The FIG Foundation will be providing scholarships of up to 4,000 euros to
PhD students.
Applicants shall:
be studying for a PhD degree and registered solely in a
surveying/geomatics academic programme that teaches surveying[1]
in a country listed by the World Bank as a low-income, lower-middle or
upper-middle income economy[2],
must have had a paper accepted by a peer reviewed international
journal based on their doctoral research project; applicants should be
the lead author, and the paper should be co-authored with their
supervisor,
should not have submitted their final thesis at the application
deadline.
Successful applicants will qualify for a further grant of up to 3,000
euros to attend and present a peer reviewed paper at a FIG conference.
Applications will be judged on the quality of the application and need.
In the event that two excellent applications are judged to be of equal
quality, applications from low-income and lower-middle income countries will
be preferred.
Applications are to be sent to
fig.foundation@fig.net with “FIG Foundation PhD Scholarship Application”
shown in Subject Line. Applicants are not to contact Foundation
directors individually. Decisions are final. No correspondence will be
entered into during or after the competition.
DOCUMENTATION
Deadline 15 February 2019.
Applicants should submit the following set of documents in English in the
order set out below as a single file in PDF format on A4 size paper:
A cover sheet showing the candidate’s personal details and those of
his/her institution.
A 200 word abstract. This should be written in terms understandable
to the lay person; similar to a press release and which the FIG
Foundation could actually use as a press release in the event of a
successful application.
A one page research proposal as per the template below on A4 size
paper. Note that the one page limit will be strictly enforced; material
that extends beyond one page will be deleted.
A copy of the paper that has been re-submitted to the journal after
corrections have been completed.
A letter from the editor of the journal indicating that the paper
has been accepted and that the necessary corrections have been completed
satisfactorily.
The journal paper’s referees’ reports.
A list of peer reviewed journal publications over the last 6 years
using the International Journal of Geographical Information Science
(IJGIS) reference list format. See Notes for Authors on the IJGIS
website.
A list of research funding obtained over the past 5 years,
indicating which grants are peer reviewed or not.
A description of research compliance, the research account and
activity auditing structures and processes in their institution. For
example, if a scientist spends money inappropriately, are there
structures in place to refund the granting agency?
A copy of the ethics approval notice for the research from the
institution if that is relevant to the grant application. If ethics
clearance is not required, then this should be stated in the
application.
A budget indicating how the funds will be spent and a one page
justification of the budget. Note that as a general rule, equipment will
not be funded. Travel to FIG Conferences to present results and tuition
fees may be included in the budget. Per diems for field work will not be
funded, but reasonable actual costs of field work are refundable.
GOVERNANCE
Grant holders are expected to file a report, co-signed by their
supervisor and department head, within a year of receiving their grant
indicating how the money was spent. Supervisors of successful applicants
will be contacted to confirm that they are prepared to do this before any
money is handed over. Supervisors should also indicate that they are aware
of point 9 above.
FIG Foundation grants do not pay University overhead or administration
assistant costs. Successful applicants will have to seek exemption if their
institution requires a portion of research grants for overhead.
PROPOSAL TEMPLATE
Section 1 below, should be a maximum of one A4 page, typed in single
spaced Times New Roman 12 point font using the stipulated headings. Any
additional pages will be deleted from the proposal. Use layman’s language;
evaluators are unlikely to be familiar with jargon.
RESEARCH PROJECT TITLE – new page - (maximum one line
Times New Roman 12 point capitals)
Research Objective: State in a sentence or two the
central objective of the research.
Significance of the Research / Problem:
Why is this research worth doing? What problem or situation does it address?
What are the practical applications of the research? What does it contribute
to knowledge?
Current State of Knowledge / Room for Improvement/Gaps:
What is the existing theory in the particular field? What aspects of
existing theory are open to challenge or further development?
Research Methodology and Methods:
Describe the theoretical foundation of your work, the primary strategy of
inquiry, and the methods of data collection and analysis.
Key Contribution: Describe the key contribution(s) of
this research project, both practical (i.e. to society at large) and
theoretical.
References – new page - in IJGIS format.
Sources of Useful Information for Writing a
Proper Grant Proposal:
There are a number of articles on the internet on how to write successful
grant proposals and “grantsmanship”. Do an internet search on how to write
successful Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
applications. Here are some suggestions.
