Call for proposals Urbanising Deltas of the World 2e ronde, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

Urbanising Deltas of the World

Connecting Worlds of Knowledge

Call for proposals

WOTRO Science for Global Development

2019 2nd round

Contents

1

Introduction

1
 

1.1

Background

1
 

1.2

Available budget

2
 

1.3

Validity of the call for proposals

2

2

Aim

2
 

2.1

Aim of the call

2
 

2.2

Call focus

3
 

2.3

Target groups

3
 

2.4

Impact Pathway

4

3

Guidelines for applicants

4
 

3.1

Who can apply

4
 

3.2

What can be applied for

4
 

3.3

When can applications be submitted

7
 

3.4

Preparing an application

7
 

3.5

Monitoring and Evaluation

7
 

3.6

Conditions on granting

7
 

3.7

Submitting an application

8

4

Assessment procedure

9
 

4.1

Procedure

9
 

4.2

Criteria

9
 

4.3

Composition of Committee

10

5

Contact details and ISAAC information

10
 

5.1

Contact

10
 

5.2

Technical questions about the electronic application system ISAAC

10

6

Annexe(s)

10
 

6.1

Instructions on application form

10
 

6.2

BDP2100 connection

12

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

This call for proposals is part of the Urbanising Deltas of the World (UDW) research and innovation programme, which is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consortia are invited to submit proposals that add value to ongoing and recently finalised UDW research in view of demands from local policy and practice organisations involved in delta management and planning. Proposals align with the policies of the Dutch embassies in the twelve water partner countries.

Delta regions are home to a large portion of the world population, living under increasing pressure of current and future global change – including climate change, population growth and increasing economic activities. In the developing world, these areas are often the poorest, most flood-prone and thus most vulnerable regions. In this context, it is of great importance to reduce vulnerability and to create a sustainable context for poverty reduction in which the resilience of communities and institutions is strengthened.

In many delta regions, rapid urbanisation linked to economic growth brings new opportunities and challenges for sustainable and inclusive development. Urbanising deltas are poles of innovation. There are strong demands for innovative and integrated solutions to face major challenges related to issues such as drinking water, sanitation, rising sea levels and subsidence, food security, and infrastructural connections. New alliances of stakeholders and concerted efforts of private and public parties can address these challenges and opportunities together, developing innovative solutions in which integrated processes are linked to sustainable delta development. Dutch expertise in these fields is recognised worldwide and ample opportunities occur to benefit from the interaction between professional experience and research to promote and strengthen The Netherlands’ international position.

The UDW research and innovation programme focuses on improving the understanding of complex delta systems with the aim to contribute to water safety, water and food security, and sustainable economic development, combined with the strong ambition in enhancing the impact and use of such research in the policy and practice of water and delta management. To ensure that research results are more relevant to and accessible for local communities, policy makers, and other practitioners, project researchers have developed initiatives for interaction with the various target groups. The programme has had two calls for proposals, with the second call focusing specifically on the role of businesses and the application of research.

In making use or providing follow-up of UDW research, activities proposed in reply to this call should serve ongoing delta management and planning and provide for meaningful evidence-based contributions to ongoing policy development processes, implementation of planning procedures and interventions in the UDW delta countries. Challenges such as climate change adaptation, the formulation and implementation of a delta vision on the long term, preventing floods in cities, ensuring a sustainable water supply in light of groundwater depletion, arsenic and industrial contamination, and saline water intrusion along the coasts are guiding are recurring issues in delta’s worldwide that ask for action.

Partner countries

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, proposals should contribute to the knowledge agenda that is part of the Bangladesh Delta plan 2100 (BDP2100), which includes working on specific knowledge gaps as well as providing critical reflections on development and implementation of planning procedures.

Different entry points to support the knowledge agenda of the BDP2100 and comparable agendas were identified, which resulted in specifying that activities should contribute to:

  • – furthering the development and implementation of delta management processes;

  • – improving knowledge management in support of delta planning and management;

  • – responding to urgent knowledge needs in delta management.

