AIFDRDisasterRiskReductionResearchGrants GuidelinesforProposalSubmission

1. 1.1

Background The number and severity of disasters is increasing in Asia, as a consequence of growing populations, rapid urbanisation and weather extremes. Issues of climate change, urbanisation, poor land-use planning and tension over access to resources, now combine to increase the impact of natural hazards. A focus on disaster reduction shifts from just responding to the humanitarian consequences of unexpected events to a strategic and cost effective focus on reducing vulnerabilities before an event. Reducing disasters, limiting the impact of those that do occur and better equipping countries and communities to self-manage events will save lives and lessen economic impacts. The Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR) was jointly announced by the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Indonesia at APEC in November 2008. The AIFDR uses Australian and Indonesian science to better identify and measure natural disaster hazards and risks in Indonesia and then uses these facts to support training and planning exercises for national-level and provincial-level disaster managers. The outcomes of these two activities are also shared with the region through partnerships with APEC, ASEAN and the United Nations. In this way, the AIFDR aims to strengthen national and local capacity in disaster management in Indonesia and a more disaster resilient region. The Research and Innovation Program is one of the four programs within the AIFDR. It provides a certain degree of flexibility and responsiveness to the emerging information needs in a complex working environment. The R&I program will also capture a wide range of Indonesian initiatives that will contribute to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and AIFDRs long-term outcomes, but also link to key Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) developments, both at national and international levels. Objectives Through the Research and Innovation Program, the AIFDR will foster and promote a stronger culture of DRR research in Indonesia. This program will support Indonesia to address the gaps in DRR knowledge and build a body of relevant, locally produced work on Indonesian disaster management and risk reduction priorities. The objectives of the DRR Research Grants are:

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2. 2.1

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a) b) 2.3

to increase the knowledge base among DRR academics, managers and practitioners in Indonesia; and to strengthen the DRR research skills and capacity of academics and research institutions in Indonesia; collaboration with stakeholders from non-government, public and private sectors; formation of partnerships across disciplines; development of linkages between technical knowledge and practical, local knowledge; networking with experts and peers regionally and internationally.

These objectives will be achieved through; a) b) c) d)

2.4

Research findings will be shared with key policy makers, disaster managers and practitioners so that they may inform policy discussions and/or the development of practical and systematic solutions to reduce the impacts of natural hazard risks in Indonesia. Candidates interested in making a significant contribution to disaster risk reduction are invited to apply for the Indonesia DRR Research Grants. This includes students or researchers in universities and/or research institutions. Thematic Areas The following are thematic areas for research for the period of 2010/2011: a) reducing risk and vulnerability in urban areas; b) integrating gender into disaster risk reduction; c) developing incentives for disaster risk reduction, especially around risk financing; d) developing new approaches and scientific tools/knowledge that may be useful for DRR; e) developing an enabling environment to strengthen institutional capacity; f) developing linkages between climate change adaptation, the environment and disaster risk reduction efforts. Proposal Process The Indonesia DRR Research Grants is an annual program administered by AIFDR until June 2013. This is a competitive program and no applicant is guaranteed an award. All details in the proposal must be current at the time the proposal is submitted. Once it has been submitted to AIFDR, the proposal will be considered final and no changes will be permitted. You may, however, withdraw your proposal at any time in writing to research.grants@aifdr.org or fax +62 21 3983 0068. Please ensure that all information contained in the proposal is accurate and complete. If a proposal is late, incomplete, incorrect or contains information that is false or misleading, the proposal may not be considered for funding.

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3. 3.1

4. 4.1

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3 4.4 Information included in the proposal will be treated as confidential. The information will only be viewed by AIFDR staff, AIFDR assessors and those external third parties who assess, evaluate and verify the accuracy of the proposals. Any personal information provided as part of the proposal will only be used for the purpose for which it is collected. To be eligible for funding, proposals must satisfy the following Eligibility Requirements: a) The Research Grant Scheme is open to all institutions and individual Indonesian researchers, or international research institutions with demonstrable working relationships/partnerships with Indonesian academics or research institutions. Institutional applicants should demonstrate that research is a core component of the organisations mandate and has a demonstrated capacity to carry out quality research as well as manage the overall grant. Individuals applying for the research grants must receive a recommendation from her/his institution or two appropriately qualified and relevant academics. Non-Indonesians individual applicants must have affiliation with professional organisation or academic institution.

