Description

The Zhengzhou Normal University (ZZNU); University of Hildesheim (UH); University of California, at Davis (UC Davis) and Hanbit Psychiatric Rehabilitation Hospital (HANBIT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish an International Joint Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Science to further solidify and enhance the extensive collaborations. As an element in building the existing relationship and forging new areas of collaborations for mutual benefit, Zhengzhou Normal University, with the support of municipal government, is pleased to announce a Research & Innovation Seed Grant Program (RISGP) for 2019-2021. The intent of this new initiative is to promote the structured collaboration among the partner institutions and to advance the institutions' joint goals in research and innovation. The RISGP will:

a) Foster creative teams of investigators working across disciplinary boundaries and institutions;

b) Support new research foci in related fields to better serve the society with psychology and cognitive science technology; and

c) Stimulate submission of research proposals to federal or public.

Areas of opportunities

The RISGP intends to support research in social group psychology and behaviors, learning cognition processing mechanisms and neural mechanisms, psychological intervention techniques for special populations, among other areas, in order to provide theoretical basis and advanced interventions for promoting the mental health of different groups, guiding the learning and educational activities and shaping personality and positive behavior patterns. Projects that promote and further collaborative interests will be given preference.

Award amounts

Anticipated funding start date will be March 20, 2019. Funding is limited to a maximum of $25,000 for each project. The amount of funds will depend on the quality of proposals, as well as their proposed budgets. RISGP will fund eight projects per year.

Allowable Expenses

Research supplies and animal maintenance; Volunteer for experiment not to exceed $10/P; travel for research purposes; Meeting & Conference organizing; salary support for a temporary position (1 year or less) for technicians, research associates (post-docs) and/or graduate students, purchase of periodicals and books, Publication costs including reprints and Open Access fees; and translation service.

Expenses Not Allowed

Donations and contributions; Salaries for PIs, secretarial support, general telephone services and postage, alterations or renovations of laboratory space, purchase of laboratory or office furniture, dues and memberships in scientific societies, purchase or rental of equipment; IT software/service and food.

Eligibility

All full-time faculty members having primary academic appointments and Doctoral candidates are eligible for designation as PIs.

Procedure

A proposal meeting the attached guidelines must be submitted no later than January 14, 2019 (submit to GrantsAdministration@zznu.edu.cn). A grant agreement will be signed after the proposal is accepted.

Requirements

Fund recipients are expected to:  

a) Produce sufficient preliminary results so that a proposal for external Scientific Cooperation Program (e.g., NSFC-NSF; NSFC-DFG; NSFC-NRT) may be submitted within 6 months after award expiration. Such a proposal is a desired outcome, but is not mandatory.

b) At least one publication (indexed by Social Sciences Citation Index-Clarivate Analytics) or manuscript under peer review will result from the funded work before the award expiration.

Conditions of the Award

a) A brief progress report for interim progress and a final report will be prepared.

b) Six months after the project ends, the PI will be asked to file an update (part of final report) listing all presentations, published papers and extramural funds that have resulted, in whole or in part, from the project.

c) Funds should be budgeted for completion and exhausted at the end of one calendar year.

d) International Joint Laboratory has an ownership interest in the publications resulting from work performed under a RISGP -supported project. In addition to the investigator's primary affiliation, International Joint Laboratory shall be listed as an affiliation.

Payment of the Grant (Reimbursement)

Funds will be disbursed via direct deposit (BOC[1] International Transfer) and paid out in several instalments over the duration of the project. An initial payment will be made on execution of the grant agreement based on forecast eligible expenditure for the first quarter which may be followed by one or more interim payments, based on actual eligible expenditure following execution of the grant agreement.

Receipts/invoices and expense reports (electronic or paper) should be submitted for reimbursement. Payments are subject to satisfactory progress on the project, compliance by the fund recipients with its obligations and availability of Program funds. A final payment of at least five percent of the Grant will be withheld until the fund recipients submits a satisfactory final report (see above Conditions of the Award) demonstrating end of project reporting obligations have been met.

Contact Information

For financial issues related to eligibility, budgeting, review of the proposals and project requirements, please contact:psychlab@zznu.edu.cn

[1] Bank of China. Real time exchange rates are subject to change.