Other countries

Besides Bangladesh, applications can be submitted that concern the following countries: Benin; Colombia; Egypt; Ghana; Indonesia; Kenya; Niger; Mozambique; Myanmar; South Africa; Vietnam.

1.2 Available budget

For 2019 a total budget of 720,000 euros is available. A minimum amount of 440,000 euros is earmarked for activities in and to the benefit of Bangladesh that specifically seek alignment with the BDP2100. For this second round in 2019, an amount of 220,000 euros is available.

Co-funding by private organisations (profit and non-profit) and local and international research organisations is encouraged.

1.3 Validity of the call for proposals

Funds will be distributed based on a call for proposals, for which proposals can be submitted year-round. Selection of proposals for awarding will take place twice a year, with a last round in 2022. For this second round in 2019 the deadline of 17 September 2019, 14:00:00 CEST applies. Selection and approval will take place in December 2019.

2 Aim

2.1 Aim of the call

The UDW-Connecting Worlds of Knowledge call will contribute to the overall aim of the UDW programme to contribute to global water safety, water and food security and pro-poor sustainable economic and urban development in river deltas worldwide, by providing effective and efficient responses to increasing pressure and rapid changes related to climate change, population growth and increasing economic activities.

Furthermore, this call has a specific focus on enhancing the use and translation of UDW research results for innovation and implementation in delta management and strengthening the development and implementation of delta policies and management.

The call will contribute to the following specific objectives of the UDW programme:

  • 1. Uptake of research results and application of tools and perspectives for improving institutional and legal frameworks for delta and river basin management, and robust planning techniques and new scenario building methods for decision-making under uncertainty.

  • 2. Improved capacity of organisations, groups and individuals including researchers and policy makers, to influence global water safety, water and food security and sustainable economic development in deltas.

  • 3. New knowledge and insights in use that add value to processes, products, services, technologies, policies or ideas that are made available to markets, governments and society, which enhance the future competitive position of businesses.

A contribution to the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 knowledge agenda or comparable policy trajectories in other countries is expected. Annex 6.2 provides an overview of important crosscutting UDW-BDP2100 themes which are also relevant for other delta areas.

2.2 Call focus

In the present call it is asked to connect different worlds of knowledge. Research, policy and practice represent different worlds of knowledge. Here, it is proposed to interlink these worlds of knowledge through three lines of action: Exchange, Capacity development and Implementation. These three lines of action to be funded are feeding into the specific call objectives. Based upon end-user demands, and preferably referring to the crosscutting themes identified and described in Section 6.2, the following details apply for the three strands of activities that are part of this UDW-Connecting Worlds of Knowledge call:

  • – Exchange

    Improving exchange, sharing and use of newly generated and existing knowledge & research in general, and UDW results in particular, in view of the development and implementation of delta management activities worldwide;

  • – Capacity

    Using (UDW) research and research outputs to strengthen and build capacities and skills by providing needs-based training of students, practitioners, professionals and policymakers;

  • – Implementation

    To provide for next step research & implementation through practitioner-led pilots, proof of concept and applied research and innovation projects that build upon or make use of research findings and expertise from UDW or other research programmes and knowledge.

In being end-user driven, activities are initiated and co-designed by business partners, governmental or civil society organisations.

In making use of the findings and insights resulting from UDW research, applicants are also encouraged to take into account the results from other research projects and programmes, i.e. the Collaborative Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), Conflict and Cooperation in the Management of Climate Change (CCMCC), Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA), Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED), and Future Climate for Africa (FCFA).

2.3 Target groups

The ultimate target group to benefit from the UDW programme consists of the most vulnerable segments of the population of deltas in developing countries. Many deltas in developing countries belong to the poorest and most vulnerable regions. Within these regions, poor and marginalised groups stand to benefit most from enhanced water safety, water and food security and sustainable urban development, and from policies aimed at reducing vulnerability and enhancing adaptive resilience capacity.

