Canada-Brazil Awards - Joint Research Projects

Guidelines

The Canada-Brazil Awards – Joint Research Projects support exchanges of research teams collaborating on bilateral research projects. The projects must engage in collaborative research in mutually beneficial areas of research that is of benefit to both Canada and Brazil. Applicants must clearly explain the advantages of the partnership for both countries, and indicate if a joint peer-reviewed article or book publication is anticipated upon completion of the project.

Award value and duration

Funding for the Canada-Brazil Awards - Joint Research Projects is made available by Global Affairs Canada through its legal title: the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).

Project activities should be scheduled over 24 months and must begin between April 2020 and September 2020.

Duration of the projects

The project duration is two years.

Modalities and duration of the scholarships (study missions) for Canadians

Although CAPES will only provide scholarships for Brazilian PhD students for a minimum of six months, if agreed by the Brazilian Project Lead and Brazilian institutions, the Canadian team can include Canadian Master’s level students. The same flexibility is granted to the Canadian team to send students to Brazil for four months instead of six months.

Canadian teams

On behalf of the Government of Canada, DFATD provides funding for a maximum of five Canadian Project Members (graduate students) per project, per year for a maximum period of six months in Brazil. Funding will also be provided to the Canadian Project Lead for a short-term faculty visit to Brazil per year.

The scholarship value is:

• A) CAD 7,200 for the Canadian Project where Members will travel for a research exchange for a minimum period of four months; or
• B) CAD 9,700 for the Canadian Project where Members will travel for a research exchange for a minimum of five to six months; or
• C) CAD 2,700 for the Canadian Project where the Lead will travel for a faculty visit for a minimum period of seven days.

In addition to the funds allocated to the Canadian Project Lead and Project Members, the Canadian institution may also claim CAD 500 per member to assist with administrative costs associated with the joint research project.

Canadian Project Members (graduate students) can divide their exchanges into more than one trip to Brazil with the permission of their Brazilian partner. To receive the full scholarship amount, their combined exchange period must be a minimum of four months for projects in Category A or a minimum of five to six months for projects in Category B. If the participants travel to Brazil for less than the minimum durations, the funding will be prorated.

Canadian institutions will disburse funds to the Canadian Project Members and Project Lead to contribute to the following costs:

• visa and/or study/work permit expenses;
• return airfare, to Brazil by the most direct and economical route;
• health insurance;
• living expenses;
• ground transportation expenses; and
• books and supplies required for the research, excluding computers and similar devices.

Canadian institutions may include a second Canadian institution providing one institution acts as the lead institution and be identified as such in the proposal.

Note – Additional features: Pending confirmation of extra funding and the demonstrated need of the applicant, DFATD will consider the following additional features to better align with the reciprocal offer by Brazil to Brazilian teams:

• a second short-term faculty visit to Brazil for the Canadian Project Lead; and
• expenses for consumable materials (e.g., research materials).

The show of funding needs by the applicant for these additional features must be presented in the online application form under Section 7: Project Activities, and in the Budget Proposal to be sent by email.

Confirmation of additional funds for these features will be announced to successful Project Leads.

Brazilian teams

On behalf of the Government of Brazil, CAPES will provide funding for the Brazilian team. Information regarding the project funding and scholarship values related to the Brazil project team can be accessed on the CAPES website (Portuguese only).

Payment procedure

The Canadian institution will receive funding in each fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) for all approved Canadian participants (Project Members and Project Lead) of the joint research project in the form of a contribution agreement and will be responsible for providing the funds to Project Members and the Project Lead.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Contribution Agreement, funding will be disbursed by cheque to the Canadian institution following receipt of the following supporting documents:

• the Contribution Agreement signed by both the designated authority at the Canadian institution and the designated authority at DFATD; and
• a Cash Flow Statement submitted by the Canadian institution based on the travel of Canadian Project Members and Project Leads to Brazil.

Funds will be disbursed to the Project Members and the Project Lead according to the Canadian institution’s internal processes and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Contribution Agreement. All non-allocated funds must be returned to DFATD via the scholarship program administrator if any members of the research team do not take up the award.

Eligibility

This competition is open to research teams from Canadian and Brazilian universities. The coordination of the project will be the responsibility of both the Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads and the teams will consist of graduate Project Members from Canadian institutions and PhD Project Members from Brazilian institutions.

Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads:

• must be citizens or permanent residents of the country of their institution;
• must be active faculty members or academic staff on sabbatical leave, of a recognized higher education or equivalent degree granting institution;
• must hold a PhD and must have held the title of doctor for at least four years;
• must be proficient in the language of instruction at the Canadian institution (English or French); and
• who are retired faculty members are not eligible.

Canadian and Brazilian Project Members:

• must be citizens or permanent residents of the country of their institution;
• must be graduate students – Canadian institutions may propose both Master’s and PhD students with the agreement of their Brazil partner institution;
• must be enrolled full-time at a post-secondary institution in their country of origin and paying the tuition fees required by that institution for the full duration of the exchange;
• must be proficient in the language of instruction at the Canadian institution (English or French); and
• already participating in an exchange program in Canada or in Brazil are not eligible.

Terms and conditions

A submitted application must meet the following terms and conditions to be considered for funding.

• The Canadian institution must be recognized by its provincial or territorial government.
• The Canadian institution hosting the Brazilians must waive tuition and/or academic fees for selected students and researchers, as scholarship recipients must be registered full-time and paying tuition to their home institution.
• The Canadian institution must inform both the candidate and their home institution of any mandatory fees that, in exceptional cases, cannot be waived, prior to applying for a scholarship on the candidate's behalf.
• Scholarships are not taxable for either the Canadian institution or the scholarship recipient.
• There must be a Memorandum of Understanding or written agreement between the collaborating Canadian and Brazilian institutions indicating that they intend to collaborate on the same research project and that both institutions agree to waive tuition fees for the students they are hosting.
• No provision will be made for released time, stipends, salaries, or overhead costs to the institution.
• The Canadian Project Lead should present a list of Canadian Project Members ready to commence their studies in Brazil as early as April 1, 2020.
• Priority will be given to projects that have not received funding in previous competitions under the Canada-Brazil Awards - Joint Research Projects.
• Funding cannot be deferred.
• For the Canadian Project Lead and Project Members, travel to Brazil may commence as early as April 1 but no later than March 15 of the same fiscal year.

The Canadian and Brazilian teams:

• must be composed of up to five graduate students (excluding the Project Lead). In the case of the Canadian team, the Canadian Project Lead should have already recruited up to five graduate students for at least the first year of the project, and Canadian institutions may include both Master’s and PhD students with the agreement of their Brazil project partner. In the case of the Brazilian team, it must be composed of up to three PhD students and two Project Leads per year; 
• must work toward a joint peer-reviewed article or book publication from an academic publisher following the completion of the project;
• will be required to provide qualitative and quantitative reports during the scholarship period;
• must ensure that Project Members (graduate students) are exempt of tuition or academic fees at the partner host institution; and
• make arrangements relating to the research project, including obtaining the necessary visa and study permits, accommodations, local travel, study/research plans, including inter alia appointments with academics and other resource personnel, access to libraries, laboratories and other study centres, as required.

The participating institutions:

• must agree to host the Project Members and Project Lead from the partner institution.

Any questions?

All inquiries regarding this scholarship in Canada should be directed to: scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca or 613-237-4820.

Deadline

The deadline to submit an online application to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) is 11:59 p.m. EDT, November 26, 2019. Applications must be submitted by the Canadian Project Leads, endorsed by their Canadian institutions, in collaboration with their Brazilian counterparts. Late applications will not be considered.

The Brazilian Project Lead must also submit an online application to the Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) by 05:00 p.m. (Brasilia time) on November 26, 2019.

Any application submitted only to one of the agencies will not be considered.

It is the responsibility of the Canadian Project Lead to ensure that supporting documents required for the DFATD application are received by the deadline. Supporting documents, other than those requested, will not be accepted.

Notification

Canadian Project Leads should be contacted by the end of March 2020 by the scholarship administrator regarding the status of their proposal.

Canadian institutions with a successful proposal will receive a contribution agreement with DFATD for the administration and disbursement of scholarship funds to the Canadian research team.

Application process

Instructions

Although the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) and the Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) have issued similar application procedures and program guidelines, some important differences exist to reflect country-specific needs.

Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads:

• must only use the application forms and program guidelines issued by their respective government. Canadian Project Leads must submit an application to DFATD. Brazilian Project Leads must submit an application to CAPES (Portuguese only); and
• should work together and submit similar proposals to DFATD and CAPES respectively in order to facilitate a comparable evaluation. Project Leads from both sides must agree on the two parallel applications.

