The Central Research Committee (CRC), University of Lagos (UNILAG) is pleased to announce its annual call for proposals for the 2024/2025 Academic Year.
The CRC Grant is a seed grant designed to support novel, ambitious, and convincing research ideas with the objective of proffering solutions to societal problems of critical concerns. The grant aligns with the University’s strategic mission to develop research capacity, strengthen community engagement, and support applied research or pilot initiatives with anticipated outcomes that should have a positive impact on the University community and/or the nation at large.
Projects are selected and approved by the Central Research Committee. Grant recipients are expected to publish one to two articles in peer-reviewed journals at the conclusion of the project.
THEMATIC AREAS: All projects must align with at least one of the following CRC thematic areas:
| Science and Engineering | Humanities and Social Sciences | Cross-Cutting |
| Health & Well-being | History, Culture, Language & identities | Entrepreneurship &Wealth creation |
| Agriculture & Food Security | Gender &People living with disabilities, Equity and Social Inclusion | Blue Economy |
| Power & Clean Energy | Transport | |
| Environment | Governance, Politics, Law, & Ethics | |
| Scientific Computing | Finance & Economic Development | |
| Engineering & Applicable Physical Science | Educational Training & Empowerment |
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible recipients include: Lecturers in any of the departments, Research Centres, and Distance Learning Institute (DLI) of the University of Lagos. Multi-disciplinary research projects, comprising researchers from various disciplines, are most highly encouraged. Additional members of the research team may be co-opted from researchers in any tertiary institutions, research institutes, Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations, and/or industry. However, the Principal Investigator must be accountable to the composition of the research team and their capacity to deliver excellent results. This is consistent with the global best practice of involving government and other non-state actors in research projects that seek to address national needs. Teams with multidisciplinary composition and with remarkable track record of implementing meaningful research will be prioritized in the selection process.
The following costs are not eligible for CRC funding;
- Gifts
- Luxury goods
- Lunch and alcohol
- Procurement of items and/or equipment already available in the institute
- Expenses incurred prior to the awarding of the grant or after it has expired
Proposals with a strong focus on solving global, regional, or local problems and demonstrating strong potential to proffer novel and scalable solution to challenges of national significance, as well as having the potential for commercialization (or industrial application) will be prioritized. Proposed areas of funding must be related to the SDGs-which must be so stated. The research proposal must show how the research work will resolve societal problems within Nigeria and Africa needs and context.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
The process of application involves submitting a proposal to the CRC Office email: [email protected]. The proposal template is accessible online at: https://tinyurl.com/CRC2025
Guidelines for completion of the CRC Application Form
The following guidelines must be followed in completing the application for CRC Research Grant of the University of Lagos
1. The Principal Researcher shall be an academic staff not less than the rank of Lecturer I and a confirmed staff. All other Research Team members must be staff of the University of Lagos. However, if the project work requires the inclusion of external persons from other institutions, such can only be within the group, but the names of such persons cannot be listed on the application form.
2. Any staff who is a student of the postgraduate school of the University of Lagos cannot be a Research Team member but can be invited as a Research Assistant (Mentee).
3. Any Postgraduate student is qualified to be a Research Assistant in the Team.
4. All application forms must be endorsed by the college/Faculty Research Committee. No application will be considered by CRC without the endorsement of the College/Faculty Research Committee
5. Applicants must ensure that all requirements are satisfied while filling out the forms. An application may be disqualified if certain information is not provided or the number of words required is exceeded.
6. Completed application should be forwarded to the CRC Secretariat in the Research Management Office
7. Submission of the application must include:
i. Soft copy of the application with the proposal in WORD document and PDF Format to be forwarded to the CRC email: [email protected]
8. Shortlisted application for grants is expected to be defended before CRC on a scheduled date that would be communicated to the applicants.
9. Anyone whose application is shortlisted for presentation will be required to submit a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation to the CRC email before the scheduled date of defense.
SELECTION PROCESS: Successful applications will be announced following critical blinded reviews first by the Faulty Research & Ethics Committee (FREC) and then by the Grant Selection Committee (GSC), which will include members of the CRC. Successful teams must demonstrate collaboration and high potential to provide a significant influence in any of the research thematic areas of paramount importance to the University, and/or the nation. The PI and at least a member of the Research Team of a shortlisted proposal might be invited to defend their proposal before the Central Research Committee. Thereafter, the successful proposals for grant awards will be presented to the CRC for approval.
FUNDING AMOUNT
Mini Grant: Maximum ₦2.5million
Main Grant: Maximum ₦5million
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: Friday, March 28, 2025
For any enquiry, please contact the CRC Secretariat at Research Management Office using the e-mail addresses: [email protected] or call: +2348028415292
Signed:
Prof. Bola Oboh
Chairman, Central Research Committee
