PCARI Request for Proposal

Request for Proposals Guidelines

I. Funding Opportunity Description
A. Background and Scope of Work
The Philippine-California Advanced Research Institutes (PCARI) is a project of the Philippine
governments Commission on Higher Education (CHED), in collaboration with California-based and
leading Philippine academic institutions, to establish a platform for capacity-building to fulfill the
Philippine governments goal of mobilizing knowledge for greater productivity and economic growth.
In support of this goal, two parallel PCARI institutes, representing two key technology areas
identified as the focus for the development of industry in the Philippines, have been established: 1)
the Institute for Information Infrastructure Development (IIID), and 2) the Institute for Health
Innovation and Translational Medicine (IHITM).
PCARI-IIID will bring together leading academics, researchers and industrial partners to promote
innovation through research and development and capacity-building in vital information and
communications technologies for the Philippines, with emphasis on resilient cyber-physical
infrastructure, energy, online education, e-governance and agriculture. The institute will work across
a portfolio of high-impact, innovative projects that aim to develop relevant technologies closer to
commercialization, as well as upstream scientific projects that will build research capabilities and
infrastructure in selected local Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). By stimulating an ecosystem of
Research / Development / Deployment (RDD), the IIID aims to help the Philippines to leapfrog the
development of an advanced and globally-competitive information and communications technology
industry.
PCARI-IHITM will undertake research and development activities, including capacity-building, to
address pressing health challenges in the Philippines by bringing together experts in clinical and
translational research, clinical trials, clinical care, and health care delivery to drive health-related
innovation in the Philippines the implementation of science-based health policy, and beyond.
Building on existing models and expertise, the institute will focus on developing robust research and
clinical capacity within the Philippines in order to implement a science-based health policy. The
research and capacity-building activities aim to introduce new devices and methods of diagnosis and
drug development leading to the testing and implementation of high quality, and cost-effective
models of delivering healthcare. At the same time, PCARI-IHITM will develop new materials and
products from agriculture that will improve nutrition and general well-being as well as platforms for
preventive medicine, thus, enhancing the quality of life and increasing life span.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

B. Thematic Areas
Proposals will be developed for either the IIID, IHITM or for projects to be undertaken jointly by the
two institutes.
PCARI-IIID: Advances in electronics and computing have led to smaller, low power, capable,
connected devices and systems being deployed ubiquitously that enable robust networked societies
characterized by on-demand availability of information. Many physical systems such as power grids,
water distribution utilities, transportation and supply chain networks, for example, increasingly
depend on reliable computing and communications infrastructure that provide timely and accurate
information to enhance reliability, efficiency and quality of service. This information infrastructure
involves devices, networks, systems, and processes that contribute to the creation, storage,
exchange and processing of electronic data towards enabling such actionable information.
Submitted proposals to PCARI-IIID must target innovations that enable resilient information
infrastructure for applications in, but not limited to, disaster risk management and response;
environmental monitoring; precision agriculture and food security; resource assessment;
transportation; smart buildings and environments; energy generation, transmission, distribution,
storage, monitoring and control; renewable energy; water supply and distribution systems; online
education, e-government and national security.

PCARI-IHITM: Projects must address how they will impact one or more of the Philippines health
priorities as described through the following tables on Mortality and Morbidity rates based on the
five- year (2004-2008) average data from the website of the Philippine Department of Health.
DOH Website Data on 5-Year Average (2004-2008) & 2009:
Mortality
5-Year Average (2004-2008) & 2009*
1. Diseases of the Heart
2. Diseases of the Vascular System

Morbidity
5-Year Average (2004-2008) & 2009*
1. Acute Respiratory Infection**
2. Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection and Pneumonia

