How to Apply for an IFS Grant
When to apply
Project proposals are welcome at the IFS Secretariat throughout the year.
For administrative purposes, we have two application deadlines, 30 June and
31 December. However, we urge you not to wait until the deadline - please
submit your application at least one month before. Applying earlier in the
six-month cycle allows us to contact you for more information if needed.
Notification of IFS Decision
To allow time for our comprehensive evaluation process, notification of the granting decision for applications that arrive at the Secretariat between January and June is made during January-February of the following year; notification of the granting decision for applications that arrive at the Secretariat between July and December is made during July-August of the following year.
Submission of your application
A researcher may only submit one application at a time for consideration by IFS.
The IFS Application Form
Applications for IFS Research grants must be submitted using the standard IFS Application Form in English or French.
The IFS Application form is available in two formats:
1. a printed paper form
2. an electronic version (a Microsoft Word document; 700
KB)
You can download the electronic version from this website, or request the paper Application form using the order form below.
Application
form Downloading page
Request a paper form from IFS
The Application form is updated from time to time. Always check our website that you have the most recent version before submitting your proposal.
How to use the Application Form
Send only one Application Form to IFS, and send it only to the address indicated
in the Guidelines accompanying the form.
The paper Application form
- should be filled in with a typewriter
- should not be handwritten. Application forms that are filled in by hand
cannot be accepted for evaluation.
- should be sent to the IFS Secretariat by regular mail
The electronic Application form
- should be filled in on a computer using Microsoft Word (or any other compatible
word-processor software)
- should be sent to IFS as an attachment in an e-mail to:
applications@ifs.se
What to present
The Application Form is a detailed questionnaire, with Guidelines enclosed to offer a thorough tutorial on how to fill it in. Applicants are asked to restrict themselves to the space provided in the Application Form for each specific question. Manipulated forms will not be accepted.
Additional attachments will not be taken into consideration, unless they
are specifically asked for in the Guidelines (eg questionnaires, interview
schedules).
Please note: If you add attachments to your proposal, give
the attachment a file name that includes your name, and also make sure that
your name and the title of your project are clearly indicated on each of the
supplementary sheets!
The following requirements are directional to the type of information that is requested:
- You are asked to explain the relevance of your proposed project in relation
to environmental and socio-economic conditions in your country/region.
- A scientific hypothesis/research question must be put forward. The objectives
of your research must be stated in a way that can be met by carrying out
the research plan.
- Your research plan normally requires 1-2 pages to provide enough information
for the IFS Advisers to evaluate your project proposal.
- Purely technical transfer of existing, established technologies or extension
projects will not be accepted.
- Convincing proof must be presented on that you have access to basic research
equipment and facilities necessary for your project.
- An itemized budget for the project is an absolute requirement. The maximum
budget is USD 12000. Only indicate budget items that can be funded by IFS.
- The institution that will administer your grant must be based in a developing country.
Has IFS received my Application form?
If you have indicated an e-mail address in your Application form, we will acknowledge receipt of your proposal no later than 3 weeks after arrival at IFS.If you have used a paper Application form and do not have an e-mail address, you will receive acknowledgement in the form of the pre-screening result for your proposal. Allow a few months for this.
If you have not heard from us after our delay for acknowledgement of receipt, or before the pending deadline (June 30th or December 31st), you may want to make sure that your Application form has reached the IFS Secretariat.
Make your enquiry on whether we have received your project proposal or not to applications@ifs.se. To be able to trace your proposal among the hundreds of Application forms we receive every month, we need the following information:
- your full name (as you have indicated it in the Application form)
- whether you used the paper or the electronic version
- the e-mail address you sent your electronic form from
- the date when you sent it to IFS
- the title of your project
When can I get a final decision?
The IFS Research grants are awarded following a competitive process. The evaluation and granting process starts twice a year, after the administrative deadlines of December 31st and June 30th. The timeframe from deadline for applications to final decisions is roughly 6-7 months.- Applications are first pre-screened at the IFS Secretariat. Only proposals
that are submitted on the IFS Application form, properly filled in according
to the Guidelines, on projects that are well justified and argued, and that
are well presented with sufficient details on all items, are accepted for
further processing.
- After the session deadline, each accepted proposal is reviewed by a number
of IFS Scientific Advisers, who are established experts in their fields.
IFS has over 1000 active Advisers worldwide to ensure that the proposals
recommended for funding are scientifically sound and feasible, and relevant
to the scientific field and the country or region in question.
- The Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) meet to evaluate and rank the
applications and recommend the most qualified for funding.
- The Director of IFS makes the funding decisions in June and January.
During the following month final results and feedback from the Advisers
are communicated to the Applicants. Unsuccessful Applicants who have presented
projects with potential are encouraged to improve/re-design and apply again.
- Contracts are signed with the new IFS Grantees and their institutions, and their names are announced on the IFS website.
Each session up to 600 IFS Scientific Advisers and some 50 SAC members from all over the world contribute to the evaluation of the applications.
Get the Application Form
If you meet the eligibility criteria for IFS support and would like to submit a proposal for an IFS Research grant, you can download the electronic version of the IFS Application form from this website.
Application
form Downloading page
Eligibility Criteria
Send us a request for an Application form
If you prefer to receive a paper Application form by regular mail, write your
name and postal address here and press the button to submit. We will process
your request as soon as possible.
You may also request an Application form in Microsoft Word format to be sent to you as an attachment in an e-mail. Note that the size of the file is approximately 800 KB.
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