4.5

b) c) d) e)

Objectives and the proposed research are clearly in support of the AIFDR DRR Research Grant Program objectives. The proposed research has strong relevance and applicability in strengthening DRR issues in Indonesia. The proposal demonstrates a contribution to the broader body of knowledge on disaster risk reduction and development issues in Indonesia. Institutional applicants must be officially accredited by the Government of Indonesia. International research organisations must be accredited or eligible by the research council in their respective countries or the equivalent. Applicants must be willing and able to establish a separate bank account for the AIFDR research grants. Applicants must have relevant experience and knowledge in the proposed research topic evidenced by recent reference letters and other supporting documents. Proposals that are able to identify key target audiences for research and an early planned approach to communicating and engaging with those audiences will be considered favourably. If a research proposal has already received funding from another party it will not be eligible under this grant program. Funding may be used for conferences or workshops where applicants will present their work and/or solicit feedback from other experts. However, administrative and logistical arrangements, eg visa, permits, medical check-ups, flight bookings, accommodation etc are the responsibility of the applicants. Research grant funding may not be used for: i. organisational overhead costs; ii. staffing costs other than those required to conduct the research;

f) g)

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i) j)

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office equipment; consultancy fees for activities that are not directly relevant to the proposed research; attendance and travel to conferences/workshops/meetings that are not related to the proposed research; activities that do not adhere to AusAID or Government of Indonesia policies and requirements (see reference documents).

Individual researchers masters or doctoral projects are ineligible; however, if their research projects are an integral part of the university or research institutions research project, they may be included.

5. 5.1

Funding and Timeline Funding will be provided for up to two years. Applicants can apply for funding of between AUD20,000 and AUD100,000. Grants will be paid in tranches (as mutually agreed by both parties), subject to ongoing monitoring of the project and acceptance of milestones. This will be set out in the Grant Agreement between AIFDR and the Grant recipient. Proposal Assessment Process AIFDR will conduct internal and external review of the incoming proposals to ensure transparency, accountability and quality. Applicants will be assessed on a competitive basis according to the selection criteria. The review process will consist of two steps: administrative screening and technical review: a) Administrative screening: all proposals will be initially reviewed by a team, comprising AIFDR staff and external reviewers. The team will check consistency of the proposals against the eligibility requirements at 4.5 above, and the proposals requirements. This process will eliminate non-qualifying and non-compliant proposals, check that applicants have submitted a full proposal containing all required sections together with letters of recommendation from potential mentor (if relevant), curriculum vitae of researcher(s), have generated a financial proposal and other supporting documents. Only those proposals that pass the administrative screening stage will be consider for assessment at technical review. Applicants that do not pass the administrative assessment will be notified. All decisions are final and there will be no appeal. Technical review: proposals that have passed administrative screening will then undergo a technical review process conducted by a technical review panel consists of experts in the respective thematic areas. Each reviewer will compile a shortlist of proposals that should be considered for funding which will be based on an assessment of the proposals, including a quantitative rating against each criteria, and a brief explanation of the rating.

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Proposals will be assessed by a technical review panel based on the following criteria:

5 1 RESEARCH TEAM a) Applicant/Team Qualifications i) The track record of all research team members supports the proposed research. ii) Experience, expertise and sound knowledge in the proposed research. iii) Capacity to undertake and manage the proposed research. iv) Evidence of strong collaboration with the proposed partners. v) Involvement of female researchers will be considered favourably. b) Mentor Selection and Support vi) Appropriate mentor selection and good reference letters from qualified academics or referees. 2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OUTCOMES i) Important or under-researched or neglected hazard and/or vulnerability that is very important and deserves attention. ii) Proposal objectives demonstrate clear and strong linkages with the AIFDR DRR Research Grants program, chosen thematic areas outlined at section 3 above. iii) Anticipated outcomes will advance the knowledge base of the discipline and facilitate linkages with other relevant discipline. iv) Provide clear, measurable, achievable and realistic objective(s), with significant disaster risk reduction impact locally, nationally or internationally. v) Innovation and creativity: overall strength of the project in tackling the subject. 3 RESEARCH METHODS i) The conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses are well developed, integrated and appropriate to the AIFDR objectives and GoI priorities. ii) The research approach is clearly justified and the methodology is highly likely to result in meaningful findings. iii) The design presents robust methods with innovative thinking. iv) A logical and feasible work plan is presented. v) Quality of reference indicates familiarity with key literature. 0-15 POINTS 0-30 POINTS 0-15 POINTS

4 RESEARCH LINKAGES i) Research proposal identifies relevant cross-cutting issues, such as gender, climate change adaptation, and environment. ii) Practical and theoretically sound analysis in linking those issues with the problems/issues in the research proposal. iii) Demonstrates ability to bridge multi-disciplinary issues, scientific and indigenous sources of knowledge. iv) Stakeholder analysis and community linkages are clear, partners are involved and supportive. 5 COMMUNICATION PLAN i) Communication plan is innovative, plausible and achievable. ii) The Plan should identify three most strategic audience and outlines methods for meaningfully engaging each target audiences. iii) Identify areas the Plan would like to influence. iv) Appropriate activities are to include process, timetable and budget. 6 BUDGET i) The proposed budget should be appropriate for the research activities with a clear justification for each item. ii) The institution or individual is contributing to the proposed research, either financial or in-kind contributions.