3. Malignant Neoplasms

3. Bronchitis/Bronchiolitis

4. Pneumonia

4. Hypertension

5. Accidents**

5. Acute Watery Diarrhea

6. Tuberculosis, all forms

6. Influenza

7. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases

7. Urinary Tract Infection**

8. Diabetes Mellitus

8. TB Respiratory

9. Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and Nephrosis

9. Injuries**

10. Certain conditions originating in the

Perinatal Period

10. Acute Febrile Illness***

Note: Excludes ill-defined and unknown causes of mortality

* reference year
** External causes of Mortality
http://www.doh.gov.ph/node/198.html

Note: *
reference year
** ARI was included in the list of notifiable diseases in 2008 only,
while UTI and Injuries are new in the list
*** Acute Febrile illness was included in the list of notifiable
diseases in 2006 only, 3-year average only
http://www.doh.gov.ph/kp/statistics/morbidity.html#2009

**For this 3rd round, proposals are encouraged in the fields of Health Innovation &
Translational Medicine and ICT for Agriculture**
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PCARI Request for Proposal

C. Expected Outputs and Outcomes

Expected outputs from the research and development and capacity building projects to be funded
under this announcement should include any of the PCARI Thematic Areas. The term output means
an activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to project goals and objectives that will be
produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date.
Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable or demonstrable during a
funding period. Specific outputs and outcomes must be clearly identified in the proposal form,
including content and timing.
The reporting requirements for each project are described in Section VI.B. Multi-year projects will
only be eligible for ongoing funding upon receipt and approval of required reports.
Reports expected at the end of the project may include a commercialization and/or deployment
plan, marketing plan, technical papers or reports, and curriculum materials. For each project, the
Project Leader (PL) (Philippines side) and the Principal Investigator (PI) (California side) will work with
their Institute lead to ensure outputs and outcomes are relevant and affordable.
Projects to be funded under this announcement are expected to produce outcomes that address
multiple areas of the following:
a)

Impact:
(1) Addresses PCARI research priorities as identified in the Thematic Areas descriptions
above.
(2) Addresses a significant need; there is a potential to bring about and sustain
technology transfer or commercialization activities and/or measurably improve
health.
(3) Targets a wide scope of stakeholders including the poor, marginalized and
vulnerable sectors.

b)

Science & Achievability:

(1) Exhibits strong scientific rationale, preferably with preliminary work already
performed.
(2) Has potential for demonstrable results in the short-term (1-2 years). Results are
expected to solve Philippine needs and be superior to existing solutions in the
market.
(3) Demonstrates strong rationale for a competitive advantage for the Philippines or the
research team in the field of study.
(4) Involves capable research team.
(5) Has reasonable budget.
(6) Proposes sufficient duration to complete activities.
(7) Exhibits development feasibility.
(8) Possesses commercial attractiveness.
(9) Discloses intellectual property status, potential restrictions for use and related
issues.

c)

Contribution to overall mission of PCARI:

(1) Presents strong potential to benefit Philippine society through improvement of the
Philippine economy and improvement in the quality of life of Filipinos.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

(2) Presents strong potential for sustained partnerships between researchers in the
Philippines and California-based institutions (guidance will be provided to facilitate
these partnerships).
(3) Integrates trainees and students pursuing graduate degrees from the Philippines
into the project.
(4) Creates re-usable infrastructure (services/resources/networks) in the Philippines
that can be leveraged for future projects.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Opportunity
The award range will be subject to availability of funds and the quality of the proposals received.
Philippine Project Leaders of successful proposals are eligible for the CHED Research Chair Award
(CMO No. 18 series of 2015).
If additional funding becomes available after the original selections, PCARI reserves the right to
make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with the PCARI policy.

B. Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation

Approved project proposals must start within thirty (30) calendar days upon the Universitys receipt
of the Notice to Proceed (NTP) from CHED.

C. Funding Agreement
The funding for selected projects will come from CHED and will be covered by a tripartite Research
Funding Agreement (RFA).

