Research Projects (Major and Minor)

Guidelines for Research Projects (Major and Minor)

1. Introduction

1.1 Promotion of social science research is one of the major objectives of the ICSSR. Research grant is financial support to research projects undertaken by the Indian Social Scientists. ICSSR provides funding to Indian scholars to conduct cutting edge research in various fields of social sciences that have theoretical, conceptual, methodological and policy implications. The Research Projects may belong to any of the social science disciplines or may be multi-disciplinary in nature.

The broad disciplines of study, within the domain of social sciences, are:

1. Economics/ Development Studies
2. Management
3. Commerce
4. Sociology
5. Social Work
6. Social Anthropology
7. Cultural Studies
8. Sanskrit Studies
9. Socio-Philosophical Studies
10. Sociolinguistics
11. Gender Studies
12. Health Studies
13. Political Science
14. International Studies
15. Public Administration
16. Diaspora Studies
17. National Security and Strategic Studies
18. Education
19. Social Psychology
20. Legal Studies
21. Social Geography
22. Environmental Studies
23. Social History
24. Media Studies
25. Library Science
26. Language Studies

Note: Support may also be provided to researchers/scholars belonging to disciplines other than the ones mentioned above provided he/she is interested in and has in the opinion of the ICSSR the necessary competence to conduct research in social sciences or social aspects of other sciences. Projects that span across disciplinary boundaries also fall within the areas of the Council’s interests.

1.2 Categories of Research Projects

The ICSSR awards two types of research projects on the basis of the scope, duration of the study and budget:
(a) Minor Projects will be awarded for a duration of 12 months with a budget up to Rs.10.00 lakh.
(b) (b) Major Projects will be awarded for a duration of 24 months with a budget up to Rs.25.00 lakh.

2. Eligibility

2.1 ICSSR Regional Centres, ICSSR Research Institutes, ICSSR Recognised Institutes, Institutes of National Importance as defined by the Ministry of Education (MoE), UGC Recognized Indian Universities/Deemed Universities/ Affiliated Colleges/Institutions under (2)F / 12(B) etc., are eligible to apply. However, other registered organisations with established research and academic standing may collaborate with any of the above-mentioned institutions for implementation of the study and may form a joint team consisting of Project Director, Co-Project Director(s) etc. Such collaborations have to be clearly stated in application itself.

2.2 Professional social scientists who are permanently employed or retired as faculty in a UGC (University Grants Commission) recognized Indian university/ deemed University / Colleges with requisite research infrastructure / institute of national importance / ICSSR Regional Centres, ICSSR Research Institutes, ICSSR Recognised Institutes and possessing a Ph.D. and demonstrable research experience through publications of books / research papers / reports are eligible to apply. Both the Project Director and Co- Director must possess a Ph.D. degree and a proven track record of high-quality research as evidenced by past studies, publications and their academic background.

2.3 Senior government and defence officers (not less than 25 years of regular service) and persons with proven Social Science expertise possessing a Ph. D. degree or equivalent research work in any social science disciplines and demonstrable research experience through publications of books/research papers/reports can also apply, preferably in collaboration with a faculty in a social science discipline from institutions given in 2.1 above.

2.4 Retired faculty/teachers and government/defence officers are required to affiliate to ICSSR Regional Centers / ICSSR Research Institutes /  ICSSR Recognised Institutes / Institute of national importance / UGC recognized Indian University / Deemed University of his / her choice with the prior approval of the ICSSR.

3. How to Apply

3.1 The applications will be invited through an advertisement on ICSSR website, social media platforms of ICSSR and if required, in print media.

3.2. The applicants shall submit an online application which includes the research proposal in the given prescribed format. They are also required to submit the hard copies of their application and annexures, duly forwarded by the Competent Authorities of the affiliating university/college/institute, within 10 days of the prescribed last date of online submission.

3.3 In case, the hard copy of application is not received within 10 days of asking, the candidature of applicants shall be treated as withdrawn/cancelled.

3.4 Research proposals and final reports should either be in English or Hindi. (Use Devanagari to fill Application form in Hindi).

3.5. Scholars can only apply for one project at a time. In case of any ongoing or completed project with the ICSSR, the cooling-off period for applying to another project will be two years, with the duration calculated from the date of acceptance of the final report.

