Call Own Initiatives 2011: fully fledged project proposals

The call for the submission of fully fledged project proposals is only accessible for those letters of intent that have been preselected by the selection committee on 21 May 2010 to elaborate a fully fledged project proposal.

Definition
An Own Initiative is as a developmental relevant project which strengthens the research and education capacity of (a) partner institution(s) in the South by means of generating and exchanging knowledge, with as final aim to use this local capacity in the struggle against poverty in the concerned region/ country.
It is emerged from a common initiative taken by one or more academics from a developing country  in collaboration with one ore more Flemish academics, and is aligned on the priorities of the local partner institute at the policy level where the project is constituted (department or faculty).
Summarizing, following considerations are to be taken into account:

• The project contributes to the development priorities of the country of intervention.
• The objectives contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the local population.
• There is maximum synergy and complementarity with other projects in the region or the country.
• The sector activities reinforce the socio economic basis and the civil society of the partner country.
• The research is oriented towards sustainable development and the interaction between social, cultural, ecological and economic factors.
• The continuity of the project is assured by the partner institution(s) after the withdrawal of the financial support from VLIR-UOS.

Funding
An Own Initiative has a maximum budget of  € 300,000 for the entire period.

Duration
An Own Initiative has a duration of 3 or 4 years.

Call cycle
Until now, VLIR-UOS launches each year a call for the submission of proposals. Selection takes place on a competitive basis over two selection rounds. The call for the submission of letters of intent for Own Initiatives 2011 was launched in February 2010 and the selection took place on 21 May 2010. The call for the submission of fully fledged project proposals for Own Initiatives 2011 (second round) has been launched on 14 June 2010 and can be found on this web page.

Deadline
The proposals for fully fledged project proposals Own Initiatives 2011 must be submitted to VLIR-UOS by the ICOS on 1 October 2010 at the latest. Within the different Flemish universities, however, different deadlines for the submission of the project proposals are applied. The proposals will be submitted to the Own Initiatives Selection Committee on 25 November 2010. During this meeting of the Selection Committee the promoter is expected to come to present and defend his/ her project proposal.

Contact person
For more information please contact Mr Herman Diels of the VLIR-UOS secretariat (tel.: +32 (0)2 550.19.62 or e-mail: herman.diels@vliruos.be).