D. Supplementary Information
All degree and non-degree training components (tuition and school fees, stipend, travel, books, etc.)
shall be packaged as a separate proposal and will be funded by either the PCARI Scholarship Project
or the Capacity Building for R & D Project. However the funding requirements for their research
must be incorporated in the budget for the project.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Entities
Proposals will be accepted from the California-based institutions; the CHED Centers of
Excellence/Development (COE/COD), member universities of the National Science Consortium (NSC)
and Department of Science and Technology-Engineering Research and Development for Technology
(DOST-ERDT) and other Philippine HEIs.

B. Cost Sharing and Matching

Counterpart funding whether in cash or in kind should be indicated by the proponents in their
proposals.

C. Eligible Proposals
Only proposals that meet all of the following requirements will be evaluated according to the
ranking factors in Section I.C Expected Outputs or Outcomes of this announcement.
Proposals to be submitted and or funded under this announcement must demonstrate the
advancement of PCARI interest areas as listed in Section I.B, Thematic Areas.
Proposals (including all project documents submitted) must be written in English.
Proposals must comply with the submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section
IV.
Proposals must be received electronically by PCARI on or before the deadline specified in Section
II.B of this announcement.
Proposals must be joint projects developed and submitted by collaborative teams composed of
researchers principally from Philippine-based and California-based higher education institutions.
Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the eligibility review will be
notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination. Ineligible proposals shall be
returned to the sender without further consideration.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

IV. Proposal and Submission Information

A. Content of Proposal
Submissions must use the provided proposal templates and must be sent via email to
proposals.pcariproject@ched.gov.ph as an attachment in PDF format and in writeable format (MS
Word & MS Excel).
Each attached file should indicate either IIID or IHITM, followed by the last name of the Project
Leader and Principal Investigator and the type of attachment and placed in a single directory. For
example:
IIID_delaCruz_Smith
<Note: parent directory>
o 1_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Data_Sheet_PCARI2016.docx
o 1_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Data_Sheet_PCARI2016.pdf
o 2_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Narrative_Proposal_PCARI2016.docx
o 2_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Narrative_Proposal_PCARI2016.pdf
o 3_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Line_Item_Budget_PCARI2016.xlsx
o 3_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_ Line_Item_Budget_PCARI2016.pdf
o 4_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Budget_Justification_PCARI2016.docx
o 4_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Budget_Justification_PCARI2016.pdf
o 5_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Letter of Commitment_PCARI2016.docx
o 5_IIID_delaCruz_Smith_Letter of Commitment_PCARI2016.pdf
o 6_ IIID_delaCruz_Smith_ Project_Results_Work_Plan_Matrix_PCARI2016.docx
o 6_ IIID_delaCruz_Smith_ Project_Results_Work_Plan_Matrix_PCARI2016.pdf
More information on some of the aforementioned files are provided below. A recommendation on
the number of pages for each section is also given.

1.Narrative Proposal (2 TEMPLATE_ Proposal_PCARI_2016.docx)

a) Summary Page (1-2 pages)
i. Project Title
ii. Applicant Information (Organization name; address; email, phone numbers
for Principal Investigator, Co-PIs, Administrative and Academic Contacts)
iii. Funding Requested
iv. Project Period: Provide the beginning and ending dates for planning
purposes. Applicants should assume a start date no earlier than 01 June
2016; this may be revised after award, depending on actual date of receipt
of research funds. No project periods can extend beyond the end of CY
2018.

b) Narrative Proposal Work Plan

i. Project Approach

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Abstract (1-2 pages)

o Description of current situation/problem
o Specific Objectives/Targets
o Description of project components
o Expected Benefits

PCARI Request for Proposal

Approach (2-3 pages)

o Innovation and Impact
o Methods
o Design
o Plan

Project Team Description & Roles (1-2 pages)

o Include the percentage of each team members
time/contribution to the project (i.e. percent of their full
time position; e.g., if a team member dedicates 10 hours of
a 40 hour work week to the project, their percent time is
25%).
Annual Project Deliverables & Intermediate Key Milestones (1-2
pages)
Collaboration Plan (1-2 pages)

o Describe how you will ensure coordination between

ii.

