Deadline: June 14, 2018
The 2018 BCFN YES! Research Grant Competition invites young PhD and postdoc researchers from any background and nationality to submit a research project to improve the sustainability of the food system. The goal of the contest is to find solutions to the food paradoxes, through innovative, practical and multi-disciplinary ideas.
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) focuses on young talents by supporting higher education and interdisciplinary research, to advance the knowledge base in food and sustainability. The Research Grant is intended to support researchers in the early stage of their career, who are pursuing or have completed a PhD, participating as individual or as a team. The BCFN YES! Research Grant Competition encourages the participation of teams from different disciplines and/or countries who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches.
The award is a 20.000 € research grant applied to a one-year investigation. A maximum of three teams will be awarded the Research Grant.
Research fields
The 2018 BCFN YES! calls for concrete research proposals for making more sustainable the agri-food system (in terms of environmental, social, health and/or economic aspects), that are coherent with the BCFN research projects. The BCFN YES! Research Grant Competition offers the opportunity to put into action concrete proposals that will have the objective of making more sustainable the agri-food system (in terms of environmental, social, health and/or economic aspects) and coherent with the BCFN research projects.
Research proposals are to be proposed in one or more of the following areas:
- Sustainable and healthy dietary patterns;
- Sustainable agriculture;
- Food security.
The BCFN wants to support studies that are innovative, have a promise of major impact, are result-oriented and look at food systems and food value chains with a systemic approach, preferably, where relevant, blending scientific knowledge with local knowledge. Country case studies and identification of best practice are strongly encouraged.
Eligibility
- The 2018 BCFN YES! is designed for individual or multidisciplinary and cross-national research teams of a maximum of three components. The Competition encourages the participation of teams from different disciplines and countries who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches.
- Applicants who are currently pursuing doctoral degrees are eligible, as well as researchers with a completed PhD. All applicants must be/have enrolled after January 1st, 2012, included.
- All participants must be under the age of 35 at the date of November 28, 2018.
BCFN encourages submission of:
- Either new or ongoing research projects;
- Either unfunded proposals projects that are co-financed by a research institute, trust, foundation, university, private companies, venture capital funds, angel investors. Details of research timeline and supplemental sources of financial support should be specified in the application form.
Evaluation Criteria
The BCFN YES! Research Grant Competition Jury will evaluate the proposals in two stages, with the assistance of additional members (experts in specific sectors) in those cases where the methodology warrants. The proposals will be judged on:
- Consistency with the topic areas and the BCFN Foundation’s mission;
- Significance of the problem;
- Design of the study;
- Actionability, outcomes and impact;
- The investigator’s qualifications (possession of the requisite skills);
- The appropriateness of the schedule and the likelihood that the work will be accomplished on time;
- Budget allocation;
- Innovation;
- Scalability;
Outreach potential; - Completeness of the application.
Application
The submission requires application completed in English, in each part exclusively on the BCFN Website. Proposals and documents submitted by email will not be accepted.
For more information, visit BCFN YES! Research Grant.
