The South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) in partnership with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) have conceptualised a new South African/ German Collaborative Research Programme (SAG-CORE) aiming to further stimulate long term research collaboration between the two countries by funding joint research, to strengthen the international position and global impact of their research.
Through this bilateral Call, South Africa and Germany aim to bring together partners in society to co-develop the knowledge needed to support decision-makers and contribute to societal change at all scales and in diverse contexts, by focusing on the social behaviours of a post-COVID-19 society affecting global change as the main research area. The funding measure is being carried out within the framework of the BMBF's Africa Strategy and the Federal Government's Strategy for the Internationalization of Science and Research.
The 2020 SAG-CORE endeavours to address this issue by supporting collaborative research and innovative projects that can:
- provide greater understanding of the earth’s natural processes, the human influence on these processes and the interactions between the two;
- outline innovative societal processes in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and
- offer ways to mitigate all these challenges where possible, adapt human behaviour and start societal transformative processes towards sustainability.
The overall theme of this bilateral call therefore is: Global Change: Towards Sustainable Societal Transitions and Transformations – postCOVID-19. Every research project should focus on at least one of the following themes:
- Theme a: Governance of societal transformations to sustainability – post-COVID-19.
- Theme b: Economy and finance of transformations to sustainability – post-COVID-19.
- Theme c: Well-being, quality of life, identity, and social and cultural values in relation to transformations to sustainability - post-COVID-19.
With the available total budget, the NRF and BMBF aim to fund a maximum of up to five joint projects for the maximum period of up to 48 months (4-years).
Eligible consortia should be composed of researchers based in South Africa and in Germany, with active involvement in the project of Principal Investigator (PI) on both the South African and the German side. Therefore, a proposal should have two PIs: one based in South Africa, and one based in Germany. The two PIs will serve as the main contact points for NRF and DLRPT, respectively and will submit the proposal to both organisations.
The deadline for submitting SAG-CORE applications in electronic form is Friday, 13 November 2020, 12:00 CET (for German researchers) and 24:00 SAST (for South Africa).
South African researchers must submit their proposals to the NRF. From the German side the BMBF has entrusted the DLR Project Management Agency with implementing the funding measure. Therefore, German researchers must submit through the DLR Project Management Agency.
Prior to submission of an application, prospective applicants should contact the respective national agency for detailed information about respective national requirements pertaining to applications and funding.
