[Closed] APN Annual Calls for Proposals for 2011

INTRODUCTION

Countries within the Asia-Pacific region support more than half of the world’s population and changes in the Earth’s bio-geophysical system are clearly impacting the societies and economies of these countries.

Recent research and supporting observations have provided new insights into some of these changes and their impacts but have, at the same time, opened up a number of new and challenging scientific issues and questions. APN seeks to identify these scientific issues to promote, as well as encourage, regional cooperative global change research.

The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) is an inter-governmental network whose mission is to enable investigations of changes in the Earth’s life support systems and their implications for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. The APN, therefore, supports investigations that will:

1. Identify, explain and predict changes in the context of both natural and anthropogenic (human-induced) forcing;
2. Assess potential regional and global vulnerability of natural and human systems; and
3. Contribute, from the science perspective, to the development of policy options for appropriate responses to global change that will also contribute to sustainable development.

The core strategies of the APN are to:

1. Promote and encourage research that can improve understanding of global change and its implications for the region and contribute to sound scientific basis for policy-formulation and decision-making; and
2. Identify and help address, in consultation with policy-makers and other end-users, present and future needs and emerging challenges.

The APN defines Global Change Research as “ research regarding global change (the set of natural and human-induced processes in the Earth’s physical, biological, and social systems that, when aggregated, are significant at a global scale) and its implications for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region .”

APN’s activities promote research that improves understanding of the physical, biological and human dimensions of change in Earth system and science that informs adaptation and mitigation decision-making in the following specific areas: Climate Change and Climate Variability; Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Land Use; Changes in the Atmospheric, Terrestrial and Marine Domains; and Resources Utilisation and Pathways. These themes are interrelated and involve the interface of natural, social and political sciences. Thus, APN will also support research on crosscutting issues, science-policy linkages and the human dimensions of global change.

The APN is inviting proposals under two separate programmes , the ARCP Programme and the CAPaBLE Programme, for funding from April 2012 , and is able to provide a limited amount of financial support* for research and capacity development activities that fall within its areas of interest.

* The average grant awarded for 2011 projects (for a 12-month period) was approximately US$45,000 for ARCP research projects and US$40,000 for CAPaBLE projects

GENERAL INFORMATION ON NEW PROCEDURE
FOR THE CALLS FOR PROPOSALS PROCESS

ADVISORY SERVICE (Voluntary)

A potential proponent can consult with the APN Secretariat, with a carbon copy to the national Focal Point (nFP) and to the Scientific Planning Group (SPG) Member from his/her country, by sending a Letter of Intent by Friday 24th June 2011 . The APN Secretariat will respond back to the proponent, as appropriate, by Friday 8th July 2011 .

PROPOSALS SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS

The proposals submission and review process consists of 3 main stages:

Stage 1: Submission and Review of Summary Proposal (compulsory)

A proponent submits a Summary Proposal with carbon copy to the nFP and to the SPG member from his/her country by Friday 29th July 2011 . The Summary Proposals will undergo a screening process performed by the SPG Sub-Committee (SPG-SC), who will select proposals that will proceed to the next stage. This screening was introduced for the first time in 2007 to avoid wasting proponents’ and reviewers’ valuable time. All proponents are notified of the results of the preliminary screening by the first week in September, and only those proponents that pass Stage 1 will be asked to submit a Full Proposal for further consideration.

Stage 2: Submission and Review of Full Proposal (compulsory and by invitation)

This stage is by invitation only . Successful proponents from Stage 1 are invited to submit their Full Proposals to the APN Secretariat by Friday 7th October 2011 .

Review by APN internal reviewers (SPG members) and external reviewers. Proponents above the set cut-off line respond to the questions and comments of the APN internal reviewers, and unsuccessful proponents are informed of the results of the first review ( Step 1 Review: October– December 2011 ). SPG members submit revised ratings based on responses of the proponents at Step 1 Review ( Step 2 Review: January 2012 ).

Stage 3: Final Decision-Making

The APN’s 17th Inter-governmental Meeting (IGM) approves which proposals to fund, following recommendations from the SPG ( late March 2012 ). The Secretariat informs proponents of the final decision in April 2012.

OUTLINE OF ELIGIBILITY AND GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATION

1. Activities of Interest to the APN for its ARCP and CAPaBLE Calls for Proposals:

The APN is prepared to support activities in the area of global change as relevant to APN’s thematic areas and relating to:

2.  Items Not Supported by the APN

The APN will not support:

3. The APN Science Agenda

APN’s activities promote research that improves understanding of the physical, biological and human dimensions of change in Earth system and science that informs adaptation and mitigation decision-making in the following specific areas:

The above themes are interrelated and involve the interface of natural, social and political sciences. Thus, APN will also support research on crosscutting issues, science-policy linkages and the human dimensions of global change.

5. Format of Letter of Intent and Proposals and Further Information

Guidance on the format of Letter of Intent, Stage 1 Summary Proposal, and Stage 2 Full Proposal is set out in separate guidelines for the ARCP and CAPaBLE programmes: the “ APN’s 2011 Calls for Proposals Advisory Service ” , the “ 2011 ARCP – Guide for Proponents ”, and the “ 2011 CAPaBLE – Guide for Proponents ” ; which give detailed explanations of the advisory service, the two separate calls for proposals, and the criteria against which proposals are judged.

For further information on the 2011 Calls for Proposals, please contact:

You may also contact the national Focal Point (nFP) and Scientific Planning Group (SPG) member of your country for inquiries. Their contact information is available in the Structure section of the APN website.