Canadian Project Leads must:

• submit the online documentation listed below after making arrangements with Brazilian Project Leads;
• enter the information directly into the field or copy and paste it from another source. Applicants should refrain from using the tab keys when entering the information directly. Certain web-based special characters such as HTML tags may cause unpredictable results in the text, or prevent successful submission of an application. The information will appear as plain text;
• enter data in the fields provided, following instructions for each item (the official name of the Brazilian institution must be provided in Portuguese);
• verify the data prior to submission as well as agree to the Privacy Notice and Declaration and Permission Statements by checking their respective boxes; and
• click SUBMIT to finalize the online application. A confirmation page and reference number will appear after submission.

Supporting documents to upload to the application form

The following eight documents must be uploaded and attached to the online application form in one of the following formats: .pdf, .jpg, .doc, .docx, .txt or .gif. Each document must be smaller than 5 Mb in order for the application to upload successfully. All supporting and additional documents must be submitted in English or French.

• Recommendation letters (two) for the Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads: provided by a department head, for each of the two Project Leads validating their academic achievements and supporting their ability to lead the project, stamped and/or signed. Recommenders from both countries must use the Canada-Brazil Awards – Joint Research Projects Recommendation Statement Form
• Resumes (two) of the Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads: one resume for each of the two Project Leads, listing recent scholarly publications, scholarships and awards. Each document should not exceed three pages.
• Proof of citizenship or permanent residency (two) for the Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads: copies of passports or national identity documents with valid dates. NOTE: Both the Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads’ proof of citizenship or permanent residency must be uploaded with the resume.
• Privacy Notice Statement: a copy of the Privacy Notice Statement for non-Canadian participants signed by the Brazilian Project Lead.
• Memorandum of Understanding or written agreement: a copy of this document is required and must be signed by authorized representatives of the collaborating Canadian and Brazilian institutions.

Note – for all applicants: Applications and documents that are not submitted in English or French and/or do not respect the maximum number of pages specified will result in the disqualification of the applicant.

The Canadian Project Lead must submit a completed online application form and attach all supporting documents.

Additional documents to submit by email

In addition to submitting the online application, the following supporting documents must be submitted by email to scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca.

• Budget proposal: Outlining how the scholarship funding will cover the necessary expenses of the proposed two-year project.
• List of Canadian Project Members (graduate students): should include information on up to 5 students, including their names, periods of study abroad and their involvement in the project, for at least the first year of the project. Project Leads must use the Canada-Brazil Awards – Joint Research Projects Canadian Project Members Form
• Letter of endorsement from the Canadian institution: should state that a Contribution Agreement will be signed between DFATD and the Canadian institution for the administration and disbursement of the funding if the project is successful.  

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that these documents are received at CBIE by the deadline.

Note - for selected projects only: Following the final selection, additional information will be requested from the Canadian and Brazilian team members who will receive funding. Each participating Project Member (student) will be required to submit a registration form, before funding is released.

Selection process

All applications received by the deadline and that meet the eligibility criteria will be reviewed on academic merit in Canada and Brazil through peer review boards in their respective countries.

Pre-selected proposals will then be evaluated by a joint Canadian and Brazilian Selection Committee. In making the final selection, attention will be given to projects supporting key areas of bilateral cooperation and mutual interest which encourage research collaboration as well as a high degree of graduate student mobility. Gender representation will also be considered.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Proposed research: the goals and methodology of the proposed research, relevance of the partnership, the contribution of the research project to strengthen linkages between Canada and Brazil, the alignment of the proposal with the institution’s strategic priorities, the anticipated student mobility and impact on student learning, expected outcomes, overall feasibility, innovation of project, impact of the project at the provincial and federal levels in Canada, and the impact of the project within the research field.
• Aptitudes of the Canadian and Brazilian Project Leads: the strength of letters of reference, resumes, as well as the interpersonal and leadership abilities. Each Project Lead must have relevant research experience and/or proven technical-scientific skills to successfully undertake the project in addition to the ability to recruit enough Project Members (graduate students) to participate in the project.
• Proposal: quality and completeness of the proposal and all submitted documents.

Conditions

Only successful candidates will receive feedback from the scholarship administrator. These scholarships are subject to the availability of funding from the Governments of Canada and Brazil.

Background

The Canada-Brazil Awards – Joint Research Projects is the first scholarship program created in the context of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Academic Mobility and Scientific Cooperation signed in August 2010 between the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) of Canada and the Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) of Brazil.