0-15 POINTS

0-15 POINTS

0-10 POINTS

100 POINTS 6.4 The technical review panel will then recommend a list of suitable applicants to AIFDR and BNPB, who will make a final decision on those proposals supported for funding. Successful applicants will be notified by AIFDR in writing. Clear and transparent mechanisms will be available throughout the assessment process for the selection committee members or technical reviewers to declare any existing or potential conflicts of interest. Language Requirements Research proposals should be in English or Indonesian and not be more than 20 pages. The proposal summary (see part 2 of the AIFDR DRR Research Grants Proposal Template) must be written in English (maximum 1 page). Applicants may undertake their research in Indonesian; and project reports and deliverables may be submitted in English or Indonesian.

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7 8. 8.1 Geographic Focus The research activities should focus on the areas identified in the National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction 2010-2012 (see reference documents) as high risk and vulnerable to natural disasters. If the research is a comparative study (with other countries), comparison should be made with areas that are internationally recognised as disaster prone. Progress Reporting and Final Outputs The expected deliverables from the selected research projects are as follows: a) b) Project title and description for publication on the AIFDR website, 1 page, in English. Six-monthly progress report and financial report (for research with duration more than one year) or an exception report (for research with duration less than one year) This will be a five-page report, focusing on the discovery process progress of the research plan, highlighting initial findings and accomplishments; changes to the original proposal plan, as well as further detailing the research communication plan, and action arising from it. The mid-term financial report is an acquittal report, indicating all expenses in the reporting period with copies of all receipts provided (the mid-term report can be submitted in English or Indonesian). c) Final report and financial report i) This will be 10-25 pages in length depending on the duration (please refer to section 14 of the draft Research Grants Agreement) and may have additional technical appendices. The body of the report will be aimed at the targeted strategic audience as outlined in the communication plan. Guidelines for writing the final summary and financial reports will be provided. The final summary report can be submitted in English or Indonesia. English reports will be translated into Indonesian for wider dissemination.

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ii) The final financial report is a reconciliation of expenses with copies of all receipts provided (please refer to clause 14.4). d) Two-page research project brief This will be a social marketing communication piece in English designed to reach a wide audience and reach out to those who can then seek detailed information if interested. It will include a project summary, key findings and recommendations. Guidelines and a template for the brief will be provided. 10. Key Dates Proposal Stage Deadline for submission Review and selection Notification of results Date 22 October 2010 November 2010 1 February 2011

Commencement of Activity

1 April 2011

11. Information Ownership Confidentiality and Intellectual Property 11.1 AIFDR receives all proposals for funding in confidence. 11.2 Intellectual property rights with respect to information contained within proposals submitted to AIFDR remains with the applicant(s) until varied in accordance with the terms of any grant agreement entered into between AIFDR and the successful Grantee(s). 11.3 All information contained within proposals, once received by AIFDR and during the process of assessment, will only be disclosed to AIFDR, AusAID and BNPB staff directly involved with the administration of the Grants, technical reviewers, and members of AIFDR Steering Committee or disclosed as required by law or to enable AIFDR to meet its obligations to the Indonesian or Australian Parliaments, Ministers, and within each government. 11.4 Disclosure of any information contained within a proposal to persons other than those referred to above, or the use of information contained within a proposal other than in connection with AIFDRs activities and statutory reporting and archiving requirements, is not permitted. 11.5 AIFDR does not claim ownership of any intellectual property created as a result of any research projects which is funded by research grants. However, AIFDR wishes to be able to publish and use all or part of selected activity reports. Accordingly, under the terms of the grant agreement, the Grantee will be required to grant a permanent, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to the Governments of Indonesia and Australia for this purpose. This includes both the results and any data acquired using the grant funds. 12. Budget Guidelines 12.1 The most important aspect of the budget proposal is that it should be consistent, logical, and be clearly aligned with the proposal. Applicants should anticipate communication plan costs and make these clear in your budget. For additional clarification you may add a short note to explain the need for particular budget items. 12.2 The template in the proposal form provides a guide for your budget but applicants are not restricted to the budget items contained in it. Applicants should include in their budget any and all budget items requested for funding, and delete any that are not relevant from the template. 12.3 Your budget should be broken down by categories including, but not limited to the following: i. Personnel fees: a) Honorarium: Up to AUD500 for mentor may be budgeted as a one-off honorarium for mentors, if the mentor would be giving up other incomegenerating activities in order to support your project team. This would be payable in the last payment. b) Resource persons: For any required technical expertise.

