NATIONAL AIDS CONTROL ORGANISATION (NACO)Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of India
6th Floor, Chanderllok Building,
36, Janpath, New Delhi
Dated: 1st September 2008.
Ref: T-11020/21/08 NACO (R&D) Vol 2
NACO-Research Fellowship Scheme
NACO invites applications in prescribed format from young researchers to provide opportunity and incentive to pursue quality and need based research in HIV/AIDS in bio-medical/clinical, epidemiological, behavioral and social disciplines.
Eligibility Criteria:
Age: Below 35 years at the time of application.
Qualification: PG Students enrolled for full-time MD/MPhil/PhD degree program in relevant disciplines from any recognized Indian University/Institute.
Selection Criteria: The selection of the candidates for award of research fellowship will be done after technical evaluation of the research plan by the panel of subject experts. Applications received will be assessed based on the following parameters:
Relevance to NACP III strategies.
Innovation.
Methodology and study design.
Academic achievement of the candidate.
The decision of the ‘NACO Technical Resource Group’ on Research and Development, in this regard will be final. Requests for reconsideration will not be entertained.
Components of Grant :
NACO Research Fellowship grant will be given to the respective Institution/Department in full for the awardees students. NACO will award up to 20 Fellowships per year for financial assistance. The maximum grant for each fellowship will be limited up to Rupees 1.5 lakhs. The fellowship covers stipend and contingent expenditure on transport/travel, stationery, preparation of report, consumables, printing etc.
Procedure to Submit a Proposal:
Applicants may submit the proposal in the prescribed format that can be downloaded from NACO website (www.nacoonline.org). The application form will include rationale, methodology, study location, time line and budget detail. In addition, Organization/Institute profile, Curriculum vitae of Principal
Investigators/Guide and Co-Guide along with publications in the relevant field should also be enclosed.
NACO will consider applications received through proper channel only with a certificate on official letter-head duly recommended by the Guide/Supervisor and
Head of the Department/Institute where the candidate proposes to work.
In case more than one application is submitted by a candidate, they will be automatically rejected.
The last date for the received of application is 30th September 2008.
Application form received beyond the last date will not be considered.
Application form with relevant documents (5 copies) should be submitted by registered mail at the following address:
Dr. D. Bachani - Joint Director
Research and Development Division,
9th Floor Chanderlok Building,
36, Janpath, New Delhi-110001
Tel: +91-11-23731956
E-mail: naco.researchfellowship@gmail.com
Please mention on the surface of the envelop “Application for NACO-Research Fellowship”.
Awardees of the grant will be informed by mail and the list will also be displayed on NACO website.
Details can also be obtained from the Research and Development Division, NACO.
NACO RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP SCHEME UNDER NACP-III
I. Preamble
NACO Research Fellowship will be awarded to facilitate capacity building of young researchers in the country for undertaking HIV research including basic, inter-disciplinary, action, intervention and operations research and to increase skills in communicating research findings for impacting policy and programme.
Research fellowships will provide opportunities to young researchers to pursue research invariably leading to MPhil/MD/PhD under experienced academicians and researchers. This may serve as an incentive for them to take up quality and need based research in HIV/AIDS.
II. Eligibility Criteria:
Any young scientist who fulfils the prescribed criteria of age and educational qualifications should submit applications to NACO to carry out research relevant to HIV/AIDS in bio-medical/clinical, epidemiological, behavioural and social disciplines.
Upper Age limit for young researchers: 35 years at the time of application.
Qualification: Students enrolled for full-time MD/MPhil/PhD degree program in relevant disciplines from any of the recognized Indian University/Institute.
III. Areas of Research Support
Financial supports will provided by NACO in the areas related to HIV/AIDS under NACP-III.
IV. Components of Grant
NACO Fellowship grant will be given to the respective Institution/Department in full for the awardee students. The maximum grant for each fellowship will be limited up to Rupees 1.5 lakhs. The fellowship covers stipend, expenditure on field work/data collection, transport/travel for data collection, stationery, preparation of report, consumables, printing, etc.
NACO will award up to 20 Fellowships per year for financial assistance as per details given below.
