text: FAPESP :: Convênios e acordos de cooperação - REQUEST FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS
  THE MICROSOFT RESEARCH - FAPESP INSTITUTE FOR IT RESEARCH
  Public selection of proposals for research in Information Technology and Communications
  There has been growing recognition that the power of computing and information technology must be, and can be, extended beyond its traditional user base to reach people who until now have not had access to such technology. Being digitally connected has become ever more critical to economic, educational, and social advancement. The goal of this research funding initiative is to generate new knowledge that will contribute to expand the capabilities of computing technology to better serve social and economic challenges of underserved communities, both rural and urban. (The term "Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D)" is also often used in the academic research community to describe this same goal.)
  Information and Communication Technologies must be affordable, accessible, and relevant. Novel approaches in computing technology have the potential for great impact in a range of areas, including education, healthcare, and economic development. The relevance that research projects can have in this area is significant, since there are difficult technological problems to be solved to realize that vision; such as work in last-mile networking infrastructures, creating intuitive user interfaces, developing low-cost computing devices, and creating relevant applications in areas such as healthcare, education, and economic development.
  Research that can contribute to bring universal and participative access to knowledge by the Brazilian citizen is one of the four Grand C hallenges that were identified by the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) in 2006 (http://143.54.83.4/ArquivosComunicacao/Desafios_ingles.pdf)
  According to SBC: "This problem concerns, therefore, extending computational systems to all Brazilians, respecting their diversity and differences. This challenge gains new proportions in the Brazilian scenario, where there are large socio-economic, cultural and regional differences, as well as unequal opportunities of access to technology and knowledge. Moreover, we are living a moment of media convergence (e.g., Internet, TV, cell phones) whose bottleneck is, undoubtedly, the possibility of universal access. The 2003 census conducted by the IBGE (the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatá­stica) reported 32.1 million functional illiterates, defined as those over 15 years old with less than four years of schooling (26% of the population). Moreover, according to the same source, 24.5 million people (14.5% of the population) have some kind of physical handicap. Government, universities and private companies should search for technological solutions, of social impact, to decrease these differences and instill citizenship values in our society."
  Creation of the necessary infrastructure for allowing the citizen to interact with the processes conducted in the back-office ;
  Development of applications related to health care delivery and management and education.
  There are multiple scientific and technological c hallenges in making progress with respect to advancing ICT research in the state of Sao Paulo for applications in health, education, economy, etc. With this request for proposals, Microsoft Research and FAPESP will support academic research in specific technologies with a keen interest in multidisciplinary approaches to these research issues. The objective of the academic research projects must be to advance the state-of-the-art of technologies relevant to ICT c hallenges.
  Creative new infrastructures, form factors, and applications of mobile devices (which include mobile phones or embedded devices. An example in this area is the use of cell phones as a computing platform to deliver health services. Systems and applications may be created to bridge connections between medical experts and underserved communities that have little or no access to quality healthcare.)
  Improve connectivity, particularly in environments without existing network infrastructures or with intermittent availability to networking and power. Challenges in wireless networks would be a relevant theme in this category.
  Focus on relevant technology application advancements, taking into account the technology issues described in the three points above, which will provide benefits in such areas as health, education, and commerce.
  It must be emphasized that creativity and novel approaches are always encouraged:
  What are the technology components that would need to be developed to meet the needs of underserved communities?
  How can low-cost and highly available connectivity be provided over a wide area? How can we reach the last mile? more efficiently?
  How can networks be effective for serving social and economic concerns, such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and commerce?
  New users may often have little education or may be completely new to computing devices. What are effective user interfaces for these communities?
  The objective of this FAPESP/Microsoft Research Request for Proposals is to identify, select and support world-class fundamental research in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that is geared towards addressing social and economic development needs of in the State of Sao Paulo.
  The supported research would fit in Pasteur's Quadrant and as such would explore fundamental research questions, but with developmental goals in mind. Pasteur's Quadrant is a classification for research projects created by Donald Stokes which describes projects that, simultaneously, are fundamental for the advancement of knowledge and are relevant for immediate applications.
  Pasteur's Quadrant was named after Louis Pasteur whose work exemplifies both advancement of science and results providing great social benefit.
  The FAPESP - Microsoft Research collaboration intends to support research into the use of technologies, such as cell phones, wireless technologies, and applications, that make computing affordable, accessible, and relevant.
  Proposals should evidence a commitment to make all results arising from a funded project (including all intellectual property in those results) broadly available by either: (i) dedicating such results to the public domain; or (ii) making the results available under a non-restrictive license that allows modification and redistribution without any significant restrictions or conditions, such as the BSD license available at http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php.
  Novel and Creative Solutions: The intention of the project is not to enable incremental engineering projects with a known outcome, but rather to explore and invent new technologyand knowledge that will benefit underserved communities. FAPESP and Microsoft Research encourage bold, novel, and unconventional approaches to the core science and technology c hallenges in this area.
  Immediate Relevance: FAPESP and Microsoft Research are seeking academic research projects that are highly complimentary to a broad community need. Goals should be specific, measurable, and results-oriented with tangible metrics
  Dissemination and Communication:Research results should be widely communicated through relevant scientific communities using established academic channels, such as international conferences and refereed journals. All funded projects should result in a detailed Web presence and relevant conference publications or presentations. Other channels for community development include regional workshops, graduate seminars, and curriculum components such as courses or course materials.