The intermediate target group are those individuals or organisations that are able to positively change policies and practices to the benefit of ultimate target groups. This intermediate target group will be found primarily among those individuals and organisations involved in delta governance and management (central and local government, companies, applied knowledge institutes, (international) donors, and NGOs active in the delta management and water sector).

Intermediate target groups are considered as the next and end-users of this call. Their demands will inform the central focus and objective of the activity proposed, and they will directly benefit from the outcomes of these activities. These people and organisations will be enabled to adapt, adjust and apply newly generated research findings and insights in order to wield new concepts, tools and technologies and apply new perspectives for action for pro-poor sustainable development.

2.4 Impact Pathway

Applicants should explicate how the activity will use the (UDW) research results to work towards the realisation of one or more specific objectives of this call and ultimately contribute to enhanced delta and water management. It must be envisioned how the activity (e.g. knowledge sharing, capacity development or a research activities) results in outputs and contributes to outcomes and impact. Please include appropriate, verifiable indicators for the output and outcome levels.

Outputs relate to the direct and immediate results obtained by a project or programme.

 

Outcomes relate to the changes in understanding, behaviour, relationships and actions of stakeholders as a result of the sharing and uptake of research.

 

Impact is defined as changes in whichever economic, environmental or social conditions a research project or programme aims to affect.

 

Research outputs and outcomes respectively fall under the direct span of control of a project or programme. Achieving societal change (impact) is, however, beyond the control of a research activity as it is a complex process that depends on a variety of actors and factors of which research in only one.

3 Guidelines for applicants

3.1 Who can apply

Proposals have to be the result of a clear demand from an in-country institute or organisation (applied knowledge institute, academic, (non) governmental organisation, private for profit sector partner) involved in the implementation and development of delta planning. Therefore, proposals have to be submitted by a consortium (main applicant and co-applicant(s)) led by a main applicant affiliated at an in-country institute or organisation. One or more (co-)applicants are or have been involved in the (UDW) research. Successful consortia have to demonstrate commitment from in-country partners and decision-makers involved in the development and implementation of delta planning to support the proposed work.

The main applicants’ organisation will take responsibility for the project secretariat, the day-to-day management and all financial affairs of the project. The representative of the main applicant organisation should hold a senior position. The main applicant will act as project coordinator and point of contact with NWO-WOTRO, meaning he/she is responsible for the communication with NWO-WOTRO and the distribution of information within the team, as is stipulated in the NWO regulations.

3.2 What can be applied for

Proposals to be submitted fit one of the strands as specified above, for which the characteristics are summarised in the table below.

1 A proof of concept is the phase in which a technology, model or approach is tested in practical circumstances to demonstrate its feasibility. It is a phase in between the development or laboratory phase and the (commercial) investment phase.

1 A proof of concept is the phase in which a technology, model or approach is tested in practical circumstances to demonstrate its feasibility. It is a phase in between the development or laboratory phase and the (commercial) investment phase.

Ad 1) Exchange examples

  • – Organising dialogues or debates to discuss research findings;

  • – Establishing or strengthening network or platform activities that include researchers, local communities, practitioners and policy makers;

  • – Preparing publications, providing tools, disclosure of data directed towards professionals or practitioners involved in delta management.

Ad 2) Capacity examples

  • – Training in applying analytical tools, decision support systems, application of models resulting from ongoing research

  • – Contributing to curricula development in universities or knowledge institutes

  • – Providing expertise and preparing training contributions on demand in existing training trajectories of BDP and related initiatives.

Ad 3) Implementation examples

  • – Business & innovation projects: providing for next steps in research trajectories;

  • – Proof of concept: testing newly developed tools, methods and concepts;

  • – Applied research that responds to specific knowledge needs from BDP2100 / other policy demands by making use or building upon expertise or knowledge developed in recent/ongoing research.

In preparing your proposal, you may contact the Embassy in the country concerned to verify the alignment with the policy environment.