Category:
MPhil: Stipend per month: 10000; Duration: 6; Contingency: 15,000
MD: Stipend per month: 10000; Duration: 12; Contingency: 30,000
PhD: Stipend per month: 10000; Duration: 12; Contingency: 30,000
Financial support will not be provided for:
· Non-expendable articles such as equipment, vehicle, furniture etc.
· Foreign travel or other expenses for visit abroad.
V. Invitation of Proposal:
NACO will invite proposals once in a year (in the month of June/July) in the prescribed format (ANNEXURE I), that can be downloaded from NACO website.
Details can also be obtained from the Research Division NACO. NACO Fellowship Scheme may also be publicized in peer Journals of relevant subjects.
Reputed Institutions will be informed directly.
VI. Procedure to Submit a Proposal:
Applications from young Researchers will be received once in a year on the prescribed format. The application form will include rationale, methodology, study location, time line and budget detail. In addition, Organization/Institute profile, Curriculum vitae of Principal Investigators/Guide and Co-Guide along with publications in the relevant field should also be enclosed.
NACO will consider applications received through proper channel only with a certificate duly recommended by the Guide/Supervisor and Head of the Department/Institute where the candidate proposes to work. The standard format is attached at ANNEXURE II.
In case more than one application is submitted by a candidate, they will be automatically rejected.
Application form with relevant documents (5 copies) should be submitted by registered mail at the following address.
Joint Director Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Division, 9th Floor Chanderlok Building, 36, Janpath, New Delhi-110001 Tel: +91-11-23731956 E-mail: naco.researchfellowship@gmail.com
Please mention on the surface of the envelop “Proposal for Research Fellowship”. NACO will send notification of receipt to the sender about two weeks after the deadline.
VII. Application Deadline:
Application deadline will be of six weeks from the date of invitation. Application form received beyond the deadline will not be considered.
VIII. Procedure of Approving Fellowship:
Fellow will be selected on the basis of academic record and quality of protocol.
Three tier systems is formed in NACO to select the Research Proposals
Step1: Proposals received would be first evaluated by R&D Division, NACO.
Step2: Eligible Proposals would be reviewed by Panel of three Experts of concerned field/subject. The new proposals received will be assessed based on the
following parameters:
1. Relevance of study project to NACP III.
2. Innovativeness.
3. Methodology and study deign.
4. Clarity of the Research Questions.
5. Academic achievements of candidates.
Based on these parameters, Panel of Experts will give their final recommendations.
· If the project is recommended, it will put forwarded to TRG.
· If the project is not recommended, the Panel of Experts will advise in writing the reasons thereof.
In order to maintain the quality of research, it will be requested to all the subject experts to look the proposals critically irrespective of the Institutional/Organizational profile.
Step3: On the basis of comments of experts, Proposals would be submitted for approval of Technical Resource Group on Research and Development (TRG-R&D). And if require, the proposal will be submitted to NACO Ethics Committee.
The decision of the TRG-R&D, in this regard will be final. Requests for reconsideration will not be entertained.
Awardees of the grant will be informed by mail and the list will also be displayed on NACO website.
The original approval letter from NACO will be sent to the Head of the Department/Institution, with a copy to Guide/Supervisor and candidate.
IX. Operation of Funds
NACO will sanction the grant in full to Institute wherein the selected candidate proposed to work. Full account of expenditure will be rendered by the Institution.
It is stipulated that the scheme shall start from the commencement date mentioned in the letter or within 3 months from the date of issue of the letter. The un-spent amounts of grants will be returned to NACO.
X. Progress Report
NACO will monitor the progress of scheme to ensure that the funds are effectively utilized for optimal results. For this purpose Research Fellow is required to submit to NACO a progress report (ANNEXURE III) giving details of work stipulated for the period. If the fellow fails to submit the regular progress report, NACO may suspend the Fellowship.
XI. Submission of Dissertation/Theses
NACO fellows should submit two copies of final dissertation/thesis through the guide.
Students will be awarded a certificate on successful completion of the project work after the project report is approved.
XII. Publication
NACO research fellows will be allowed to publish research papers or make presentations in conferences based on the dissertation with joint authorship or due acknowledgement to NACO. NACO will have rights to have access to data and rights to display the salient findings in its newsletter and websites and also publish reports/papers or make presentations with the fellows and the guide as co-authors.
For more details please visit website:
http://www.nacoonline.org/