4. Procedure for Awards

4.1 Applications are scrutinised by the ICSSR Secretariat/and or by a Screening Committee in respect of eligibility.  Eligible applications are then examined and evaluated by the Expert Committee(s). Shortlisted candidates are then called for presentation and interaction at ICSSR (in person or online) before another expert committee. The expert committee(s) make(s) recommendation for award of studies and also suggest(s) budget for the recommended studies.

4.2 The number of candidates called for presentations / interaction will be twice the number of projects to be awarded.

5. Budget and Heads of Expenditure

5.1 The amount will be disbursed in number of instalments, depending on the phases and duration of the study, as indicated in the Sanction Letter. ICSSR reserves the right, based on Expert opinion, to convert a proposal for Major Research Project into Minor Research Project or vice versa.

5.2 The detailed budget estimates along with the proportionate Heads of Expenditure for these proposals are to be prepared by the Institute / Project Director / group of scholars. Those Project Director(s) would like to work without Research Personnel, especially under Minor Research Project would make the proportionate Heads of Expenditure for the proposed Budget.

5.3 Allocation of Heads of Expenditure

1. The remuneration for the Research Staff must be according to the ICSSR guidelines.
2. The proportionate allocation of expenditure for the budget heads such as Fieldwork (Travel / Logistics / Boarding, Survey Preparation or Consultancy etc.); Equipment and Study material (Computer, Printer, Source Material, Books, Journals, Software, Data Sets, workshop etc.); and Contingency charges etc., to be decided by the Project Director in consultation with the affiliating institution.
3. Affiliating Institutional Overhead Charges @ 7.5% over and above on the awarded grant of the project, subject to a maximum limit of Rs.1, 00,000/- will be released by the ICSSR after successful completion of the project.

5.4 Remuneration and Emoluments of Project Staff shall be engaged/appointed as per the rules by the Project Director on a full/ part-time basis during the research work. The duration may be decided by the project director. The consolidated monthly emoluments of the project staff must be according to the following:

5.5 Selection of Research Staff should be done through an advertisement publishing on respective institute’s website and a selection committee consisting of (1) Project Director; (2) One outside Expert (other than the institute where the project is located); (3) a nominee of the Vice Chancellor/Head of the Institution and (4) Dean of the faculty or Head of the Department of the Project Director duly approved by the competent authority.

5.6 For all field work related expenses of Project Director, Co-Project Director(s) and project personnel, rules of affiliating institutes/universities shall be followed.

5.7 All equipment and books purchased out of the project fund shall be the property of the affiliating institution, and a certificate duly signed by the Head of the Institute / Registrar / Principal has to submit to the ICSSR. However, ICSSR may ask for books or/and equipment if it so requires

6. Joining and Release of Grants

6.1 The Project Director has to join the project within one month of the award letter.  For this the scholar has to submit an ‘undertaking’ on an Rs.100 stamp paper, declaration on an Rs.100 stamp paper, date of commencement of the study and grant-in-aid bill towards the first instalment. This period can be extended only in exceptional circumstances up to a maximum of three months by the ICSSR.

6.2 The total awarded grant for the Major Research Project will be released in instalments as indicated in the Sanction Order.

1. The first instalment (50% from the total awarded grant) is released after completing the necessary formalities of joining by the Project Director.
2. The second instalment (20% from the total awarded grant) is released after receiving a satisfactory twelve months Progress Report, Simple Statement of Accounts with 60% and above utilisation of the first instalment amount, one published research paper in the peer reviewed journal along with grant-in-aid bill towards the second instalment.
3. The third instalment (20% from the total awarded grant) will be released after receiving book length Final Report, Executive Summary of Final Report, 500 words abstract of the Final Report (both MS word and PDF formats), second  published research paper (total 2 papers during the project period) in the peer reviewed journal, similarity index score sheet of final report, simple statement of accounts for the expenditure of the so far spent amount along with grant-in-aid bill towards the third instalment.
4. Final instalment (remaining 10% from the total awarded grant) will be issued after receipt of recommendation of the expert for acceptance of the Final Report, Audited statement of accounts (AC) in prescribed format with utilization certificate (UC) in GFR-12A form for the entire approved project amount duly signed by the Finance Officer/Registrar/Director of the affiliating Institution, verification of all documents and decision on retaining of equipment and books etc. The institutions of which the accounts are not audited by CAG/AG, their utilisation certificate will be signed by the Finance Officer and a chartered accountant.

6.3 The total awarded grant for the Minor Research Project will be released in instalments as indicated below or in the Sanction Order.

