The SIRCA Programme establishes and brings together the endeavours of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) and the Singapore Internet Research Centre (SiRC, Singapore) to identify future research leaders, particularly emerging researchers who are relatively new to ICTD/Information Society research and to facilitate their development through the support of research grants.

In the first instance, the Strengthening Information & Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) Research Capacity in Asia (SIRCA I) programme was initiated to build the social science research skills of emerging Asian scholars in the Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) space. The programme was managed by the Singapore Internet Research Centre, based at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

Having successfully groomed and trained 15 junior researchers in the region over the past three years, with tangible results in the form of multiple academic publications and invitations to present at international conferences, the programme has gained significant traction among the academic community. In keeping with these continuous efforts to build capacity, the next phase, the Strengthening Information Society Research Capacity Alliance (SIRCA II) aims to improve the inter-disciplinary research skills of emerging scholars in the Global South.

Learning from the experience of building capacity in the ICTD field in Asia, SIRCA II will include researchers from Africa, Latin America as well as Asia, in order to address the very lack of scholars from developing regions.

The objectives of the program are to:

i. Build scientific and critical research skills and capacity among emerging researchers (PIs) in Africa, Latin America and Asia;

ii. Establish network connections between African, Latin American and Asian researchers; and

iii. Disseminate findings locally and internationally in order to strengthen the body of methodologically sound, inter-disciplinary and theoretically-based research.

The programme will be managed by the Singapore Internet Research Centre, based at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, and the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (Institute of Peruvian Studies – IEP), Peru. The SIRCA II Programme will be supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

Call for Proposals

Proposals for research projects on Information Societies and Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) carried out in the Global South will be accepted.

Eligibility

You may apply for research funding as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the research project, only if you are:

NB: The PI is accountable for the project and is expected to be involved actively in it.

Applicants must register by 14 October via e-mail at sirca2@ntu.ed.sg prior to submitting a proposal application.

The email subject header should read ‘SIRCA II Registration’, and the body should include the following details:

NB: Applicants should note examples of previously funded projects and check that their intended project does not duplicate one of those already funded in previous calls.

Details of the successful awards are available on the SIRCA website @ www.sirca.org.sg/current-projects.

Funding Information

Each selected grant recipient will be provided with:

Applicants are expected to provide a detailed research budget, indicating clearly their expected costs.

Research timeline

Applicants are expected to provide a detailed research timeline, indicating clearly their project milestones and completion times (in terms of months).

How to submit a proposal?

Applications will only be accepted through the online application form available at the SIRCA website. Required information includes:

Key dates