10th KNUST RESEARCH FUND (KREF) CALL
Main page content
The Office of Grants and Research (OGR) is pleased to announce that the 10th KNUST Research Fund (KReF10) is opened for applications from KNUST staff. The KNUST Research Fund has been established by the Vice-Chancellor’s Office to provide an internal source of funding for research activities by staff of KNUST. The purpose of the fund is to encourage staff to be more innovative in identifying and conceptualising research projects with readily implementable outputs for uptake. The Fund is also intended to build staff capacity in sourcing and managing research grants from external funding agencies. Over the past nine years, KReF has funded over one hundred and fifty (150) research projects across the myriad of disciplines in the university. These projects have yielded various positive outcomes including groundbreaking research findings, increased multi-dicsiplinary research collaborations within and outside the university and enhanced grantsmaships skills of staff.
The following categories of awards will be made under the 10th KReF Call:
- Seed Grants: These awards are for relatively small pilot or exploratory research projects that focus on exploring the feasibility of emerging research approaches or for gathering preliminary data for future scale-up research project. The highest amount to be granted under the Seed grant is Thirty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 30,000) per award. About ten (10) awards are expected to be given under this category.
- Multi-disciplinary Grants: These awards are for research projects that address developmental issues in society through multi/inter/trans-disciplinary approaches that can shape or influence policy and practice. This award category is also intended to promote research collaborations among various disciplines and Departments in the University as well as with external partners. The research team should be diverse with at least three distinct disciplines or fields of expertise. The highest amount to be granted under this category is Sixty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 60,000) per award. About twenty awards are expected to be given under this category.
III. ELIGIBILITY
The 10th KReF applications are open to all Senior Members of KNUST who fall within the following criteria;
- Early to mid-career researchers (Assistant Lecturer to Senior Lecturer or equivalent)
- Female applicants are particularly encouraged to apply
- Eligible applicants can submit only ONE application as the Lead/Principal Investigator
- The following are NOT eligible to apply as Principal Investigators:
- Staff on post-retirement contract, sabbatical leave, study leave, or part-time contract.
- Staff who have received KReF awards within the past three years
- Staff who have previously received two KReF awards as Principal Investigators
- Previous grantees who have not fulfilled all the conditions of their award, including publication of manuscripts in reputable journals
- Undergraduate or postgraduate students. Postgraduate students can be part of a team of eligible applicants for capacity-building purposes
IV. APPLICATION PROCESS
All KReF applications must be submitted online via the KReF Portal. To complete the application process, applicants must follow the following steps:
- Download the KReF Application Form and Budget Template by clicking on the highlighted section.
- Read carefully and follow all the instructions and formatting requirements to completed the Application Form
- Assemble all relevant supporting documents (including CVs of team members and Letters of Support) and merge them into a single PDF or zip file
- Log on to the KReF portal at funding.knust.edu.gh with your KNUST credentials as username and password.
- Click on “Submission” and follow the instructions to start the application process
- Upload your completed KReF Application Form and supporting documents
- Expect to receive an email or message to confirm receipt of your application by OGR.
All KReF grants are awarded for 12 months, within which the approved research project must be completed. This applies to both Seed and Multi/interdisciplinary awards.
All applications submitted to KReF undergo a three-stage assessment process that ensures that the most competitive applications are selected for awards. The three-stage assessment processes are as follows:
- Stage1: Screening and Quality Checks
This process involves an initial assessment of all applications by OGR staff to ensure that the applicant fulfils all application requirements. At this stage, emphasis is placed on whether or not an applicant has followed all administrative requirements, including formatting, the inclusion of CVs for all named partners in the application, and other supporting documents. Applications that fail this initial process shall not progress to the review stage.
- Stage 2: Peer-Review of Proposals
The peer-review stage involves the review of applications by researchers with expertise in the scientific field of the research proposal presented in a particular application. Each application is extensively reviewed by at least two reviewers appointed by the KReF Scientific Review Committee. Reviewers strictly adhere to the KReF Review Criteria (see section 8) to ensure fairness, integrity, and professionalism in the assessment process. Applications that obtain higher reviewer scores and get recommended for funding by both reviewers shall progress to the final assessment stage.