1. The first instalment (50% from the total awarded grant) is released after completing the necessary formalities of joining by the Project Director.
2. Scholar needs to submit a satisfactory six months Progress Report during the project period.
3. The second instalment (40% from the total awarded grant) will be released after receiving book length Final Report, Executive Summary of Final Report, 500 words abstract of the Final Report (both MS word and PDF formats), one published research paper in the peer reviewed journal, similarity index score sheet of final report, simple statement of accounts for the expenditure of the so for spent amount along with grant-in-aid bill towards the second instalment.
4. Final instalment (remaining 10% from the total awarded grant) will be issued after receipt of recommendation of the expert for acceptance of the Final Report, Audited statement of accounts (AC) in prescribed format with utilization certificate (UC) in GFR-12A form for the entire approved project amount duly signed by the Finance Officer/Registrar/Director of the affiliating Institution, verification of all documents and decision on retaining of equipment and books etc. The institutions of which the accounts are not audited by CAG/AG, their utilisation certificate will be signed by the Finance Officer and a chartered accountant.

6.4 The Overhead Charges to the affiliating institution will be released after the acceptance of Final Report along with the receipt of the final audited Statement of Accounts and Utilisation Certificate in prescribed formats which are verified by the ICSSR.

6.5 The Project Director will ensure that the expenditure incurred by him conforms to the approved budget heads and relevant rules.  Audited Statement of accounts with Utilization Certificate in GFR of 12A form is for the entire project amount approved for the project.

7. Monitoring of Research Projects

7.1 Research undertaken by a Project Director will be reviewed through the submission of periodic progress reports in the prescribed format and the project may be discontinued/terminated if research progress is found unsatisfactory or any ICSSR rules are violated.

7.2 The scholar/awardee must acknowledge the support of ICSSR in all their publications resulting from the project output such as Research Paper, Journal Articles, Articles in edited Books etc., and must submit a copy of the same to the ICSSR during the course or after completion of the project. If, in case of no acknowledgements by the scholars, they will be block listed and will not be able to apply for any schemes of ICSSR in the future. Papers published in Conference/Seminar proceedings will not be considered as they are not peer reviewed. However, proceedings published by Scopus indexed / UGC care listed journals can be considered.

7.3 All project related queries will be addressed to the Project Director/ Affiliating Institution for their timely reply. 

7.4 The ICSSR may, at any time ask for verification of accounts and other relevant documents related to the Project. 

7.5 The ICSSR reserves the right to change the affiliation if it is found that the affiliating institute is not co-operating with the scholar and it is not facilitating timely completion of the study.

7.6 Final report submitted by the Project Director is mandatorily evaluated by an Expert appointed by the ICSSR before considering the release of the final instalment.

7.7 The Project Director shall be personally responsible for timely completion of the Project. The Project proposal/final report cannot be submitted for the award of any University degree/diploma or funding by any Institution by any member of the project staff, including the Project Director. The ICSSR however, will have no objection if any member of the project staff utilizes the project data for this purpose.

7.8 If the scholars are not submitting the requisite documents and the final report in timely or not completing the project in a stipulated period, the scholars will be block listed and the legal recourse will be initiated.

7.9 As per the directions of the Ministry of Education (MoE) the amount of grant sanctioned is to be utilized within the duration of the project. Any amount of the grant remaining unspent shall be refunded to the ICSSR immediately after the expiry of the duration of the project. If the grantee fails to utilize the grant for the purpose for which the same has been sanctioned/or fails to submit the audited statement of expenditure within the stipulated period, the grantee will be required to refund the amount of the grant with interest thereon @ 10% per annum.

8.  Completion of the Study 

8.1 On completion of the study, the Project Director should submit:

1. Final report in a publishable form (Softcopies in both PDF and word format);
2. Abstract in 500 words (Softcopies in both PDF and word format);
3. Executive Summary of the final report in 5000 words (Softcopies in both PDF and word format);
4. Similarity index sheet (Plagiarism check) for the final report.

8.2 After acceptance of the report by the ICSSR, upon incorporating the suggested changes if any, the Project Director should submit:

1. Soft copy of modified final report (in both PDF and word format) along with two hard copies;
2. Five copies of executive summary;
3. Softcopies of (if any) Data Sets, along with well-defined definition of data and other important information for documentation.

8.3 ICSSR gets every report checked for plagiarism and the similarity report is also generated.  As a policy, ICSSR does not accept contents beyond 10 per cent on similarity index.  Scholars are required to get their final as well modified report checked on their own for similarity index and attach a report of the same at the time of submission. 

