The IsDB-TWAS Grants for Research Collaboration in Sustainability Sciences

Application Deadline: 12 September 2019

The UN Sustainable Development Goals present humanity – and the global research community – with urgent challenges. TWAS and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) are offering one competitive Grant for Research Collaboration in Sustainability Sciences. The goal: provide incentives for researchers from 57 IsDB member countries to work together on shared challenges.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and TWAS have partnered to promote and support research on key challenges related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The IsDB-TWAS Grants for Research Collaboration in Sustainability Sciences programme is fully funded by the IsDB and established to develop collaboration between researchers of IsDB member countries. Under this programme, qualified researchers from 57 IsDB countries working in the fields of sustainability science are invited to form a joint research collaboration consisting of two groups from different countries working on a common problem.

The grant amounts to a maximum of USD 50,000 per group ­­– USD 100,000 total per grant. A grant is normally provided for a period of 24 months. The programme will choose one project per year.

Grants will enable the collaborating groups to purchase the research equipment and strengthen the facilities they need to enhance their partnership and productivity and to support the mobility of young scientists between the participating institutions for training purposes. Such visits should have a duration of two-four weeks. Partners should ensure, through the grant, that enough consumable supplies are available during such visits.

The IsDB-TWAS Grants for Research Collaboration in Sustainability Sciences will be awarded to those projects, which demonstrate the best potential for transformative research and most likely to yield a concrete impact on society.

A grant may be used to purchase scientific equipment and consumables and support the travel of scientists between the two participating institutions. The grant may also cover, where justified, expenses related to field work. The grant does not cover salaries of researchers and/or students. In addition, the purchase of laptop computers and laboratory animals are not supported.

Research Areas

The Research Grants programme provides support for research projects in the following fields (please refer to the guidelines for details):

• Sustainable Agriculture
• Education
• Education for Sustainable Development 
• Climate Change
• Energy
• Sustainable cities
• Responsible growth
• Waste management
• Population growth
• Green chemistry
• Biodiversity
• Plastic pollution and Micro-plastics
• Water and hygiene

Eligibility Criteria

• Each Principle Investigator (PI) must be a national of an IsDB member country and hold a PhD with good research experience and lead each research group. (Note: The PI will be responsible for the coordination of the research, submission of requested documentation and reporting of the expenses. All TWAS correspondence will be with each PI).
• One PI MUST be from an IsDB Least Developed Member Country (listed in green below) and the other from any of the eligible IsDB member countries.
• Each member of the group should operate in a university or research institution in one of the IsDB member countries and should be represented in the proposal by a PI. No age limit is applied to the applicant.
• Applications from women scientists are especially encouraged.
• Individual young scientists or leaders of research units currently holding a TWAS Research Grant in the Basic Sciences are not eligible.

How to apply:

• Applications must be submitted online via the TWAS online portal. The link to this page is found at the bottom of this page.
• Applications not submitted via this online portal will not be considered.
• No applications will be accepted after the deadline. Therefore, it is recommended to submit your electronic application as early as possible.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Please note that a researcher may only submit one application at a time and for only one kind of grant (either as an IsDB-TWAS grant or as an individual grant, as a research unit, COMSTECH or the OWSD Early Career Women Scientists (ECWS) Fellowship). Applicants cannot apply for other TWAS programmes i.e. Postdoctoral, Visiting Scholar and Visiting Researcher programme within the same year in order to be present in their home country throughout the duration of the grant.
• For any queries please write to [email protected]

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the IsDB-TWAS Grants for Research Collaboration in Sustainability Sciences