Department of Science and Technology of the Republic of South Africa and the Federal Ministry of Science

• To contribute to scientific advancement in both countries by funding researchers’ mobility in the frame of joint research projects in specified research fields;
• To provide an opportunity for young researchers in the two countries to meet and interact;
• To support the advancement of basic research; and
• To contribute meaningfully to research capacity development.

• Biotechnology
• Information Communication Technology (ICT)
• Renewable Energy
• Health Sciences
• Food and Nutrition
• Mining
• Security and Sustainable Agriculture

• The projects will be supported for a period of two years (projects starting January 2017 and ending December 2018).

Eligibility Requirements:

• This call is open to working researchers residing in South Africa and affiliated with a recognised higher education or research institution such as a university, university of technology or science council.
• Commercial institutions and private education institutions are not eligible to apply under this programme.
• The South African applicant must be in possession of a PhD.

• It is up to the applicants to find their own research partners.
• Proposals must be received in both South Africa (NRF) and Austria (OeAD GmbH).
• Proposals which have not been received in both countries will not be considered for funding. The call process is highly competitive therefore application does not guarantee funding. The evaluation of applications from both countries should have positive ratings before consideration for funding. Both the NRF and the OeAD GmbH will not be held responsible for non-submission, administration or evaluation of the application in the partner country.

• Applications must be submitted through an online application process to the NRF by accessing the link: https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/
• Register/Login using your ID number and password.
• Go to “My applications” and select “create new application”.
• Select the call for which you are applying for: SA-Austria 2016 Joint Call for Proposals.
• Remember to complete all sections of the application as indicated on the online application form.
• Please attach the necessary documents in PDF file in the following order: CV of partner, budget of partner and the signed page of the partner.
• Remember to submit your application on completion.
• Completed applications will go to the host university for verification before being forwarded to the NRF for further processing.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be considered (please refer to call document for details on eligibility).
• Applications submitted outside the NRF Online Submission system will not be accepted.
• No hard copies will be accepted and will automatically be disqualified by the NRF.
• Only applications endorsed by the research office or its equivalent at higher education or research institutions will be accepted.
• Please contact the university research office if you have any queries

• The total amount requested from the NRF should not exceed R200 000 per project.
• Funding will be made available for a maximum of two years, to be paid in annual installments (R100 000 per year) and exclusively for research activities commencing in 2017.
• This amount excludes the Principal Investigator’s costs (travel and accommodation) of attending both the launching and closing workshop organized by the funders. The cost for the Principal Investigator’s participation in these two workshops will be a top-up on the overall amount requested (R200 000) for project activities and should be included in the project application.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the SOUTH AFRICA/AUSTRIA JOINT SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COOPERATION