Submission Deadline – 15th May 2020
In response to the on-going COVID-19 national emergency, the Office of Research and Development announces a Special Call for research and innovation proposals relating to COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the Call is to come up with evidence-based solutions to prevent, control and manage COVID-19 disease.
This Special Call relates to COVID-19 projects only, and projects relating to other subjects will not be considered.
NB: This call is open to UB researchers and projects that involve collaboration with external (non-UB) researchers, must be led by a UB staff member as Principal Investigator.
External Collaborations require a collaboration agreement between UB and the collaborating party. Applicants in this category must be mindful of the short timelines and should contact kereilemang.nthoiwa@mopipi.ub.bw for guidance with collaboration requirements.
Projects should address (but not limited to) the following broad areas:
- Infection prevention/disease spread (e.g., artificial intelligence, data analytics for disease tracking, data-based analysis, modelling and forecasting for population infection risks)
- Diagnostics and testing (e.g., rapid evaluation tests for carriers (asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals)
- Clinical management (e.g., smart technologies for patients, treatments for reducing symptoms in patients, equipment and devices for use by first responders, including healthcare personnel, law enforcement personnel)
- Societal, behavioral and psychological issues (e.g., isolation, social distancing, hygiene)
- Recovering and transformation after lockdown (e.g., for industry, workplaces, educational institutions )
- Smart technologies and support systems for critical supply chains (e.g., suppliers, distributors and transporters for food, pharma and medical supplies, etc.)
- Understanding of impacts and specific interventions (e.g., for business and employment, educational outcomes, vulnerable groups)
- Security and justice issues (e.g., public disorders, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, civil liberties)
Other areas not listed above will also be considered as long as they are targeted to COVID-19 understanding and interventions only. Proposals must indicate that they can deliver outcomes in a 12-24 month time period. Longer time periods will not be considered.
Proposals should contribute to one or more of the following impacts and outputs:
- Technical products (e.g., New or improved product, process or technique; New material or compound; Measurement instrument; Medical device; Computer software; Web tool or mobile application, E-business or education platform)
- Medical products or interventions (e.g., Diagnostic techniques or procedures; Diagnostic tools; Pharmaceutical preparations; Therapeutic/treatment interventions; Preventive interventions; Health and social care services)
- Research tools and materials for further inquiry (e.g., Antibodies, cell lines, computer databases)
- Policy and Practice Impacts (e.g., Policy briefs/responses to inform decision making; Best practice guidance document; Training materials for practitioners; Consumer and public information materials) Products, processes or services should be innovative, that is, new and/or significantly improved product, process or service. For example, a new or existing product with improved performance characteristics, a new or improved service delivery method, or a new or improved technique.
Applications must inform: (Download application form here)
- Identification of intellectual property and a detailed explanation of how any Intellectual Property discovered during the research project will be protected.
- Detailed explanation of how ethical treatment of human subjects will be addressed and managed.
- A responsible and itemized budget must be included in the application.
- The application should be supported by the Dean/Director of the relevant Faculty/Institute/Centre as applicable. Applicants must communicate their intention to apply to their dean to be included in the list of faculty applicants that will be submitted to the Office of Research & Development. Deans/Directors do not have to sign individual applications.
All applications must be submitted in the provided application form/template and comply with all application guidelines and requirements.
Applicants are reminded that the UB internal research budget is finite and is used to fund many research projects. Consequently, only the ‘best of the best’ COVID-19 research projects can be funded through this Special Call.
Applications will be subject to expedited review by the usual DRPC and FRPC processes, and recommendations for funding will be made by the Funding sub-committee of the University Research Committee.
Guidance for Ethics Permit application are included in the application.
The Special Call for COVID-19 research projects will close at 5pm on Friday 15th May 2020. Applications received after that time will not be considered.
To submit open and upload your application to this link https://redcap.link/call2020-covid19. Hard copy applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Contacts
Should you encounter technical upload glitches contact kavunak@ub.ac.bw
For general application enquiries contact Bolobilweo@ub.ac.bw