Research at Ashoka

Finding Funding

Intramural Funding

With the purpose to foster research and provide support infrastructure for research in different fields, the University has instituted Individual Annual Research Grants. The internal grant covers expenses related to research and academic requirements of faculty. In addition to internal funding, the faculty at Ashoka University is expected to apply for extramural grants from national and international funding agencies.

RDO and many other offices across campus offer internal funding to help advance scholarly projects. The university has instituted Individual Annual Research Grants to support expenses related to research and academic requirements of members of the faculty.

To enable the new faculty members to get started with their research as quickly as possible, start-up grants are provided based on a proposal submitted by the new faculty member, and a presentation before the committee. Substantial grants are also provided for equipment necessary to sustain a new faculty member’s research for a couple of years, during which time the expectation is that the faculty member would raise grants from various other funding sources to continue their research.

New idea grants

• To seed research in new areas/motivate faculty to take up high-risk, high-reward research
• Funds for meetings, generate some preliminary data 

 

Extramural Funding

Some potential extramural funding sources are described below:

• Natural Sciences: DBT, DST, ICMR, SERB, CSIR, India Alliance
• Social Sciences: ICSSR, Wellcome Trust, Azim Premji Foundation, International Growth Centre, CSRI, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Arts and Humanities: Andrew-Mellon Foundation, EHESS
• International Collaborative Funding: IUSSTF, UKIERI, British Council, USIEF, CEFIPRA
• Academia-Industry linkages: BIRAC, TDB, GITA
• For Early Career Researchers: DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance ECF, SERB N-PDF

Funding Process

Pre-Funding Process

The staff of the RDO closely administer intra-mural grants and extramural grants received from the funding agencies for research. RDO assists the faculty/researchers in both the pre-funding process and post-funding management.

• Identification of the national and international funding source/agencies
• Preparation and submission of a proposal
• Preparation of budget
• Activation of an award

The Pre-Funding process starts with looking for funding agencies, followed by writing a proposal. The PI, in consultation with the RDO, prepares a budget for the proposed project, followed by assembling grant applications. PI has to submit the proposal to respective funding agencies. The next step includes the task of negotiating the award money required for the proposed project.  If the fund gets approved for the project, the concerned PI has to intimate the RDO regarding an active grant and the budget approved by the funding agency.

 

Grant Management

After the grant has been awarded and activated, a unique internal code is generated by RDO through which the PIs and finance team can manage grants in the following ways:

• Utilisation of Funds – RDO assists the PIs in the process of reimbursement, borrowing an advance from the grant, purchases for their research and formalities related to travelling while the grant is active.
• Hiring Research Personnel – Scholar Management Wing of RDO assists the PIs in recruiting project staff for their projects and PhD Scholars in all departments. The hiring process of research personnel adheres to the regulations specified by respective funding agencies. The Scholar Management Wing helps the PI and research personnel with appointment and extending/updating and terminating of their contracts with the university.  
• Progress Report – PIs are expected to complete a regular progress report for funded projects as per the funding agency’s prescribed format. RDO assists the PIs to get authorization from various university offices and forward the same to the funding agencies.
• Reporting on Grants – RDO assists PIs to generate Statement of Expenditure and Utilization Certificate for externally funded grants as per the guidelines listed by the funding agency. RDO also helps the PIs in verifying information about expenses and getting the documents authorized from the respective authorities.

Research Personnel at Ashoka

Scholar Management Wing of RDO assists the PIs in recruiting project staff for their projects and PhD Scholars in all departments. The hiring process of research personnel adheres to the regulations specified by respective funding agencies. The Scholar Management Wing helps the PI and research personnel with appointment and extending/updating and terminating of their contracts with the university.  The Scholar Management wing also takes care of the remuneration and contingency disbursement of all Research Personnel working at Ashoka.  The SM Wing of Research and Development Office acts as a liaison between all administrative departments and the Research Personnel for all their needs and requirements. The University offers various PhD programs and post-doctoral programs. For more information:

https://www.ashoka.edu.in/pages/biology-researchstaff-365

https://www.ashoka.edu.in/pages/phd-prog-99

Compliances

Overhead and Consultancy

Indirect costs or institutional overhead costs represent the costs incurred by the university with the purpose to support research of the PIs. Grant applications from Ashoka should include institutional overheads at a minimum of 10 % or as per funding agency norms. RDO undertakes negotiations on overheads with funding agencies if required.

Consultancy projects require careful negotiations between the PIs, Ashoka University, and the commissioning organisation to ensure the university’s safeguarding of intellectual rights. RDO facilitates discussions on the terms of the agreement with client organisations on behalf of the university. RDO also undertakes due diligence on consultancy agreement drafts, working in conjunction with other internal teams, including the legal team and other offices as required. 

 

Biosafety (details of Biosafety committee)

 

Research Ethics

Ashoka’s IRB adheres to research ethics followed in academia across various disciplines. IRB has its guidelines and assessment procedure that is followed strictly by the board members while going through the research proposals papers. For more details:

https://www.ashoka.edu.in/pages/institutional-review-board-39