8.4 The final report submitted by the scholar will be considered as satisfactory only after final recommendation of acceptance by the expert appointed by the ICSSR.

9. Obligations of the Affiliating Institution

9.1 The affiliating institution is required to give an undertaking in the prescribed format contained in the Application Form to administer and manage the ICSSR grant.

9.2 It is also required to provide the requisite research infrastructure to the scholar and maintain proper accounts.

9.3 The affiliating institution shall open / maintain a dedicated bank account for ICSSR grant (Scheme Code-0877) that is duly registered at EAT Module of PFMS portal for release of the Project Grant without any delay.

9.4 The affiliating institution will be under obligation to ensure submission of the final report and an Audited Statement of Accounts and Utilization Certificate, (in the prescribed Proforma GFR 12-A) duly certified by the Competent authority of the institution including the refund of any unspent balance. The affiliating institution shall make suitable arrangements for preservation of data such as filled in schedules, tabulation sheets, manuscripts, reports, etc. relating to the study. The ICSSR reserves the right to demand raw data, or such parts of the study as it deems fit.

9.5 In case a scholar leaves /discontinues/dies during project before completion of the tenure, the affiliating institution shall immediately inform ICSSR, settle the accounts including the refund of any unspent balance within a year of submission.

10.  Other Conditions

10.1 The duration of the project shall be a maximum period of two years for Major Projects and one year for Minor Projects which includes the time for Final Report writing. In case of exceptional circumstances, an extension may be granted by the ICSSR without any additional financial burden on being satisfied about the progress of the work including quality publication. If the extension is required, the Project Director needs to request at least three months prior to the completion for no-cost extension with a copy of the progress made, reason for the delay by justifying the extension. Retrospective extension will not be permitted.

10.2 The contingency grant may be utilized for stationery, computer typing related costs, specialised assistance such as data analysis and consultation for field trip etc., related to the research work.

10.3 Defaulters of any previous fellowship/project/grant of the ICSSR will not be eligible for consideration. 

10.4 No scholar will be allowed to take up a research project along with any ICSSR fellowship.

10.5 Foreign trip is not permissible within the awarded budget of a project. However, the Project Director may undertake data collection outside India in exceptional cases and if warranted by the needs of the proposal. For this he/she is required to apply separately for consideration under the Data Collection Scheme of the ICSSR International Collaboration Division but any rejection there should not have any bearing on the study and cannot be taken as an excuse.

10.6 Any request for additional grant in excess of the sanctioned budget will not `be considered. 

10.7 Purchase of equipment/ assets for the research Project is permissible only if it is originally proposed and approved by the ICSSR and does not exceed the permissible amount and follows the rules of the affiliating institution.

 10.8   The project director cannot make any changes in the research design at any stage.

10.9 Regarding Transfer of a Project/Appointment of substitute Project Director:

1. On the request from a university/institute, the ICSSR may permit the appointment of a Substitute Project Director in exceptional circumstances.

2. The ICSSR may also appoint a Substitute Project Director if it is convinced that the original awardee of the Project will not be in a position to carry out the study successfully.

3. The ICSSR may transfer the place of the Project from one affiliating institution to another subject to submission of the following:

• Satisfactory progress report (s);
• No objection certificate from both previous and the new university/institute;
• Audited statement of account and utilization certificate along with unspent balance, if any.

However, no transfer of project / Project director should be requested in the last six months of the study.

4. Overhead charges will be apportioned proportionally among the institutes as per the grant released or as may be finally decided by the ICSSR.
5. In case of superannuation of Project Director and if the rules of the institution so require the transfer of the project to a serving faculty member may be done with prior approval of the ICSSR.  The credit of Project shall belong to the original submitting Project Director.

10.10 Consideration under other call(s) would require a fresh proposal.

10.11 The Council reserves the right to reject any application without assigning any reason. It will not be responsible for any postal delays/loss.

10.12 Incomplete applications in any respect will not be considered.

10.13 The final authority related to the interpretation of the guidelines or any issue left is vested with the ICSSR.

10.14 No queries will be entertained by the ICSSR Secretariat until the final declaration of results against a call. Any lobbying for award will lead to disqualification.

10.15 While accepting Research Project from the ICSSR, an awardee should not accept any other fellowship or research project or assignment from any other institution.

10.16 The ICSSR reserves all rights to publish the project funded by it, provided the work is recommended for publication by ICSSR appointed expert/experts.