Budget

Exchange and capacity

For activity strands one (Exchange) and two (Capacity) a lump sum funding applies, in which the maximum tariffs for engaging scientific and non-scientific support staff from participating organisations compares to the hourly (1650 hrs/year) tariff as specified in the NWO-VSNU regulations for postdoc researchers. For external experts, a tariff of 125 euros/hr applies.

Implementation

For activities in the third strand (Implementation) the NWO-regulations apply. Here, the budget is built up using the NWO-wide standardised building blocks: also modules.These modules are described below. In the proposal budget, applicants choose which combination of modules are needed and how often each module will be deployed. The following modules are available for an application within this round:

Personnel

  • – Postdoc appointment

    The guideline is that the appointment period of a postdoc can be between 6 and 24 months. The minimum size of the appointment is 0.5 fte for 12 months. This deployment can be spread over a longer or shorter period, for example across the entire duration of the project. However, the product of FTE x duration must always be at least 6 full-time months.

    If the applicants wish to deploy expertise for a shorter period of time, then the material credit can be used for this.

    Dutch personnel: The salary costs will be remunerated according to the 'Agreement for Funding Scientific Research’ made with the Association of Universities in the Netherlands. The NFU tables apply to research staff at medical centers.

    Non-Dutch personnel: Costs are reimbursed according to in-country regulations and with a maximum rate that compares to postdoc hourly (1650 hrs/year) tariff as specified in the NWO-VSNU regulations.

  • – Research leave

    In this item, the replacement costs for the main applicant and/or co-applicants can be applied for, so that they can be released from educational, administrative and management tasks. The research leave grant can only be used in combination with and for the purposes of the projects or programmes applied for. For the research leave grant, a maximum size of 5 months per project applies based on 1 fte at the level of the postdoc employee, with the hourly rates according to the agreement with the Association of Universities in the Netherlands. This budget is intended for the release of the applicants from educational and supervisory tasks so that they can work on the research for which funding has been requested. The employer can use the research leave grant to cover the costs of the replacement for the non-research tasks of the applicant(s) such as education, administrative and management tasks. These tasks must be specified in the proposal.

    Non-Dutch personnel: Costs are reimbursed according to in-country regulations and with a maximum rate that compares to postdoc hourly (1650 hrs/year) tariff as specified in the NWO-VSNU regulations.

Material credit

A maximum of 15.000 per year per 1.0 fte scientific position (Postdoc) can be applied for, specified according to the three categories stated below:

Project-related goods/services

  • – consumables (glassware, chemicals, cryogenic fluids, etc.);

  • – equipment and/or software (e.g. lasers, specialist computers or computer programs, etc.);

  • – For these small items of equipment and/or software, the amount may not amount to more than 160,000 euros per application.

  • – measurement and calculation time (e.g. supercomputer access, etc.);

  • – costs for acquiring or using data collections (e.g. from Statistics Netherlands);

  • – access to large national and international facilities (e.g. cleanrooms, synchrotrons, datasets, etc.);

  • – work by third parties (e.g. laboratory analyses, data collection, etc.);

  • – personnel costs smaller in size than those offered in module 1.

Travel and accommodation costs (for the employees for which a personnel grant was requested)

  • – travel and accommodation costs (national and international);

  • – congress visits (max. 2 per year);

  • – fieldwork;

  • – work visits.

Implementation costs

  • – national symposium/conference/workshop organised by the project;

  • – costs of open access publishing;

  • – data management costs;

  • – recruitment costs (incl. advertisement costs);

  • – costs involved in applying for licences (e.g. for animal experiments).

  • – Audit costs (only for institutions that are not subject to the OCW education accountant protocol), a maximum of € 5,000 per project; a maximum of € 2,500 applies to projects of three years or less.

Costs that cannot be applied for are:

  • – basic facilities within the institution (e.g. laptops, desks, et cetera);

  • – maintenance and insurance costs.

If the maximum amount of 15,000 euros per year per full-time scientific position is not sufficient for realising the research, then it may be deviated from if a clear justification is provided in the proposal. The only exception to this is the amount for small equipment (160,000 euros).

