About the UGPN Research Collaboration Fund

The University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) is a consortium dedicated to collaborative research and scholarly exchange. UGPN members include NC State, the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), the University of Surrey (UoS), and the University of Wollongong (UOW). The UGPN Research Collaboration Fund (RCF) provides seed-funding to foster innovative, high-quality and transdisciplinary research projects among member institutions. With a focus on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the RCF catalyzes research for academic and societal impact. Engagement with industry, policy and community stakeholders is welcomed. Proposals with research teams that support early-career faculty in building their global networks are strongly encouraged.

Funding Support

Successful proposals will be awarded up to US $10,000 (or the £, R$, AU$ equivalent) per participating institution. This means that a bilateral collaboration may be awarded up to US $20,000, a trilateral collaboration may be awarded up to US $30,000, and a quadrilateral collaboration may be awarded up to US $40,000. Funding will be awarded on the basis of strategic benefit, scholarly merit and availability of resources. Proposals that include matched funding from other sources are also strongly encouraged.

2027 Call for Proposals: Harnessing AI for Human Health and Safety

The 2027 UGPN Research Collaboration Fund (RCF) invites proposals for forward-looking, multidisciplinary approaches that leverage AI to address pressing challenges in human health, safety, and security. Thematic priorities include:

1. Advances in Human Health and Societal Well-Being: Cutting-edge approaches that integrate AI into healthcare systems, public health infrastructure, and individual care delivery. Priorities include projects that examine AI applications in public health, healthy aging, assistive technologies, and preventative and personalized care.
2. Innovations in Global Safety, Security, and Sovereign Capability: Novel research at the intersection of AI, critical infrastructure, and defensive systems. Priorities include cybersecurity and threat mitigation, global security frameworks, sovereign capability for defense and global supply chains, biosafety and dual-use safeguards, and responsible policy and governance for emerging technologies in these areas.

UGPN welcomes applications from all disciplines, with priority consideration for interdisciplinary collaborations that align with the RCF theme and associated SDGs.  

Key Dates

• Call for proposals opens: January 2027
• Submission deadline: TBD
• All applicants notified of outcomes by: TBD
• Funding period: August 1, 2027 – July 31, 2028.  Please note that NC State project funds must be expended by 30 June 2028 to align with the end of the fiscal year.
• Project period: August 1, 2027 – January 31, 2029
• Final project report: March 31, 2029 (template will be provided)

Expected Outcomes

All RCF project teams will be required to submit a two-page final project report within two months of the end of the project period.

Academic Impact

Proposals should involve substantive international engagement and are expected to lead to high-quality outputs, including:

• Peer-reviewed and/or open source publications stemming from the project
• Joint proposals for competitive external funding, building on RCF-funded seed projects (including national and international funding schemes, and bids for PhD scholarships)
• International research training activities for graduate students, including PhD mobility and co-supervision, and engagement of early-career researchers
• Guest lectures, master classes, COIL and short courses; the development of teaching materials, joint modules or collaborative programs)
• Development of resources such as databases and data repositories, websites, research collaboration sites, or social networking tools to inform external funding bids or disseminate results

Societal Impact

Engagement with industry, policy and community partners, with potential outputs including: 

• Publication of policy briefs or opinion papers
• Industry or policy-relevant training for PhD students and ECRs
• Living labs for data collection, testing and analysis or proof-of-concept studies
• Capacity-building for climate literacy or climate leadership
• Public engagement activities

Who Can Apply?

Proposals are invited from full-time faculty at all UGPN universities, as well as research professionals (those who comply with Sponsored Programs eligibility requirements at NC State). All proposals must involve collaboration between university-eligible faculty from at least two of UGPN partners, with trilateral and quadrilateral collaboration particularly encouraged.

Please note: Post-doctoral researchers based at the Universidade de São Paulo are not eligible to lead a project or receive funding for mobility. In addition, proposals by applicants who have previously received UGPN funding are welcome, but the PI and research team must demonstrate how the proposal tackles a new problem and is distinct from previously funded RCF projects.

