Grand Challenge Fund (GCF) FAQs

As per GCF eligibility criteria, the lead PI has to be from research intensive university. Which universities are categorized as research intensive?

The list of research intensive universities can be found under "Downloads" section of the website https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/GCF/Documents/Notification%20of%20Research%20Intensive%20Universities%20for%20GCF-2020.pdf

What constitutes Subawards? What comes under the head of Subawards?

Each participating partner shall have to prepare a separate budget sheet. The total of those sub-budgets will be included in the main sheet of the lead partner as sub-awards. They will have to furnish agreements among themselves to provide proof of their commitment to the project and develop mechanisms for fund disbursements from the lead PI to partner PI universities.

Does the HEC seal documents for Foreign Evaluation Agencies e.g WES, ICAS, etc?

Yes, only the HEC attested documents are sealed on the request of applicant and handed over to the applicant for onward submission to the relevant agency.

Is there any template to apply for GCF? The general HEC eportal does not have a tab for this particular grant?

Full details of the GCF with template are available on the Higher Education Commission website available at downloads at https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/GCF/Pages/Downloads.aspx The FPP template needs to be filled and uploaded in the online form.

What criteria/basis should we fill in the column of salaries/stipend of PI, Co PI and students involved in the proposal form? What is the amount to be consider according to the time spent per year?

Full details of the GCF with template are available on the Higher Education Commission website available at downloads at https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/GCF/Pages/Downloads.aspx The FPP template needs to be filled and uploaded in the online form.

Can a faculty member working in Pakistani university with foreign citizenship are eligible to apply under this grant?

All of our grant programs are open to faculty members as PI or Co-PI who are currently employed at Pakistani universities irrespective of their citizenship. In case they are not employed at Pakistani universities, they can still join the project as Co-PI but we will not be funding their participation.

Can a collaborator be from a foreign university?

yes.

Can PI include personal salary and travelling expenses for foreign faculty members?

PI can include limited costs for personal salary and travelling expenses for the foreign faculty to contribute to your research agenda but the equipment related costs for the foreign university will not be supported.

What would be the range (Cost distribution mechanism) of limited cost for foreign faculty (How PIs are going to pay them, i.e. in PKR or in their respective foreign currency)?

HEC will pay to the PI's University (Lead University) and they will be responsible to pay to the foreign participants (In their respective foreign currency)

What are cost components that can be covered for foreign participants?

They can cover personal cost (salary) in accordance with the time spent on the project.

Is ERC certificate mandatory for all disciplines? Or certain disciplines (e.g. Management Sciences, Engineering & IT etc.) are exempted from ERC certificate submission?

It is not mandatory for all disciplines. Research Projects which involves research on living organisms/personal data requires ethical certificate.

Kindly clarify, can I serve as an academic collaborator for GCF project submitted from i.e. University of Karachi, Karakoram international university or any other institution?

Yes PI can work in desired capacity.

Can faculty members who are serving in public sector universities on Adhoc or on IPFP, apply for GCF?

No, they are not eligible.

Are there any specific thematic areas for GCF?

Priority thematic areas of national interest can be seen in call for proposals guidance at https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/GCF/Pages/Downloads.aspx

Can research associate only include m-phil or Ph.D students, can I include graduates into my project as research associate?

Yes as per new policy there is provision of graduate students to engage in research project @ Rs. 5000/- per month.

Do we need to upload Final proposal on prescribed template as other documents?

Yes

Do we need to upload Quotations and Budget as well as other documents?

Yes, PIs have to make sure that they have attached required quotations.

Can a faculty, working on an on-going NRPU project as PI or Co-PI, become a PI for GCF (2020) project?

Yes

Can a Postdoctoral fellow work as part time with ongoing GCF call for proposals?

Yes

I am a full time contractual faculty member in a university, I am not a permanent faculty member. Can I apply for GCF grant?

Yes if contract is at least equal to length of the proposed project.

How many co-PIs can be added in one project? In how many projects a person e can acts Co-PI?

It depends upon the scope of project, a project can have more than one Co-PIs as per project requirements. Furthermore there is no restriction for a person to be Co-PI in one project only.

Can a PI apply for GCF grant, if he/she is already executing any research project i.e. NRPU, TDF, etc?

Yes PI can apply for GCF grant

Do PIs need to submit hard copies for GCF 2020 grants, or only online proposal submission at HEC eportal is acceptable?