Knowledge Utilisation

The aim of this module is to facilitate the use of the knowledge that emerges from the research. The contribution requested may be no more than 25,000 euros and must be specified. As knowledge utilisation can assume very different forms in the various scientific disciplines, it is up to the applicant to specify which costs are needed, for example for producing an educational package or realising a feasibility study into application possibilities, or the costs of submitting a patent application. Please find further information about knowledge utilisation here.

Co-funding

In case private sector partners are involved in the project execution, private practitioners partners (for profit and non-profit) and/or local and international research organisations involved in the project execution are invited to participate with an in cash or in kind contribution of 10% of the total budget.

Please note that cash contributions of 5,000 euros and more are channelled via NWO for reasons of transparency. Thereto, the cash co-funding organisation(s) will receive an invoice from NWO, according to the fitted payment scheme.

3.3 When can applications be submitted

Proposals may be submitted at any time. Twice a year, a funding decision will be made by the Steering Committee (SC) of UDW. For this round, the deadline for applications is 17 September 2019, 14:00:00 CEST. The SC is composed of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and NWO.

3.4 Preparing an application

The application form for this call can be downloaded from the electronic application system ISAAC or from NWO’s website (on the grant page for this programme).

The application form must be completed in English, saved as a pdf file and uploaded in ISAAC. For details about the application form, please see Section 6.1

3.5 Monitoring and Evaluation

Project activities are to be monitored with the help of and based upon the impact pathway drawn up as part of the proposal. Applicants are expected to deliver a final report in which project outputs and outcomes are highlighted and discussed in view of this pathway. The reflection on outcomes and impact should be based upon stakeholders perspectives.

For activities under ‘exchange’ and ‘capacity’, a brief report is to be delivered within one 1 month after the end date of the activity. For ‘implementation’ projects, the final report including a final financial report and audit report (in English) has to be submitted within three months after the end date of the activity. For projects with a duration of more than one year, a progress report is required at the end of the first project year. The annual progress report format can be accessed online in Isaac.

3.6 Conditions on granting

Accountability

With regard to accountability of the projects funded through strand three (Implementation), the NWO Grant Rules 2017 and the Agreement on the Payment of Costs for Scientific Research apply, as well as the conditions as specified in the NWO-WOTRO Regulations1. In case there are two or more consortium partners, also a consortium agreement is mandatory. The agreement needs to be signed by all consortium partners and approved by NWO before the first payment can be made. When the results from the financed research are published or presented, it should be acknowledged that the project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and NWO-WOTRO. All project activities have to be finalised 3 months before the end date of the programme, i.e. on 31 November 2022.

Audit

Activities under strand three (Implementation) require an audit. The audit report needs to be provided in English.

Open Access

All scientific publications resulting from research that is funded by grants derived from this call for proposals are to be immediately (at the time of publication) freely accessible worldwide (Open Access). There are several ways for researchers to publish Open Access. A detailed explanation regarding Open Access can be found on www.nwo.nl/openscience-en.

Data management

Responsible data management is part of good research. NWO wants research data that emerge from publicly funded research to become freely and sustainably available, as much as possible, for reuse by other researchers. Furthermore NWO wants to raise awareness among researchers about the importance of responsible data management. Proposals in strand 3 (Implementation) should therefore satisfy the data management protocol of NWO. This is not applicable for proposals in strands 1 or 2. The data management protocol consists of two steps: This protocol consists of two steps:

Data management section

The data management section is part of the research proposal. Researchers should answer four questions about data management within their intended research project. Therefore, before the research starts the researcher will be asked to think about how the data collected must be ordered and categorised so that it can be made freely available. Measures will often need to be taken during the production and analysis of the data to make their later storage and dissemination possible. Researchers can state which research data they consider to be relevant for storage and reuse.

Data management plan

After a proposal has been awarded funding the researcher should elaborate the data management section into a data management plan. The data management plan is a concrete elaboration of the data management section. In the plan the researcher describes whether use will be made of existing data or a new data collection and how the data collection will be made FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. The plan should be submitted to NWO via ISAAC within a maximum of 4 months after the proposal has been awarded funding. NWO will approve the plan as quickly as possible. Approval of the data management plan by NWO is a condition for disbursement of the funding. The plan can be adjusted during the research.

