Process for Extramural Grants Submission
The success of a project
application depends on the collective efforts of researchers and
research support teams. At the Aga Khan University, the
standardised grants submission process ensures coverage of all
aspects of an intended proposal.
All funding proposals must be vetted through the pre-award approval system of the University. The Office of Sponsored Research facilitates a review to ascertain that the proposal protects AKU’s integrity and the commitments made in the proposals can be fulfilled by the Principal Investigator (PI), the lead researcher of the project. It also ensures that proposals comply with relevant University policies and guidelines and the approval is considered for space, legal, health & safety, finance and human resources.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Some funding agencies
require electronic submission of applications. For electronic
submissions, the applicant/PI should ensure the following:
Strict adherence to the guidelines of respective funding agency.
Allow ample time to the OSR after completing the “Checklist” to address any possible challenges.
Immediately respond to queries highlighted by the OSR to ensure timely submission of the proposal.
Submit the final application to OSR 5 business days prior to the given deadline of the funding agency.
Send softcopies of the project proposal to sponsored.research@aku.edu.
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF FUNDING AGENCY
National
Institutes of Health, USA | eRA Commons
(Electronic Research Administration)
Although
AKU is registered with the eRA Commons, NIH requires the PI to
register with eRA Commons to apply for an NIH grant. Office of Sponsored
Research can facilitate PI’s registration with eRA Commons and
submission of grant application to NIH.
NIH Centre for
Scientific Research has a series of videos that can empower to improve
applications and increase their chances of receiving a more positive
review. To view video, click here.
To complete the online NIH grant application you may require AKU's data universal numbering system (DUNS) and federal wide assurance (FWA) numbers:
AKU, East Africa
DUNS: 535118889
FWA: FWA00015601 (Nairobi, Kenya)
FWA: FWA00029194 (Kampala, Uganda)
AKU, Pakistan
DUNS: 645366253
FWA: FWA00028357
Research
Councils UK | Je-S (Joint
Electronic Submissions)
The Je-S system is a way to submit grant
applications to Research Councils UK (RCUK) and Aga Khan University is
registered with Je-S and has a single RO (Research Organization) Master ID. Office of Sponsored Research acts as a
central administration to submit research proposals to the approver pool within
the Je-S research councils through its RO Master ID.
To create an individual account and view
upcoming grants, click here.
European
Union – Participant Portal | ECAS (European
Commission Authentication Service)
The university maintains an institutional ECAS account to access the Participant
Portal for Horizon 2020 and FP7 funding database. AKU
has a profile on PADOR (Potential Applicant Data Online Registration) database
which is managed by EuropeAid and contains information about
organisations who can apply for grants of the European Commission.
Wellcome Trust | eGrants - Online application
The
Wellcome Trust offers more than £700 million a year to support bright minds in
science, the humanities and the social sciences, as well as education, public
engagement and the application of research to medicine. AKU is registered with
the new system – WT Grant Tracker – which is replacing eGrants, the current
electronic system.
WT Grant Tracker will be
rolled over the coming months. If you
are planning to submit an application, you must ensure that you use the
appropriate system. This will depend on the scheme you are applying to and the
deadline.