For ongoing call for proposals of GCF, no hardcopies are required, only softcopies are accepted which can be submitted on https://eportal.hec.gov.pk/

Can PI and Co-PI be from different universities?

Yes they can be from different universities.

If Co-PI is from different University, do we need to add his/her details against the "Academic Collaborators" too?

Yes all desired details are required and must be incorporated with endorsement.

In previous calls funding limit was linked to the cumulative impact factor of the PI. Is this policy still valid? (Because I do not see any such limit in the new policy documents.)

Not previous policy is not applicable for ongoing call for proposals, any position in paper is acceptable

Personnel Cost" for "Principal Investigator/Faculty Member" in the "Guidelines for Budget", (attached) "Personnel cost of Principal Investigator (PI) & Co-PI is linked with the proportionate time spent on the given project i.e. Gross pay of PI x % time spent. How personnel cost for each year should actually be calculated?

Personnel cost should be calculated as % of time multiplied with gross monthly pay of the PI/faculty member, multiple by 12 for the whole year.

Faculty members having Major Clinical degrees such as FCPS or FRCS are eligible to apply or not?

Faculty members having PhDs are only eligible for being PIs and FCPS or FRCS cannot be considered equivalent to a PhD.

I want to ask that is Bachelors' studentship is possible?

Bachelors studentship @ Rs=5000/- PM is acceptable.

Is it allowed to engage Co-PI from any other educational institution in Pakistan?

yes, it is allowed.

A faculty does not have prior experience of NRPU/TDF etc.. Can he apply for GCF grant as a principal investigator?

Yes if he fulfils the eligibility criteria, he/she can apply for GCF grant.

Who is eligible to be a principal investigator?

Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out relevant research may work with his or her institution to develop a grant application.

If my application is not funded what can I do?

Grant application can be submitted after making necessary modifications in next call for proposals.

What type of work does GCF support?

GCF will work to sort out solutions related to national challenges and priority thematic areas mentioned at https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/GCF/Documents/Call%20for%20proposals%20Guidance%20GCF.pdf

Can I submit multiple proposals for the same grant opportunity?

An applicant may submit one application for the same grant opportunity.

Is there a limit to the amount of funding I can request?

The budgets for GCF projects may be range between PKR 15–225 Million, with a maximum project duration of 3 years.

What is required if a proposed project involves human/animals subjects research?

The proposal should have a description of ethical considerations relating to the study. This section should document the issues that are likely to raise ethical concerns. It should also describe how the Principal Investigator is planning to address it and how he/she plans to obtain informed consent from the research participants (the informed consent process). Ethical Certificate duly signed by Ethical Research Committee of Institute is required at submission of full proposal.

Do I need to submit letters of support?

Yes, letters of support are required during the full proposal stage.

Is it possible to edit the application after submission, if the deadline is not passed?

No, Applications once submitted cannot be edited/resubmitted.

How can I make my application stand out?

A high-quality application that shows you put time and effort into developing it. Tips for producing a high-quality application include: · Take time to develop your application. If you rush through it at the last minute, it shows in your writing and might unintentionally signal to reviewers that you did not take the application seriously. · Familiarize yourself with the review criteria; this is what reviewers will use to rate the quality of your application. · Tailor your resume, personal essays, and any other application materials to the opportunity. Reviewers notice when you use application materials from another opportunity and simply replace some keywords. · If you are reapplying to an opportunity and received feedback on your past application, look it over—or have a colleague look it over—to ensure you are responsive to the reviewer comments.

Is there a limit on how long the proposed project can take?

GCF projects will be funded with a maximum project duration of 3 years.

How does HEC decide which applications to fund?

All proposals are reviewed by independent peer review panels consisting of researchers and practitioners. Panel members read each proposal, assess the technical merits and policy relevance of the proposed research, and meet to discuss their assessments.

Do the quotations for budget need to be submitted at FPP stage?

Yes

Can two people from different universities be PIs for the same project?

No, there will be one PI for the project.

My department is not visible on the academic tab of profile. What should I do?

Please ask the HEC focal person in your university to add the missing department through the eportal and submit the request to HEC. Once the request is submitted, the same will be approved by Quality Assurance Division of HEC after review. Only then, the concerned department will be visible on the eportal. The list of focal person is available on HEC website https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/universities/pqr/Pages/HEIs-Focal-Persons.aspx

HEC

​​​​​​​​​​​As per GCF eligibility criteria, the lead PI has to be from research intensive university. Which universities are categorized as research intensive?