Further information about the data management protocol of NWO can be found at www.nwo.nl/datamanagement.

Nagoya Protocol

The Nagoya Protocol became effective on 12 October 2014 and ensures an honest and reasonable distribution of benefits emerging from the use of genetic resources (Access and Benefit Sharing; ABS). Researchers who make use of genetic sources from the Netherlands or abroad for their research should familiarise themselves with the Nagoya Protocol (www.absfocalpoint.nl). NWO assumes that researchers will take all necessary actions with respect to the Nagoya Protocol.

3.7 Submitting an application

An application can only be submitted to NWO via the online application system ISAAC. Applications not submitted via ISAAC will not be taken into consideration.

A principal applicant must submit his/her application via his/her own ISAAC account. If the principal applicant does not have an ISAAC account yet, then this should be created at least one day before the application is submitted to ensure that any registration problems can be resolved on time. If the principal applicant already has an NWO-account, then he/she does not need to create a new account to submit an application.

When you submit your application to ISAAC you will also need to enter additional details online. You should therefore start submitting your application at least one day before the deadline of this call for proposals.

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. For technical questions please contact the ISAAC helpdesk, see Section 5.2

4 Assessment procedure

4.1 Procedure

The first step in the assessment procedure is to determine the admissibility of the application. This is done using the conditions stated in Chapter 3 of this call for proposals.

The NWO Code for Dealing with Personal Interests applies to all persons and NWO staff involved in the assessment and/or decision-making process.

The data management section in the application is not evaluated and hence not included in the decision about whether or not to award funding. However, the committee can issue advice with respect to the data management section. After a proposal has been awarded funding the applicant should elaborate the data management section into a data management plan. Applicants can make use of the advice from the committee when they write the data management plan. The project can start as soon as the data management plan has been approved by NWO.

NWO gives all full proposals a qualification. The applicant is informed of this qualification when the decision about whether or not to award funding is announced. Only proposals that receive at least the qualification excellent/very good will be eligible for funding. For further information about the qualifications refer to the website.

Proposals will be screened for admissibility by the UDW Secretariat.

Decision making procedure

For the assessment of the proposals, use will be made of the governance structure of UDW, including its decision making body and the International Advisory Committee.

The assessment procedure will consist of the following steps:

  • 1. The Relevance (criterion 1) will be assessed through involvement of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), who will be in charge to organise this part of the assessment.

  • 2. Proposals will be pre-assessed on their quality by members of the International Advisory Committee, which is an independent expert panel that supports the Steering Committee of UDW.

  • 3. Applicants will receive the opportunity for rebuttal.

  • 4. The IAC will draw up an advice based upon the proposals, Embassies’ reviews, pre-assessments and rebuttal.

  • 5. The funding decision will be made by the Steering Committee of UDW, based upon the advice of the IAC.

Timeline

–

July 2019

Application form for proposals available in Isaac

–

17 September 2019, 14:00:00 CE(S)T

Deadline second round of proposals

–

October/November 2019

Assessment of proposals by Embassies and IAC

–

December 2019

Funding decision is made by the UDW Steering Committee

4.2 Criteria

Eligible proposals will be assessed according to the following equally weighted criteria:

  • – Relevance: Is the proposal based upon a concrete demand of an end-user? Is the composition of the project team appropriate and are relevant partners from government or business involved? Does the proposal fit the call / strand selected?

  • – Significance: Does the proposal build upon relevant, newly generated evidence, tools, analysis or theory from UDW research? Does the proposal provide for added value for implementation or next steps to application? Does the proposal clearly specify how next steps in the innovation and implementation process of delta management and planning will be achieved? What is the potential for impact and sustainability of the activity?

  • – Adequacy, feasibility and efficiency of the approach: Is it clear how results will be translated or shared for scale-up/scale-out? Are the objectives, activities, timelines, milestones and resources requested coherent, realistic and relevant? Does the proposal represent good value for money?