partners
Training Plan (1-2 pages)

Project Results (1-2 pages)

Identify the expected project outputs, progress towards achieving the
outputs and how outputs will be tracked and measured. Identify the
expected quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the project; including
what measurements will be used to track the progress towards achieving
the outcomes and how the results of the project will be evaluated.
For training components, include how the trainees progress will be
measured. List how the trainees progress against the training plan will be
monitored and reported.
Apart from a narrative describing the above items, the proponent should
also accomplish the Project Results and Work Plan Matrix
(see provided template)
6_TEMPLATE_Project_Results_Work_Plan_Matrix_PCARI2016.docx

2.

Line Item Budget

(3 TEMPLATE_Line_Item_Budget_PCARI2016.xlsx;
4 TEMPLATE_Budget_Justification_PCARI2016.docx)

The allowable direct costs are included in the budget template section. Applicants must
itemize the costs related to personnel, travel, equipment, supplies, other direct costs, and
total costs.
For personnel requirements of California-based proponents, postdoctoral researchers are
preferred over graduate student researchers. Personnel requirements of Philippine-based
proponents shall observe the position titles and salary levels indicated in the attachment
to the Line Item Budget template. Furthermore, honoraria shall be in accordance with
relevant Department of Budget Management (DBM) issuances.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

All travel charges directly relating to the research exchange visits between California and
PH sides should be included in the Philippine budget. Travel of California-based personnel
to attend non-Philippine-based conferences, etc. cannot be supported by the grant.
Equipment and other large expense items should be supported with justification. All
equipment (defined in Philippine regulations as material supplies/items costing above
Php10,000 and with a useful life of more than one year) are to be included in the budget,
with price, general description and usage justification. California-based Principal
Investigators (PI) should not include equipment requests in their budget but should advise
their Philippine counterparts to have such equipment included in the Philippine budget. All
equipment purchased under this Project shall be located in the Philippines. Any applicable
equipment servicing and maintenance costs must be included as an expense item.
Detailed equipment specifications are not needed and should not be included in the
proposal submission. However, these will need to be submitted upon proposal award.
The construction of buildings for both the US and Philippine components cannot be funded
by the PCARI Project.
For the California-based institutions budgets, a fixed indirect cost rate not to exceed 20%
shall apply. For the Philippines, the indirect cost shall not exceed 20% of total direct PS
and direct MOOE items. The budget for the US part should be stated in US Dollars ($).

3.

Attachments (Not counted in total page count)

Include references to relevant articles by PI and PL (<2 pages)
Include 2-page CVs for the primary team members, and evidence of researcher
expertise/qualification (V.3.a)
Include Letter of Commitment from each collaborators University/Institution. (see:
5 TEMPLATE_Letter_of_Committment_PCARI2016.docx)

B. Proposal Submission
Submissions
must
be
received
electronically
by
the
PCARI
Secretariat
at
proposals.pcariproject@ched.gov.ph on or before 29 February 2016, 11:59 PM, Manila time; (29
February 2016, 07:59 AM, PDT) in order to be considered for funding. All proposals submitted in
accordance with the submission instructions will receive an acknowledgment receipt from PCARI or
the contact person mentioned in Section VII.

C. Pre-Proposal Assistance and Communication

PCARI staff are available to provide appropriate pre-proposal assistance to eligible applicants
interested in applying for funding under the PCARI Project. Eligible applicants are defined in Section
III.A above. The assistance may include answering questions from potential applicants about
administrative issues relating to the submission of a proposal, and responding to requests for
clarification of the announcement. PCARI shall announce a briefing schedule to assist Philippinebased researchers in preparing their proposals.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

Contacts:

