the
Law and jurisdiction of the public administrations and common administrative
procedure.
18.2 The following documentation should be provided:
a) Standard report of justification of the project, signed by the researcher in charge of
the project. The report should also be submitted in electronic format.
b) Certification by the management, or the person in charge of the economy of the
institution, that the amount awarded was received and that the grant was put to the
purpose for which it was awarded. The items and the expenditure corresponding to
each one must be indicated.
The institution to which the coordinator in charge of the grant belongs must justify the
total expenses of the grant in the project, regardless of the university or the centre that
incurred the expense.
18.3 The report and other standard documents can be obtained from the AGAUR, Via
Laietana, 28, 2a planta, 08003 Barcelona, and on its website
http://www.gencat.cat/agaur.
—19 Publicity
Any publications and other results that may be generated through this call for
applications should mention the support of the CUR of the DIUE of the Autonomous
Government of Catalonia and the ACS.
—20 Monitoring and dissemination
20.1 In order to follow-up and disseminate the results derived from the implementation
of the projects funded by the grants awarded through this announcement, the CEAR of
the AGAUR may ask some of the coordinators of the teams, or the delegated team
members, to present the main findings of the funded research project at the Annual
Anglo-Catalan Society Conference, the annual meeting which the ACS holds in Great
Britain.
20.2 To further the dissemination of the results of the beneficiary projects, the project
report may be published on the websites of the AGAUR, DIUE and the ACS.
20.3 By participating in this announcement, the beneficiaries of the grants tacitly agree
to the report of justification submitted in the format established in rule 18 of this
announcement being added to the RECERCAT digital repository of the Consortium of
Academic Libraries of Catalonia (CBUC), as specifically provided for in the Noncommercial-
Non-derivative Creative Commons Licence.
This licence establishes that the work may be copied, distributed and publicly
communicated provided that the original author and sponsoring institution are cited and
that it is not used for commercial or derived work. Derived work is taken to mean any
document published, translated, combined with third party materials, or whose format
has been changed or modified in any other way.
20.4 At the request of the beneficiary, the AGAUR may delay the publication of the
scientific report for up to two years as of the date scheduled in the call for applications
for justification of the aid.
—21 Revocation
21.1 Any modification to the initial conditions of the award must be authorised in
advance by the corresponding body.
21.2 Total or partial non-fulfilment of the obligations and requirements established in
this announcement and in the applicable legislation will give rise to action for nonfulfilment,
which may lead to the total or partial withdrawal of the aid and the obligation
to return the corresponding amount.
—22 Applicable legislation
Any eventualities not provided for in this official announcement are governed by the
current general rules of the AGAUR and by any other applicable standards or
regulations. |
|