Eligible Costs & Activities

Eligible costs include:

• NC State: Travel and subsistence; consumables directly related to the project; dissemination of results
• UoS: Travel and subsistence; consumables directly related to the project; dissemination of results; and payment for research assistants
• USP: Travel and subsistence; consumables directly related to the project; dissemination of results
• UOW: TBD

Travel & subsistence costs may include international and local travel, accommodation and subsistence associated with researchers spending time at partner institutions. Subsistence costs need to be in line with staff expenditure policies at each participating institution.

Consumables directly related to the research project may include costs associated with hosting meetings, workshops and seminars, or costs for testing equipment, databases etc.

Dissemination costs may be requested for publications, media and other resources; the development of teaching and curriculum materials; and public engagement activities.

Research assistants can only be funded at the University of Surrey.

The inclusion of PhD or other Higher Degree Research students as project investigators must be indicated in the application. Please note that funding for the use of a UGPN partner’s laboratory facilities and infrastructure may not be included.

How to Submit Your Application

Please check back soon.

The proposal form will include:

• Title of the project
• Principal investigator: Please allocate one PI for the project from the lead partner university with contact information.
• Co-Principal Investigators: Please name one co-PI for each additional university participating in the project, with contact information.
• Further Co-Investigators (optional): Please list further collaborators or PhD student participants at each partner, with contact information
• Synopsis of the proposed project : Max. 1,000 characters and a list of 5 key words. This should be a summary of your proposal and may be used to promote the project on our website.
• Project description: Max. 1,000 words, which should include:
  • the objectives of the collaboration and the relevance of the project;
  • how the project addresses a new question or area of research (and has not previously been funded by the UGPN);
  • a work plan which clearly articulates the activities to be undertaken to achieve the objectives;
  • how the project aligns with the thematic focus of this RCF call and addresses least two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  • overview of the research team, including their respective roles and contributions to the project.
• Benefit statement: Max. 300 words outlining the expected project outputs, outcomes and impact for academia and society

Please include sufficient detail to reviewers to evaluate the proposals according to the evaluation criteria. Please remember that some reviewers may come from outside your discipline, therefore remember to avoid jargon or to explain highly technical terms.

Budget: Please use the template to include a budget table with justification (1 page maximum)

CVs of the PI and Co-PIs: Please include the CV of one named representative per partner. The CV should include education, professional appointments, up to five (5) publications related to the proposed research or scholarship, and activities relevant to this grant application (2 page maximum)

Letters of support from Faculty Deans (or their designees) from each collaborating institution and from sources of any matching funds.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals that meet the eligibility requirements will be reviewed and assessed by internal review panels at each of the three universities. A joint committee consisting of representatives from all UGPN partners will make the final decision for awards. Proposals will be assessed with reference to the following criteria:

• Relevance: Degree to which the project addresses a globally important challenge and demonstrates innovative, transdisciplinary and sustainable collaboration among UGPN partners;
• Proposal content: Clearly articulates measurable goals, objectives and activities that are feasible (evidenced by a reasonable and justified budget) and align with the purpose of the RCF;
• Outputs & impact: Focus on achievable results that can lead to high impact outputs and the potential to leverage future funding, and clearly articulated pathways to academic and societal impact.
• Research Team: Involvement of a team of appropriately qualified researchers from at least two UGPN partners representing a variety of disciplinary approaches and career levels/profiles.

Reporting & Acknowledgement

Recipients are expected to acknowledge UGPN in all subsequent published material and presentations. Funded teams are required to submit a final project report within two months of the end of the grant period (template will be provided). UGPN may also request additional updates after the final report to track progress on follow up activities, external grants, publication, etc.

Contacts & Questions

Please direct enquires to the following contacts at each UGPN member university:

• NC State: Office of Global Engagement
• Universidade de São Paulo: Mr Daniel Barcelos, International Relations Assistant
• University of Surrey: International Partnerships Team
• University of Wollongong: TBD

View Previous RCF Projects

Previous RCF projects are listed online at this site (UGPN Institution log-in required).