- Stage 3: Final Evaluation and Selection of Awardees
The final stage of the KReF assessment process entails the evaluation of reviewers’ reports and the selection of successful applicants by the KReF Scientific Review Committee. Based on the reviewer reports, the total approved budget for the cycle and other relevant considerations, the Committee recommends the list of successful applicants for approval by the OGR Advisory Board.
The KReF review process consists of three primary criteria, namely:
A. Relevance: this measures the extent to which the research proposal sufficiently addresses issues of national concern and the overall mandate of KNUST. The Relevance Criterion carries 20% of the total score and focuses on the following areas:
- Relevance of the theme and its degree of priority to national development and the University's mandate;
- Link and added value to ongoing research or efforts in the thematic area;
- Likelihood of uptake and impact of the proposed project on improving policy or practice.
B. Effectiveness: this evaluates the ability of the proposed activities to contribute to the expected outputs and outcomes about budget, project scope, methodology, the credibility of the research team as well as relevant collaborations. The Effectiveness Criterion carries 30% of the total score and focuses on the following areas:
- Quality of budget and other co-funding considerations;
- Level of coherence between project objectives, outputs, and outcomes
- Strength of the research team and the involvement of relevant disciplines within and outside the University.
C. Proposal Quality: this measures the overall quality of the proposal concerning innovation, clear problem definition, structure, organisation of the proposal, the feasibility of project implementation activities, including dissemination strategies. The Proposal Quality Criterion carries 50% of the total score and focuses on the following areas:
- Clarity of problem definition, objectives, and embedding of the project into national development;
- Originality and level of innovation;
- Clarity and scientific robustness of the methodology;
- Research dissemination and uptake mechanisms;
- Feasibility of project activities and timelines;
- General organisation of the proposal.
VIII. ALLOWABLE COST
As a capacity-building grant for KNUST researchers, the KReF award is intended to provide direct funding support for research activities and not necessarily for time inputs or salaries of staff on the project or stipend for students. The following costs are allowable under KReF:
- Research Materials and Supplies - include laboratory supplies, books, data samples and other research consumables
- Travel and Fieldwork- include the cost of fuel, field accommodation, hiring of vehicles, and allowance for field assistants or enumerators.
- Small Tools and Equipment – include the cost of research tools such as field data recorders, laboratory equipment and data storage deveices
- Meetings and Workshops Cost – the cost of meals, stationery, venue, facilitation and other related costs
- Communication and Dissemination - journal publications, media coverage, community meetings, and other dissemination activities.
The under-listed cost items are NOT allowable and cannot be charged to the KReF grant:
- Indirect cost or overhead – KReF grants are internally generated funds and do not attract overhead costs to the University or the host Department.
- Personnel cost or emoluments – KReF is for staff capacity development and cannot be used to pay for staff inputs or efforts on the project.
- Payment of honorarium or sitting allowance to project participants
- Personal equipment- including laptops, desktop computers, printers, scanners, etc
- All other costs that have not been budgeted and approved for in the proposal submitted.
Following the selection of successful applicants by KReF Scientific Review Committee and approval by the Vice-Chancellor, the Office of Grants and Research (OGR), shall notify all applicants informed about the status of their application. Reviewers' comments will be shared with all applicants to help them improve their research projects for future applications. Successful applicants will receive further information about the award process.
XI. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
The 10th KReF Call is opened to receive applications from Monday, 27th January 2025 until Friday 28th February 2025 at 5:00pm GMT. Only applications received via the KReF Portal will be accepted and acknowledged.
Please contact the address below If you need clarification or assistance in completing your KReF Application:
The KReF Coordinator
Office of Grants and Research
Email: kref@knust.edu.gh/ ogr@knust.edu.gh
Tel: 0322062184/5
