Update: 11 June 2020

The Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Sao Paulo Research foundation (FAPESP) recognise that the current situation regarding COVID-19 is having a significant impact on the research and innovation community, both in Ireland and internationally.  

In Brazil, in addition to the closure of research institutions and suspension of all research-visit activities for the foreseeable future, the crisis has also had a negative impact on the Brazilian currency relative to other currencies, such as the Euro. 

FAPESP, our partner agency for the IRC-SPRINT Call, has indicated that it is unlikely that Irish researchers would be able to travel to Brazil any time this year; this circumstance may potentially extend into early next year. Consequently, FAPESP has deemed it necessary to cancel the SPRINT Editions 1/2020 through 3/2020, which includes the IRC-SPRINT joint call due to close on 15 June 2020. It is expected that, by postponing the call, borders will have re-opened, allowing for reciprocal research activities as intended under the SPRINT programme. 

The Council and FAPESP intend to reopen the IRC-SPRINT call in January 2021 in line with the 1/2021 SPRINT Edition. Further information will follow later in 2020. 

Both funding agencies remain committed to developing Ireland-Brazil research links and jointly look forward to progressing the call as soon as circumstances in both countries allow. 

 

IRC-SPRINT (FAPESP)

The IRC-SPRINT is a scheme funded by the Council in partnership with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the largest public research funding organisation in Brazil. The partnership will support and encourage collaboration in frontier basic research conducted by researchers in Ireland and researchers in the State of São Paulo across all disciplines.

A key aim of the scheme is to promote collaborative applications for international funding schemes, particularly Horizon 2020 and its successor, Horizon Europe.

The partnership with FAPESP is driven by the Irish Research Council’s International Engagement Strategy, which is focused on developing collaborative agreements with public research funders across the world, including in South America.

What we offer

The Council and FAPESP will offer up to 10 joint-awards under the IRC-SPRINT 2020 Call involving researcher(s) based in Ireland travelling to the State of São Paulo and researcher(s) based in State of São Paulo travelling to Ireland.

Awards will be up to a maximum of €8,000 each to Ireland-based and State of São Paulo-based research partner(s) to cover research-related costs. The award for the Irish partner(s) will cover mobility expenses including funds for travel (economic class air tickets), data collection, archival access, and expenses to run workshops and/or a conference. Partners in the State of São Paulo must refer to the SPRINT 1/2020 for guidelines on eligible costs under the scheme. These awards are simultaneously receivable and maybe last between 12 and 24 months.

Eligible Activities

• Mobility of researchers
• Research planning
• International research workshops
• Activities associated with collaborative data collection or fieldwork

 

How to apply

Potential applicants should read the IRC-SPRINT 2020 Terms and Conditions carefully to ascertain whether or not they and the State of São Paulo-based research partner(s) are eligible to apply. An indicative version of the application form is provided for information purposes only. All participants must create and submit their forms via the online system.

State of São Paulo-based researcher(s) must submit their application to FAPESP and will be evaluated in accordance with FAPESP’s assessment process.

How to find an eligible State of São Paulo-based research partner

Researchers in the State of São Paulo supported by FAPESP can be found on Research Supported by FAPESP (bv-cdi). Please refer to the Guide to bv-cdi FAPESP.

Key dates

Queries

All questions from Ireland-based researchers related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to the Research Office in their respective Irish Higher Education Institution. Research Offices can send any queries that they are unable to clarify to ircsprint@research.ie.

All questions from State of Sao Paulo-based researchers related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to sprint@fapesp.br.