Wohl Clean Growth Initiative: Call for Applications

Deadline: 29-Jul-21

In partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, British Council together with the UK Science and Innovation Network in Israel has launched the Wohl Clean Growth Alliance Grants to further research-linked cooperation between the UK and Israel in areas of clean growth linked to food, water and energy.

The Programme aims to strengthen collaboration between the UK and Israeli universities, research institutions, and their collaborators in fields of clean growth (as defined below) related to food, water and energy.

The Wohl Alliance Grants are not intended to fund research costs or researcher salaries. They are intended to be built around the research process: to promote, facilitate, apply and/or communicate clean-growth related research. Other than the terms stipulated in the Call for Proposals, successful applicants will be expected to sign the British Council’s standard Short Contract.

Objectives

Projects should:

Promote collaborative research at the planning stage by, for example, creating new networks, and collaborating on grant submissions and funding opportunities; or
Facilitate research through projects such as (virtual or face-to-face) meetings, symposia, new collaborations and sharing research facilities; or
Apply research via activities including policy work, technology transfer and collaborations with industry and third sector organisations; or
Communicate academic research to students, public audiences and other relevant groups with, for example, shared courses and teaching programmes, and public activities.
Projects must fit one or more of the themes of food, water and/or energy. These are broadly and liberally defined.
Grants will not fund research.
Projects must involve applicants from both the UK and Israel.

Funding Information

Projects can be submitted for up to £20,000.

Clean Growth

For the purposes of this programme, clean growth means economic growth that mitigates impact on the environment while building resilience to a changing climate.

Food, Energy, and Water

For the purposes of this programme, the themes of food, water and energy are broadly defined and may include, but are not limited to: clean energy generation, storage and distribution; agriculture and food distribution; or water purification, treatment and distribution. These may be linked to scientific research, policy or commercialisation. They must be related to applied research linked to clean growth.

Eligibility Criteria

Proposals must include the details of British and Israeli lead applicants who will act as coholders of the grant. The application itself is submitted only once by the primary applicant.
The primary applicant must be based at the UK or Israeli university or academic/research institution that will receive the funding.
Higher education institutions must be officially recognised by both countries.
There is no requirement for applicants to be nationals of the UK or Israel; they need to be affiliated with a UK or Israel institution.
Multiple applications from institutions are acceptable; however, the same partners may submit only one application.
Third country collaborations are welcome, but Wohl Alliance Grants can only cover costs related to UK or Israeli partners.

Assessment Criteria

Eligible applications will be anonymously peer-reviewed by academic or industry referees.
Applications and their accompanying reviews will be assessed by a Selection Panel made up of representatives of the Wohl Alliance coalition (including the British Council, the UK Science and Innovation Network, and other members of the Wohl Alliance).
The Panel’s decision is final and confidential. No appeals will be considered. The British Council is unable to enter any communication on the Panel’s decisions. The Panel will evaluate applications using the following criteria:
- Quality and relevance of the proposal to the programme’s objectives: depth, content, clarity and uniqueness of the project.
- Value of collaboration: must demonstrate the added value in the UK-Israel academic, research and/or industry relations.
- Outcomes and follow ups: an outline for potential follow up steps following the project. Applicants must demonstrate that the activities proposed in their application will lead to a feasible outcome. Projects should have a clear path to growth, future expansion, upscaling or financial sustainability after the funding ends.
- Effectiveness and feasibility: must demonstrate how the proposed activities are feasible within the given time and budget constraints. Priority will be given to proposals that establish new collaborations or significantly upgrade existing collaborations between the UK and Israel.