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News & Events
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Invitation of Proposals for Academic Innovation Fund
01/10/2010
The Ministry of Education (MoE) with the support of the World Bank has undertaken the implementation of the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) from FY 2009-2010. University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) is the implementing agency of the Project. One of the major components of the Project is “Promoting Academic Innovation” in the higher education institutions of Bangladesh. The main objective of this component is to improve the quality and relevance of the teaching-learning and research environment in higher education institutions through encouraging innovation and accountability within universities and by strengthening the institutional capacity of the higher education sector.
For this purpose UGC will provide grants designated as Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) to the eligible public and private universities of Bangladesh, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions and compliance with the guidelines determined by it. The grants can be accessed by the universities only through participating in a proposal submission competition. The successful Complete Proposals which will ultimately receive fund will be known as sub-projects.
There will be two rounds of proposal call in the duration of HEQEP. This proposal call is for the first round.
2. Invitation for Submission of Proposals
The higher education institutions of the country which have fulfilled the eligibility criteria for receiving the AIF grants are hereby invited to submit Preliminary Proposals to the respective University AIF Secretariat by May 15, 2010.
3. Proposal Submission
The proposals will have to be submitted in prescribed formats known as Preliminary Proposals (PP) at the University AIF Secretariat (UAIFS) in case of public universities and at the AIF Management Unit (AIFMU) in case of private universities, by the proposal submitting entities, e.g., universities, departments, faculties, institutes and centers or combinations of two or more of the entities. Individual faculty members are not eligible for submitting proposals. All proposal submitting entities are requested to consult the AIF Operations Manual (AIFOM) prior to submission of the PPs.
4. Proposals can be submitted under the following three windows:
i) Window 1: Improvement of teaching-learning at Undergraduate and Master’s Programs
(ii) Window 2: Improvement of research capabilities not leading to Degree; and improvement of research capabilities for Post-Graduate Programs;
(iii) Window 3: University-wide Innovation.
A. Under the above three windows proposals can be submitted in the following broad disciplines/subjects/areas:
(i) Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences
(ii) Engineering and Technology
(iii) Medical, Health and Nutritional Sciences
(iv) Agriculture (includes Crops, Livestock, Veterinary, Fisheries, Poultry and Horticulture)
(v) Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
(vi) Business
(vii) Law
(viii) Self Assessment
(ix) University-wide InnovationThe PPs will have to be submitted in ten copies in A4 size paper along with a soft copy in CD. The PP formats are available in the AIFOM.
4. Proposal Evaluation
The submitted PPs shall be evaluated and screened by the University Proposal Screening Committee (UPSC) established by the universities according to transparent evaluation/selection criteria delineated in Section 27 of AIFOM. The entities whose PPs have been selected by the UPSC will have to submit Complete Proposals (CPs) to the UAIFS/AIFMU in a prescribed format in five weeks time. The CP format is available in the AIFOM. The CPs will be evaluated according to set criteria by peer reviewers designated as Area Review Panel (ARP) and External Reviewer (ER) selected by UGC. The UAIFS/AIFMU shall provide secretarial service to the UPSC and the entities in processing the submission of PPs and CPs.
5. Award of AIF Grants
Evaluated CPs shall be finally selected by UGC for award of AIF grants.
6. Amount of AIF Grants
The total amount of AIF grants available for the first round is about BDT 13020.00 Lakh This amount will be apportioned among the three windows (40% for each of windows 1 & 2 and 20% for window 3). Grants to each sub-project may vary from BDT 21.00 Lakh to BDT 460.00 Lakh. Indicative grant amount for sub-projects under the three Windows can be seen in the AIFOM.
7. Financial Management
All AIF grant recipient institutions shall generally follow the relevant rules and regulations of GoB in financial management of the sub-projects. However, institutions will be required to comply with IDA’s procurement guidelines in addition to GoB’s Public Procurement Rules, 2008, where applicable.
8. Performance Contract
All AIF grant recipient institutions shall execute a contract with UGC after awards have been announced by UGC. Disbursement of grants to awarded institutions shall commence after the contract has been signed by the concerned parties.
9. AIF Operations Manual
The Operations Manual for AIF (AIFOM) describes in detail the procedure to be followed by the universities and their faculty members for participating in the AIF. The AIFOM has been hosted on UGC’s website www.ugc.gov.bd and the Project’s website www.heqep-ugc.gov.bd. The AIFOM in hard copies will be available at the University AIF Secretariats in the public universities and at the University AIF Management Units in the private universities.
10. For further information interested institutions and faculty members are requested to contact the following project officials by e-mail and mobile phones:
(i) Md. Korban Ali, AIF Coordinator; e-mail:korban_heqep@yahoo.com; Ph: 02-8189022
(ii) Dr Mozammel Hossain Chowdhury, Program Officer; e-mail: mhc_16th@yahoo.com.
(iii) Md. Zakir Hussain, Program Officer, e-mail: zakir7511@yahoo.com
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