DBT Call For Proposals: Australia-India Strategic Research Fund: Collaborative Research Projects Round 16
Closing date: 11th April, 2025
1. Background
DBT has a strategic partnership with Australia for fostering research in the medical biotechnology domain. The Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund is managed jointly by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, and Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS), Government of Australia. Since its inception in 2006, the IABF has supported collaborative, leading-edge research between scientists in Australia and India across a range of jointly agreed priority areas. It has also helped to build linkages between premier research and educational institutions in both countries. The Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund (IABF) supports Indian and Australian Scientists, from both the public and private sectors, to collaborate in cutting-edge research in the area of science & technology.
2. Purpose of the Call
The purpose of the call is to support research and innovation projects that are highly relevant for scientific solutions in biomanufacturing, biotechnology for improved agricultural productivity and climate resilience, RNA vaccines, and biotherapeutics. The call seeks to fund applications for conducting research with high societal relevance, both basic and applied, and innovation promoting the transition, nationally in India and Australia, as well as internationally.
The priority areas of research for Round Sixteen of the Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund
are:Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund (administered by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India)
- Biomanufacturing for industrial and consumer products, including biochemicals, biofuels, and novel bio-based materials
- Biotechnology for improved agricultural productivity and climate resilience (including food security or renewable feedstocks)
- RNA vaccines and biotherapeutics (immunotherapy)
3. Who Can Apply?
This call addresses Indian and Australian consortium partners with domain expertise. The project parties should be legal entities and independent of each other, with base operations in their respective countries. Applicants may include Institutes, Public/Private Companies, Universities, and/or State/Territory-funded Research Organizations. For more details, please check Annexure I.
4. Grant Guidelines
4.1 Proposal Details:
The Joint Call requires that the collaboration between Indian and Australian research teams be submitted as a Multiple Principal Investigator (Multi-PD/PI) application, with both of the lead scientists from each country as the PD/PI. Applications may be derived from existing collaborations with an established history of interaction or from new partnerships developed in response to this Call. The collaboration must be based on interactive relationships that maximize the expertise of the individual Indian and Australian research teams.
Through this Call, Indian and Australian collaborating investigators should work together to develop and submit an application to Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS), Government of Australia, and the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
The Indian application should follow DBT guidance using the ‘Proposal Submission Form for R&D Projects’ format available at the DBT eProMIS portal: (http://www.dbtepromis.nic.in/sample_forms.htm).
In addition to a detailed research plan, the application must include a leadership plan that describes:
- The roles, responsibilities, and working relationship of the PD/PIs
- Information about performance sites
- The proposed work to be accomplished at each site
- A complete budget for the collaboration
Only those applications that are determined to be meritorious will be considered for joint funding and will be supported by the DBT and DIIS under this program. The DBT will provide funds for the Indian component, and DIIS will fund the Australian component.
4.2 Conditions for Us to Consider an Application
DBT and DIIS will only consider applications that meet the following:
- The grants must be jointly applied by Indian and Australian partners
- The application should meet Call objectives (see Purpose of the Call above)
- The application must be submitted as per the format on DBT’s website (https://dbtepromis.nic.in/pi/frmOpenCallList.aspx) for Indian applicants and at https://business.gov.au for Australian applicants
- All project parties must be legal entities, for more details, please check Annexure I
- Project duration must be 3 years
- The application must be submitted on or before the due date. After the due date, the proposal will not be accepted.
4.3 Grant Assessment
4.3.1 Scientific Merit of Proposal
- Alignment to Call objectives (see Purpose of the Call above)
- Innovation over existing processes or products or generation of new knowledge
- Sustainable, scalable, and flexible solutions
- Specific scientific problems to be addressed, identifying the current competitive landscape
4.3.2 Approach and Methodology
- Relevance of the choice of method to the proposed solution
- Realistically planned activities in regard to time and budget
4.3.3 Organization and Investigator Capabilities
- Project parties’ expertise and experience in the chosen method
- Project parties’ capability and reliability in regard to implementing the project
- Commitment of the respective project parties to implementation and funding
- Advantages of partnering between Indian and Australian groups
4.3.4 Impact and Deliverables
- Potential to advance science and its impact across both countries
- Potential to contribute economic value
- Potential to contribute increased gender equality
- Well-articulated implementation or demonstration plan during the project period
- Scalability and potential for national and international dissemination of results
- Potential to increase Indian and Australian international competitiveness in the field.
4.4 How Do We Assess?
Applications will be assessed on a competitive basis against the assessment criteria. The grants would be evaluated independently by Indian and Australian expert committees and then jointly reviewed for a decision on the award.
With reference to the equal treatment principle, only those applications meeting the requirements under point 4.2 will be considered. Applications meeting the requirements will be evaluated according to the above assessment criteria in competition with each other. Applicants may be asked to provide additional information to clarify any issues raised during the assessment process. Applicants may be called to participate during the evaluation of the project if requested to do so by the Department. DBT and DIIS will then make their decision on funding and notify this to all applicants.
4.5 Funding
Applicants from research institutes, academia, or not-for-profit research organizations will be funded by DBT, subject to the fulfillment of their eligibility conditions and verifiable documents. For more details, please check Annexure I.
4.6 Intellectual Property Rights
Applicants must provide details of the Intellectual Property (IP) issues in their applications. This includes both the use of IP in the project proposal and the proposed ownership of rights of IP generated by the project, as well as strategies for protecting India’s interests. The template of the IPR agreement is annexed and must be filled in and signed by the partners and submitted along with the application (can be uploaded in the application form in the upload document in PDF form column), where IP is likely to be generated by the project. Applicants will be required to execute additional protocols or contracts with their Indian partners on the management of IP issues.
These agreements should be in accordance with laws and regulations prevailing in India and Australia and provide for:
- Adequate and effective protection and equitable distribution of any benefits from IP rights created in or resulting directly from cooperative activities (foreground IP rights)
- Ownership of foreground IP rights to be allocated on the basis of respective contribution and equitable interests
- Terms and conditions for the commercialization and other forms of dissemination of the foreground IP rights
- Adequate and effective protection of IP rights provided by organizations, enterprises, and institutions prior to or in the course of such cooperative activities, for example, the licensing or utilization of such IP rights on equitable terms (background IP rights)
5. Decision and Terms
5.1 About Our Decisions
The decision to award an application will be made by e-mail. Decisions may not be appealed. If funds have been awarded in error, or an overpayment made, the recipient may be liable for repayment.
5.2 Terms for Granted Funds
DBT’s general terms apply to granted funds and are in force from the date a decision is made. These terms include rules on project contracts, conditions of payment, monitoring, reporting, and utilization of results.
Additional special terms may be stipulated for individual projects.
6. Contact Details
Department of Biotechnology, India
Dr. Jyoti M Logani, Scientist F
E-mail: [email protected]
TEL: 0091-011-24362329
DBT Application Support – e-PROMISE Team
E-mail: [email protected]
Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Australia
Head of Division AusIndustry
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
GPO Box 2013
CANBERRA ACT 260
Keywords: Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, Collaborative Research Projects, Indo-Australian Biotechnology, Joint Call for Proposals, Innovation Partnership. DBT Call For Proposals: Australia-India Strategic Research Fund: Collaborative Research Projects Round 16
