2010-05-28
Call for Research Proposals from Georgia
General
The ACADEMIC SWISS CAUCASUS NET (ASCN) is a 5-year programme aiming at promoting social
sciences and humanities in the South Caucasus. It is funded by GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, a
Switzerland-based private foundation aiming at supporting science.
The ASCN Management, hosted at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, launches a call for
proposals, open to researchers from and resident in Georgia. The research topics to be submitted
should be relevant to transition themes, and they should address and deal with specific issues at
stake. Furthermore, the proposals must fit into the umbrella topic defined specifically for Georgia
“Transformation, Identities and Social Capital”.
The budget made available per project will be Swiss Francs (CHF) 20'000 maximum per year. Projects have
a maximum duration of 2 years. Initial funding is provided for 12 months. Submitting several applications is
possible, but the evaluation will consider the difference in topics and approaches.
Submission
The official application form must be used to submit research proposals by the deadline of Monday 7
June 2010. it is to be downloaded from the www.ascn.ch website. The first page of this form is to be signed
and scanned. All documents (application form, CVs, annexes, etc.) need to be submitted as one PDF file to
the ASCN Management at: info@ascn.ch. For any queries or additional information, please use the same
address or contact Programme’s Local Coordination Unit in Georgia.
Evaluation criteria
The following criteria will be applied to assess the submissions for research projects:
- Scientific quality (most important are the elaboration of research question, methods and research plan);
- Relevance and link to the umbrella topic;
- Feasibility of the research project;
- Scientific competence of the applicants related to the submitted project;
- Implication of younger researchers;
- Level of fluency in English
Research projects are evaluated by an independent and international Scientific Board.
Selection timeframe
The evaluation process will take place in the following steps:
- 7 June 2010: Deadline to submit research proposals
- Mid-July 2010: Final decision of the Scientific Board
- September 2010: Start of approved research projects