NWO gives all proposals a qualification. Only proposals that receive at least the qualification excellent/very good will be eligible for funding. The applicant is informed of this qualification when the decision about whether or not to award funding is announced.

For further information about the qualifications please refer to the website.

4.3 Composition of Committee

The Steering Committee, operating under a mandate from the WOTRO Steering Committee, consists of representatives from the funding agencies and is complemented by the participation of a strategic advisor, i.e. representatives from the Netherlands Water Partnership.

The International Advisory Committee (IAC) consists of senior researchers with an interdisciplinary background and entrepreneurs or practitioners with a scientific background.

The composition of the SC and the IAC is published on the UDW website (http://www.nwo.nl/udw).

5 Contact details and ISAAC information

5.1 Contact

Specific questions

For specific questions about and this call for proposals please contact WOTRO Science for Global Development

  • – Ms Han van Dijk, UDW Programme Coordinator (T. +31 70 344 09 45)

  • – Ms Rachel Kelders, UDW Programme Officer (T. +31 70 349 4085) E-mail: udw@nwo.nl

Postal address

NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development

P.O. Box 93120

2509 AC The Hague

The Netherlands

Visiting address

NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development

Laan van Nieuw Oost Indië 300

2593 CE The Hague

The Netherlands

5.2 Technical questions about the electronic application system ISAAC

For technical questions about the use of ISAAC please contact the ISAAC helpdesk. Please read the manual first before consulting the helpdesk. The ISAAC helpdesk can be contacted from Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 17:00 hours CE(S)T on +31 (0)20 346 71 79. However, you can also submit your question by e-mail to isaac.helpdesk@nwo.nl. You will then receive an answer within two working days.

6 Annexe(s)

6.1 Instructions on application form

  • i. Please indicate in which of the three strands of activities your proposal fits: 1. Exchange; 2. Capacity or 3. Implementation

  • ii. Indicate the duration of the activity, as well as the start and end date. Please note that the maximum duration of the activity is 24 months.

  • iii. Specify the country (or countries) where the activities will be carried out.

  • iv. Main applicant: Please note that the main applicant should be affiliated at an in-country institute or organisation (applied knowledge institute, academic, (non) governmental organisation, private for profit sector partner).

  • v. Please provide the details of all people involved in carrying out the activity, i.e. role, period and full time equivalents (FTE) of the engagement, including:

    • – Consortium members, i.e. applicant and co-applicant (s) are those persons and organisations that carry the responsibility of the activity.

    • – Project staff (postdoc researcher(s), senior staff and external experts, i.e. those who have an active role in carrying out the activity.

    Please note that the project team must include a (former) UDW researcher. You may annex CVs of two A4 page at maximum.

Proposed activity

  • i. Title: The project title must state the country or countries where the activity will be carried out.

  • ii. Summary: Provide a summary of your proposal. The summary should describe briefly, in no more than 300 words, the specific demand addressed, the added value in terms of new / innovative contribution to policy and practice in delta management, the main outputs and the way these will be used to provide for impact.

Knowledge base

  • i. Please outline the research results, findings or ideas on which the proposed activity will build, and describe up to 3 outputs and up to 3 (preliminary) outcomes that refer to the (UDW) research base to be used. Please use no more than 300 words. You may also annex a reference list (max 1 page).

Description of activity including the approach in linking research to policy and practice

  • i. What evidence (e.g. support, willingness to participate) do you have of the demand for this activity or approach (e.g. by next users, end-users, beneficiaries, policy-makers)? You may use 150 words at maximum for this Section. Please annex letters of support.

  • ii. Briefly describe the activity, including the rationale of the intended activity, the approach and how the activity will link research to policy and practice in view of improving the lives of the most vulnerable people. You may use 300 words for this Section.

  • iii. Impact Pathway: Please present an impact pathway narrative and diagram for the project (max. 1 page) and specify how the project attributes to one or more of the objectives of the call), see example below.