  Pilot Deployment: The goal of this request for proposal is to advance the state of the art of technologies. The development of pilot projects is highly encouraged but not a strict requirement.
  The total amount available under this request for proposals (RFP) is US$ 500,000.00 (USD). It is anticipated that around 5 proposals will be selected, with individual values in the range of $50,000.00 - $150,000.00. The appropriateness of the requested funding amount in relation to the proposal goals and qualification of the proposing team is a primary review consideration. In addition, FAPESP and Microsoft Research reserve the right to propose lower funding levels for projects.
  FAPESP MS Form, available at www.fapesp.br/chamadas/ms/form.doc;
  Research Proposal: proposals should be submitted in two versions, one in English and the other in Portuguese. The proposal should cover items from c.1) to c.6) below in no more than 20 pages, using font size 12 and double spacing. Please address the sections listed below, from c.1) to c.6) under separate numbered headings:
  c1. Problem Statement: What is the problem addressed by the proposal and why is it important? What is the potential contribution to the field of the project if successful? Cite relevant work in the field as appropriate.
  c2. Expected outcomes: What will be created or produced as a result of the proposed project? How will the results of this project be disseminated to others?
  c3. Scientific and technical c hallenges and the ways and means to overcome them: describe the scientific and technical c hallenges that the project will overcome to reach the proposed goals. Describe the methods and means that will be used for this. Cite references that can help the reviewers to ascertain that such c hallenges were not yet overcome (or were not overcome in an adequate way) and that they can be overcome with the methods and means proposed in the project.
  c4. Schedule: When is the project to be completed? What milestones will be used to measure progress of the project and when will they be completed? If the project described is part of a larger ongoing research program, estimate the time for completion of this project only.
  c5. Dissemination and Evaluation: How will the results of this project be evaluated (if appropriate), and how will they be disseminated to others? Under what general license terms will the results be made available?
  c6. Other Support: Including other contributions to this project (cash, goods, or services), if any, but not including such things as use of university facilities otherwise provided on an ongoing basis. Note that authors of winning proposals will be required to present an original letter on university/institution letterhead signed by the institution director certifying the commitment of any additional or matching support described in the proposal.
  In addition, each proposal must add as annexes documents related to the item below, if applicable (this item is not included in the 20 pages limit mentioned above) :
  c7. Work plan for the requested fellowships: the proposed budget may include costs for Scientific Initiation, Master or Post-Doctoral fellowships, which must have a duration equal or less than the duration of the proposed project. For each requested fellowship a work plan with less than two pages (12 point font size, double spacing) must be submitted together with the research proposal. This work plan must include: Title for the Fellowship Project, Summary, and Description of the plan. It is not necessary to nominate the holder of the fellowship. If the proposal is approved the Principal Investigator will have the responsibility to organize a public selection process to select the appointees for the fellowships through an internal merit review process.
  (Spreadsheets available at http://www.fapesp.br/chamadas/ms/planilhas):
  d1. A Consolidated Budget Request, classified by types of expense;
  d2. Capital and equipment expenses in Brazil;
  d3. Capital and equipment expenses from abroad;
  d4. Consumables acquired in Brazil;
  d5. Consumables acquired abroad;
  d6. Services acquired in Brazil;
  d7. Services acquired abroad;
  d8. Per diems and transportation expenses
  d9 Fellowships
  All proposals and any communication related to them must be sent in envelopes addressed to:
  05468-901 - São Paulo -SP
  All received proposals adherent to the terms of this Request for Proposals will be analyzed
  Engineering diligence , including interface definitions, testing methodology, and plans for experimental deployment.
  Adequate existing institutional infrastructure, offered by the hosting institution.
  Ability to complete the project , including the adequacy of resources available, institutional support, reasonableness of timelines, and number and qualifications of identified contributors; value, which encompasses the efficient use of requested resources and funding.
  Formation of new researchers and professionals , as a result of the execution of the project.
  Launching of the RFP at FAPESP Web site April 10th
  Last date for receiving proposals June 11th
  Publication of results of the analysis and selection process August 27th
  If your proposal is selected, there will be a Term of Agreement to be signed by you, by FAPESP and by your Institution, regarding the rights and obligations of each part. This is similar to the standard FAPESP Term of Agreement, with some modifications to allow for the compromises of the FAPESP - Microsoft cooperation. The full Term of Agreement can be found here. The main points of the Term are:
  You are required to provide FAPESP with half-yearly progress reports. These reports will be shared with the joint FAPESP/Microsoft steering committee.
  In order to allow for adequate Intellectual Property protection, you will notify and obtain approval from FAPESP prior to publication of any details about the research project.
  FAPESP and your institution will work together to obtain timely protection for any Intellectual Property generated by the project and to allow for the publication of scientific results.
  You will acknowledge FAPESP and Microsoft's support in any publication or press release regarding your research project.
  The Term will have to be signed by you and by a legal representative from your institution.
  You and your institution are responsible for safeguarding that intellectual property.
  If you and Microsoft engage in any joint research activities, your institution and Microsoft will jointly own any inventions.
  In consideration of the funding being provided, you will grant to both FAPESP and Microsoft a non-exclusive, royalty free license to any intellectual property arising from the funded research project.
  If the research project results in patentable inventions, you must notify FAPESP so that Microsoft can decide if it wants to engage with you for an exclusive license. Terms of that exclusive license (fees, etc.) will be mutually agreed upon. You will retain the right to use the technology for research and teaching purposes.