IIID:
o
o
IHITM:
o
o

Philippine-based PIs: Dr. Joel Marciano, jmarciano.pcariproject@ched.gov.ph

US-based PIs: Dr. Anthony St. George, st_george@berkeley.edu
Philippine-based PIs: Dr. Ernelea P. Cao, ecao.pcariproject@ched.gov.ph
US-based PIs: Dr. Anthony St. George, st_george@berkeley.edu; Ms. Catherine
Lagarde, Catherine.Lagarde@ucsf.edu; Dr. Ahmad Hakim-Elahi,
ahakimelahi@ucdavis.edu

Administrative matters proposals.pcariproject@ched.gov.ph

V. Evaluation Criteria
A. Evaluation Criteria
1. Project Approach 40 points
(a) Strategies of implementation for addressing all of the requirements in Section I
(b)Technical soundness of the proposal
(c) Reasonable timeframe for the execution of the tasks associated with the project
2. Project Results 40 points
(a) Extent and quality to which the proposal describes the outputs and outcomes of the
project, including an evaluation of how the applicant plans to achieve the
expected project outputs and outcomes described in Section I Part C;
(b)Description and reliability of methodology for tracking, measuring and quantifying
results, as mentioned in the Project Results of the Narrative Proposal Section
IV.A.1.b.2.

3. Researchers Expertise/Qualifications 20 points

PCARI seeks to maximize the diversity of Principal Investigators (PI) and will seek to
limit a single PI to 2 PCARI projects.
(a) Project Personnel expertise/qualifications to successfully achieve the goals of the
proposed project; as evidenced by: peer-reviewed papers (title page only), prizes,
awards, or other third-party commendations; and letters of support or
commendation (minimum of two) from sources outside the home unit (college) of
the project personnel;
(b)Description of the applicants experience relevant to the proposed project;
(c) Stature of the applicants organization in relation to proposed project and similar
projects (e.g. similarity of peer-reviewed, published articles).

4. Budget/Resources
Proposed project budget is reasonable/justifiable to accomplish the proposed goals,
objectives, and measurable project outputs and outcomes.

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PCARI Request for Proposal

B. Review and Selection Process

The proposals shall undergo a process of thorough review and screening by appropriately
constituted Technical Review Panel composed of professional and technical experts in the fields
covered by the proposals. The reviewers shall be selected for their depth and breadth of knowledge
in the relevant field as evidenced by their publications, patents, thesis advising and panel duties,
awards and industry experience. Conflict of interest shall be a major factor in the selection of
reviewers as provided in the CHED Order No. 02 series of 2013.
Proprietary information should not be disclosed in the proposals. Nonetheless, proposals will be
treated confidentially and only shared with reviewers for the sole purpose of deciding which projects
will be funded. Each proposal will be given a numerical score and will be rank-ordered according to
the numerical score. Final funding decisions shall be made by the CHED Commission en banc based
on the recommendations of the PCARI Project Advisory Group guided by the findings of the
Technical Review Panel.

VI. Award Administration

A. Award Notices
1.

PCARI will notify the successful applicant within the month of June 2016. The award
notice signed by the CHED Chairperson is the authorizing document and will be used as
basis for the execution of the project through a Research Funding Agreement between and
among CHED, the Philippine HEI and the collaborating California-based HEI.

2.

PCARI will also notify the unsuccessful applicant(s) within the month of June 2016.

B. Reporting Requirement
For both California and Philippine institutions, a semi-annual financial and technical report is
required. Funds for California-based institutions shall be released upon submission and approval of
milestone reports. For multi-year projects, a year-end report summarizing technical progress,
planned activities for the next year and summary of expenditures is required. A terminal report shall
be submitted within sixty (60) calendar days after the completion of the project. All reports should
compare work progress and funds commitments/expenditures against planned activities and
projected financial budgets. PCARI shall provide the templates for the required reporting
documents.

VII. PCARI Contact

For further inquiries, the applicant may contact PCARI at (632) 352-5591 or
proposals.pcariproject@ched.gov.ph

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