Call for Applications: NRF Freestanding, Innovation and Scarce Skills Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2021 funding
Internal Closing Date: moved to 15 April 2020
Internal contact persons: Dr Denise Schael (Denise.Schael@mandela.ac.za ) or Mr Silakhe Budaza (Silakhe.Budaza@mandela.ac.za )
The call for Freestanding, Innovation and Scarce skills Postdoctoral funding for 2021 has opened with the NRF One Call – Postdoctoral Grant. - https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za
The Funding Framework and Online Application Guide are attached for your reference. These documents can also be accessed via https://www.nrf.ac.za/bursaries/framework-documents/bursaries-framework-documents.
Successful applicants must undertake full-time Postdoctoral research. The Fellowships cannot be held concurrently with any salaried full-time employment.
General eligibility criteria for all Postdoctoral Fellowships:
-
Open to South African (SA) citizens, SA permanent residents and foreign citizens
-
Applicants must have obtained their Doctoral degree within five (5) years of submitting an application to the NRF;
-
Applicants who are currently completing their Doctoral dissertation for submission may apply however, they should complete their Doctoral degree by 31 December 2020, as awards that are not taken up by 30 June 2021 will be cancelled by the NRF;
-
Applicants who are applying for a second NRF Postdoctoral research placement to continue with research on the same project are not eligible;
-
Applicants who are applying for a second NRF Postdoctoral research placement will be eligible if they intend undertaking research on a new project; and
-
Full-time employees of Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) or other research institutions are only eligible to apply if they intend to take unpaid leave for the duration of the postdoctoral fellowship.
Important Notes:
-
Applicants must update their CV on the NRF online system prior to commencing an application.
-
Applicants are encouraged to take note of the scorecard used by the NRF reviewers in assessing applications (see page 12 of the attached Framework document). Also, It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the referee emails are correct and that the referees have responded by the latest 01 April 2020 as this category is assessed in the application. The applicant must view the application PDF to check if a referee has responded to the request for a reference. A “yes” indicates a response and a “no” indicates no response from the referee.
-
Should the host for the postdoctoral research be the same person as the Doctoral supervisor, then the same person must be listed twice in the reference section and will be required to complete both referee reports (one in the capacity of the host and the other as the PhD supervisor)
-
Applicants should apply to undertake postdoctoral research (i) on a research project that is different from the Doctoral research; (ii) located in a different department from that where the Doctoral training was undertaken; or (iii) at a different institution to that where the previous study was undertaken, as fellowships will preferably be awarded to individuals that will be expanding their research training on a new project and/or institution
-
Special consideration will be given to applicants who are applying for a first NRF Postdoctoral research placement where the individual’s research training and outputs may be enhanced by continuing with Postdoctoral research at the same institution; department; or under the same mentor. In such instances the applicant must provide a strong motivation describing the benefits to the applicant and for advancing research and innovation. Failure to provide a motivation will result in a rejection without review;
-
Applicants must attach the following documents under the attachment section of the online application form:
1. Certified copies of their Identity Document or passport
2. Certificate of their Masters and Doctoral qualification to their application. For those who are still in the process of completing their doctoral degree, a signed letter of confirmation from their current PhD supervisor must be attached to the application, stating that the Doctoral qualification will be completed by December 2020/PhD thesis submitted in December 2020.
3. If the institution, department and/or supervisor remain the same as your Doctoral or first postdoctoral placement, a motivation letter must be attached.
4. Official acceptance letter from the host institution (signed, stamped and on an official letterhead). The letter should include details of the availability of specialised equipment, infrastructure and resources to enable the fellow to conduct their research.
5. For applicants with a disability: a medical certificate in support of the disability must be uploaded.
6. Proof of South African National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) or University financial aid scheme funding (if applicable).
Please note, should any of the required documents not be uploaded to the application, the application will be rejected without review.
-
Requested information that is not included in the appropriate section of the Online application form, but is submitted as an attachment instead, will render the application incomplete resulting in a rejection without review.
-
Below are links to examples of National Strategy Documents which can be useful in completing the section of the application form “Alignment to National Imperatives”:
1. http://www.dst.gov.za/index.php/resource-center/strategies-and-reports/143-the-ten-year-plan-for-science-and-technology
2. http://www.dst.gov.za/index.php/resource-center/strategies-and-reports/174-national-research-a-development-strategy-2002
3. http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/Science_Technology_White_Paper.pdf
4. http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/Bioeconomy%20Strategy_a.pdf
5. http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/PALEO_STRATEGY_DST_Final_.pdf
6. http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/DST_Nanotech_18012006_0.pdf
7. http://www.gov.za/document?search_query=strategy&field_gcisdoc_doctype=All&field_gcisdoc_subjects=518&start_date=&end_date=&=Search
8. http://www.gov.za/about-sa/science-technology
Applicants are required to align the proposed project to more than one national strategy. Please be reminded to reference the relevant document.
-
The scientific and technical quality as well as the potential impact of the proposed research contributes to 70% in the assessment of the application by reviewers. Hence, the proposal section i.e. “details of research” must be comprehensively written. Please also note that the proposed work plan must be for a min 2 and max 3 years (i.e. 2021 – 2022/2023) and must should contain detailed research activities linked to specific time frames and objectives.
-
In the workplan: applicants should consider including student involvement by having student projects linked to specific objectives of the research project; mention must also be made of available resources and infrastructure; include possible conference presentations (state name of conference, location, year and whether a poster or paper will be presented); include submission of articles (linked to an objective) and identify targeted (DHET accredited) journals
-
Kindly note that for this call, each institution will be required to submit a maximum of 30 applications to NRF as outlined in Page 5 of the Framework document.
-
Carefully read through the framework and funding guide before commencing an application.
How to apply?
Applicants must apply on the NRF Online system at: https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za. (see section 4 of the application and funding guide)
No late or incomplete applications will be internally screened, validated and submitted to the NRF for review.