Professional Documents
Culture Documents
N. H. Rao
Learning Objectives
Public research in agriculture investments and performance
What is a research project proposal ?
Understanding the context:
BUT:
Acceptance rate : <20% &
declining;
Global: ~ 40%
lowest 3 in world
Share of citations
India:
3% ; papers not cited
even once: 61%
China: 15%
USA:
32%
ICAR patents : 42
Source: Ankita, etal, 2015 (AERR)
Research outcome
1960-2014
Middle class: households with daily expenditures between $10 and $100 per
person in PPP terms
Increased food demand :
Sustainability of
Natural Resources
By 2050: increase
land productivity: 4x
water productivity: 3x
Energy efficiency : 2x
labour productivity: 6x
While enhancing
natural capital:
Sustainable
intensification of
agriculture
Climate Smart
Agriculture
Integrate climate change
into agriculture :
Increase farm
productivity &
profitability
Increase adaptive
capacity at multiple
levels (adaptation)
Reduce GHG
emissions; (mitigation)
Project
One-time endeavour to create a unique product or service for beneficial
change or added value
Involves using inputs to carry out planned activities in specified ways
and time schedules to achieve desired outputs and outcomes/impacts
rooted in the
culture of science
Scientific method
Scientific
paradigm
1950s
Watson & Crick
encodes proteins
1960s Nirenberg
2000s genome sequencing,
bioinformatics, genome editing,
synthetic biology
Building national
competence in
identified areas
Contribute to broad
societal goals
Other specified
interests
Proposal evaluation
Fair, competitive, transparent evaluation based on metrics of research
proposal quality:
Quality of proposed study: Research question
does it need to be done ? significance and novelty
Quality of proposal: Research design
can it be done and in the way proposed ?
Do-able: can this team do it? (collaboration; resources)
Quality of presentation: clarity and organization
Principal Investigator (PI) accountability
Adherence to research ethics and regulatory systems
Research design :
Technical
soundness of objectives
Well
logically
Clear writing
Typical structure:
Title (short, informative)
Project Summary
Key words (enable search)
Table of contents
Project Description
Work Plan (schedule of activities
+ who will do what)
Expected outputs/outcomes
Budget
Biographical sketches of the
investigator(s)
Description of facilities,
equipment, and other resources
available
Project Description
Statement of the problem
Introduction/Background/Rationale problem significance and
definition
Objectives and research questions
Relevant literature review identify research gaps
Research design
Objectives - research questions - hypotheses
Methods - justification of approach or novel methods
Analysis and expected results
Objectives are specific statements of why the research is being done and what
are the expected outcomes (identifies the variables being investigated)
Writing style
Look
facilitate
skimming;
search reading
Fonts
White space (between paragraphs) (enables skimming)
short even sized paragraphs ( 8-10 sentences)
Organized in subheadings (facilitates search reading)
Style:
Simple, short sentences
clear, concise, Transition words/phrases between sentences, paragraphs:
complete
eg: and, also, again, in addition, moreover, besides, next,
Facilitate
further, because, then, furthermore, equally important,
critical
finally, likewise, first, second, third, last, for example, for
reading by use
instance, thus, as an illustration, namely, specifically, in
of transition
particular, that is, despite, therefore, thus, consequently,
words/
so, accordingly, as a result, hence, otherwise, then,
phrases
because, in short, in conclusion, as a consequence, finally,
to sum up, therefore, in summary, at last
Big
problem
Specific
problem
leading to
hypotheses
Research questions
Research hypothesis
To evaluate bioavailability of
zinc, iron and boron applied
through nano-based fertilizer
formulations
Does bioavailability
increase with
nanobased delivery
of micronutrients ?
Nanobased formulations
increase availability of
micronutrients in edible parts
compared to standard
formulations
Do nano
formulations impact
the root microbial
environment?
Nanobased formulations
increase plant uptake of
micronutrients compared to
standard formulations.
30
Project Budget
Realistic - ensure sufficient resources to carry out project activities
Transparent relation between activities and resources (justification)
Conformity with Formats and guidelines of funding institutions
Provide enough detail that the reviewers/finance departments can easily see
the way the different items were calculated :
Personnel (contractual staff) RA/RF, skilled/unskilled support
Travel
Operational costs (contingencies)
Consumables glassware, chemicals, stationery
Services used communications, documentation
miscellaneous
Non-recurring costs: equipment; vehicles; works; furniture, books, etc.
Use foot notes for: indicating unit costs, other details
Should be stand alone as budgets are also scrutinized independently by
Finance Departments
Budget Item
Year 1
(Rs)
Year 2
(Rs)
Year 3
(Rs)
Total
(Rs)
1.
Salaries for
staff1
6,87,000
6,87,000
6,87,000
13,74,000
2.
Travel (TA)2
75,000
75,000
75,000
2,25,000
3.
Operational
costs3
50,000
50,000
80,000
1,80,000
4.
Non-recurring
Contingencies
2,00,000
2,00,000
Total
19,79,000
Salaries for two Research Associates @Rs 22000/- per month and HRA at 30%.
2
For travel expenditure of the PI and staff
3
Stationery, maintenance, report printing, internet connectivity, etc.
1
Project Outputs
Directly relate to project activities
Outputs may include
- intangible things knowledge,
knowhow
- tangible things publications,
patents/IP, products, databases
- information for action
Intermediate deliverables that add
up to outputs
35
approach
Innovation
38
Finally, note ..
Thank You