9 ii. Administrative costs: a) Translation: If you need to have materials translated into another language and need to pay for these, they may be included and will require recipient's signed invoice. b) Bank fees: This includes cost of receipt of wire transfer (check with your bank). c) Consumable supplies: This includes office supplies, refreshments served at meetings with project participants, and any supplies that will be used up during implementation of project activities. These will need to be backed up by shop receipts, either printed with shop, date, list of items and cost, or handwritten and with shopkeepers signature. d) Printing: This includes paper, CDs and labels for replications, photocopying, professional printing, printer ink and similar expenses which should be backed up by shop receipts, or log of items charged at customary cost by hostinstitution. It should anticipate and include costs of reproducing materials for dissemination. e) Postage: This includes any costs anticipated for dissemination of materials or reports. f) Telecommunications: Expenses may be claimed for telephone, fax and internet expenses associated wholly or partially with the project, by providing copies of bills with project-related charges identified. Receipts for pre-paid mobile voucher and similar items may also be submitted. Travel Costs: a) Per diem: Per diem is payable when team members travel to areas outside their usual geographic area of employment or residence, and only while engaged in implementation of the research project for full day, week or month. Per diem may also be requested for resource persons or consultants engaged for short durations outside their usual geographic area of employment or residence to perform tasks in the research projects, as identified in the research proposal. It will cover local transportation cost, food and incidental expenses. Each of these should be budgeted by listing the amount of time (days, weeks or months), and rate of per diem requested. b) Accommodation: These expenses may be claimed for team members or consultants during travel to areas outside their usual geographic area of employment or residence while engaged in implementation of the research project for full day, week or month. Receipts of payment, tickets and boarding pass must be attached into the acquittal report. c) Airfares or other mode of transportation: These expenses may be claimed for team members or consultants actual transportation expenses to any project activity site(s) within the country described in the project proposal. It may also be used to cover transportation or travel expenses of other project participants, consultants or volunteers to sites as described in proposal. Where receipts are not available these may be documented by detailed travel log with date, method of transportation, and cost in local currency. Meetings/trainings/workshops for this activity: a) Meeting/training venue: Whenever possible, meeting, workshop or training should be held in the organisations or governments or partners office.

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However, a meeting hall or other venues may be hired and this expense may be claimed if the existing venues cannot accommodate number of participants. b) Coffee break. c) Lunch. d) Meeting package. 12.4 Administrative costs should not exceed 10% of the total budget proposal. 13. Contact officer 13.1 For any enquiries, please contact AIFDR DRR Research Grants Program, research.grants@aifdr.org. 14. Submitting Proposal 14.1 The original Proposal must be submitted by email to research.grants@aifdr.org, with subject: Proposal Submission. 14.2 Applicants must use AIFDRs online proposal form. No other format will be accepted. 14.3 Late proposals or those that do not comply with the Guidelines may not be assessed. 15. Successful Proposals 15.1 Successful applicants will be required to sign a Grant Agreement with AIFDR that defines the project to be implemented, specific activities and outputs, timeframe and the respective financial and other responsibilities and obligations of each party. Grant Agreements must be finalised within three months of the date on which the first draft is forwarded to the applicant and must be signed before any funds can be paid. Applicants must commit to performing work to a high standard, comply with reporting requirements stipulated in the Grant Agreement and inform AIFDR of any changes. 15.2 A copy of the standard AIFDR Grant Agreement will be available on the website along with all other relevant AIFDR documentation. Applicants should indicate in Part 8 of their proposal if they will have difficulty meeting any of the conditions of the Grant Agreement. 15.3 Work must commence three months after the agreement is signed. A delay of more than three months without approval will result in the grant being cancelled. Funds will have to be returned to AIFDR within 30 days. 16. Reference Documents All applicants should also refer to the following documents: 1) Rencana Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana 2010-2014, http://www.bnpb.go.id 2) Rencana Aksi Nasional Pengurangan Resiko Bencana, 2010-2012, http://www.bnpb.go.id

11 3) Australian Government Policy on disaster risk reduction Investing in a Safer Future: A Disaster Risk Reduction policy for the Australian aid program, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/disasterriskreduction.pdf 4) Gender and Equality in Australias Aid Program Why and How, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/gender_policy.pdf 5) Development for All: Towards a disability-inclusive Australian aid program 20092014, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/FINAL%20AusAID_Disability%20for %20All.pdf 6) Australian Governments Child Protection Policy: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pubout.cfm?Id=7954_7703_6074_4255_42 27