    Outputs and their immediate utilisation by consortium partners/members of the intermediate target group and can be reckoned as falling under the direct span of control of the project team. Outcomes relate to the uptake of research outputs by intermediate target groups (e.g. next users/adopters) and the effects thereof. In order to be able to monitor and assess the effectiveness, verifiable indicators should be presented for the output and outcome levels. We encourage you to make indicators as SMART as possible: Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related. Please note that appropriate outputs and outcomes (and indicators thereof) depend on the specific objectives of the activity and the level or scale of intervention.

Additional questions for `Implementation activities

The following questions (3 c-f) on the research approach apply only for ‘Implementation’ activities only:

Please describe the:

  • – objectives of the activity, and;

  • – outline of the research design, including a description of the research questions, methods and accompanying activities.

You may use 500 words at maximum for this Section.

Sustainability – for ‘Implementation’ activities only

Please describe how:

  • – this activity will be sustained beyond the period of the grant, and;

  • – if there are committed or prospective funders who may sustain the activity. You may use 300 words at maximum for this Section.

Data management

Answer questions regarding data management as specified in the form.

Project management

Please consult the previous Sections and in particular Section 3.2 (maximum amounts and financial modules) carefully before providing the details requested.

Time line

Please provide an outline of the activity(ies) in a timeline including milestones and deliverables (max 1 page).

Budget

For activity strands 1. “Exchange” and 2. “Capacity”, please use the budget table specified in the application form.

For activities in strand 3 “Implementation”, please use the budget format that is made available in Isaac. The total budget of the activity includes: a) the budget requested as a grant, and, if applicable, b) the co-funding contribution of the consortium member organisation(s) and/or other (‘third’) parties.

Letters of support

It is mandatory to include (a) letter(s) of support. The letter of support should clearly specify where and how the proposed activity is of interest to the organisation concerned.

6.2 BDP2100 connection

Please find some examples of areas for enhancing synergy between the UDW projects and the Bangladesh Delta Plan in the box below.

Adaptive delta management: the key question is how the increase in institutional capacity and how better integration and cooperation between different sectors and levels of governance can be realised in practice. This concerns questions about how to establish more integrated planning and management practices, how to integrate the principles of flexibility and iterative learning in delta management, how to ensure interaction between top-down policies and bottom-up needs of local communities, local governments and the private sector. Finally, it requires exploiting synergies between related water resources and other investment agendas of sustained food security and economic growth.

 

Flood risk management: research on future flood resilience through community based sociotechnical solutions; an important issue is how such bottom-up driven initiatives fit within the predominantly top-down oriented BDP2100 schemes. This includes the enhancement of community capacities and resilience regarding flood mitigation measures (technical/non-structural) and making these measures sustainable while enhancing local ownership. Here, evidence on hard versus soft ways of flood risk mitigation (capital dredging versus building with nature) and experiences with local defences versus wider approaches to delta management at the sub-national regional level (tidal river management) could be brought further. Moreover, practical solutions such as developed in living labs could be translated to business models.

 

(Urban) water management: Measures to clever handle the water in and around cities are needed, including the provision of fresh water of appropriate quality and also for groundwater recharge after appropriate treatment. The policy shift on groundwater is away from microbial safe groundwater sources towards surface water bodies for safe water supply – particularly in rural areas. This policy shift is seen as a smart arsenic mitigation solution, but in reality surface water bodies are heavily contaminated. Knowledge could be (further) developed on green infrastructures and groundwater recharge in and around the cities to store (fresh) water and to mitigate salt water intrusion.

 

Institutional capacity and governance: The extent of decentralisation and the possibility of more bottom-up processes in which local governments and communities play a role in defining and implementing processes of change are recognised as important issues. However, we need to take into account that local level, short-term needs are often pressing and short-term concerns of communities easily override long-term solutions. Finding the right balance between short-term action and long-term vision at the local level is a specific challenge, differing from the same challenge at the level of national policy-making. Also, research should keep an eye on effective female participation in the decision making processes.

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