DIRECTIVE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS
This document is a supplement to Decision No 2017/1-8 dated January 10, 2017, issued by the METU Senate.
SCOPE
Article 1- This directive describes the principles concerning submission, evaluation, authorization, support, monitoring and completion phases of the Scientific Research Project proposals submitted to receive support from the Campus Fund of the Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus. For topics and issues not covered in this directive, articles of relevant regulations and general rules apply.
DEFINITIONS
Article 2- The definitions of the terms used in this directive are as follows:
Scientific Research Projects: Projects for which total or partial funding is granted by the Campus Fund for maximum three years.
Project Manager: Of the Northern Cyprus Campus affiliated academic personnel with teaching authority the one who has prepared the proposal and who is responsible for scientific, administrative and financial management of the project.
Project Team: Team of researchers other than the Project Manager and post-graduate students conceived to make a contribution to the project by their supervisors.
Project Type: Projects are classified into four categories:
- Scientific Research Projects – Graduate Student: The projects which are submitted to cover the research expenses of graduate students registered in the academic programs at the Northern Cyprus Campus. The budget of these projects is limited and usually consists of the graduate student’s mandatory expenditures and the participation costs of a conference in Turkey.
- Scientific Research Projects - New Academic Staff: The first projects which are submitted by new academic staff of the Northern Cyprus Campus as project managers within the first two years of their affiliation. These projects aim to provide initial support for research and have limited budgets.
- Scientific Research Projects – Extensive: The projects other than the above mentioned two types. These projects are expected to have the potential of improving the present research strength of the Campus, provide cooperation opportunities with the main campus in Ankara, and support the development of the Campus research capabilities in relevant fields and to include student participation.
- Scientific Research Projects – Inter-campus: The projects created by METU Northern Cyprus Campus academic staff members in collaboration with academics who are affiliated to the other campuses of METU. The collaborative work is conducted through two different scientific research projects (SRP) which are supported by each campus involved in accordance with their current legislation. The team of researchers includes the manager of the SRP which is conducted on the other campus involved. The collaborative nature of the two projects should be mentioned when defining them. The two projects are carried out in coordination.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COMMISSION
Article 3- The Scientific Research Commission consists of five faculty members appointed by the Campus President. The tasks defined under the title of Scope (Article 2) are performed by this commission. The two chairpersons of the Academic Boards of the Engineering and Sciences, and Social Sciences are ex-officio members. The other three members are assigned for a maximum duration of three years by the Campus President, ensuring a balanced disciplinary representation within the Campus. Members of the Commission who complete their terms may be reappointed according to the same criteria. In the event an ex-officio member leaving his/her principal post, his/her membership in the commission would automatically end.
PRINCIPLES FOR THE SELECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS
Article 4 – Scientific Research Projects are evaluated and selected in accordance with the targets and strategies that are defined in the Strategic Plan of the Campus. In funding decisions the precedence are given to those projects that are interdisciplinary in nature, have potential to improve inter-campus cooperation, and include postgraduate student training component towards dissertation research. Projects which only aim to improve infrastructure are not supported by the Scientific Research Projects scheme. Collaborative projects need to be approved by the relevant bodies of each campus involved.
SUBMISSION OF PROJECTS
Article 5 – A call date for Scientific Research Projects - New Academic Staff and Scientific Research Projects – Extensive which will be conducted within an academic year is announced by the Office of the Campus President in the ‘Research’ page of the Campus website according to the principles set out by the Commission. A second call may be announced in the same academic year if further funds are available. The Type 1 projects, which fall into the category of “Scientific Research Projects – Graduate Students” can be submitted between the dates September 1 –May 31 without the need for a call. The schedule of the calls for Inter-campus Projects is determined and announced considering the need for coordination between the two campuses.
Article 6 – Project proposals are prepared in accordance with the guidance provided in “Scientific Research Project Application Form” and submitted to the Research Coordination and Support Office together with the necessary attachments. In proposals for Inter-campus Projects, which will be conducted in coordination, the project phases and the support requested should clearly be stated. At the end of the application deadline all proposals are transferred to the Scientific Research Committee for evaluation and funding decisions.
Article 7 – A project manager cannot manage more than one project at a time. A project manager with an ongoing project, other than a Scientific Research Project – Graduate Student Research Project, is expected to prove at least with one progress report that his /her project is continuing successfully in order to propose a second project. Suspensions and terminations which have not resulted from the fault of a project manager are not considered as a failure.
EVALUATION
Article 8 – To evaluate the applications the Scientific Research Commission assigns one of its members as a rapporteur for each project proposal. The rapporteur consults an expert as a referee for an opinion when necessary. Referees are assigned by the Commission upon rapporteurs’ suggestions.
Article 9 – The rapporteur evaluates a project proposal on the basis of its scientific merit, methodology, possible contribution to the research potential of the Campus, budget and spending plan as well as the performance of the manager in previous projects, and presents his/her opinions to the Commission using the “Rapporteur’s Form” and the “Evaluation Form”. The Commission examines the proposals and evaluations, and forwards the decision of the Commission together with the list of “suitable” and “unsuitable” proposals, the priority and the evaluation reports to the Office of the Campus President. On the basis of the evaluation reports, the Office of the Campus President finalizes the decisions and communicates the results to the concerned parties.
Article 10 – The project proposals deemed unsuitable can be re-submitted in the subsequent terms after being revised in line with the recommendations of the Commission.
START UP
Article 11 – A “Scientific Research Project Approval Form” is prepared for the project proposals approved to be supported. The project takes effect upon the signing of the Approval Form by the authorized Vice President and the project manager. The project manager has to abide by the items specified in the approval form.
Article 12– Revised project proposals in terms of their name, content, duration, financial and staff structures are submitted in writing by the manager, and take effect upon approval.
USE OF FUNDS
Article 13 – Expense items are as follows:
- Machinery / Equipment Expenses ( fixtures, office equipment)
- Service Expenses (expenses paid to a firm or students for a service)
- Graduate Research Scholarship
- Hourly-paid Student Assistantship Scholarship Expenses
- Expenses for Consumables
- Travel Expenses (travel allowance, transportation, accommodation, participation fees for scientific events)
- Software Expenses
- Other Expenses (accessories, stationery, maintenance-repair, etc.)
Article 14 – Purchase demands are made with a “Goods-Services Purchase Demand Form” and the procedures are carried out in accordance with the Campus Regulation on Purchases and Contracts.
Article 15 – For all the expenses from the budget of Scientific Research Projects, it is essential to obtain an approval in advance from the Office of the Campus President.
Article 16 – There are two types of travels which are supported by the Project budget;
- Research oriented travels: These are the travels by project managers, team members and graduate students for activities such as data collection, experimental studies, on-site observation / examining / monitoring and for activities with the aim of coordinating with researchers outside the Campus. These travels can be among campuses as well as for fieldwork. Research oriented travels are supported by the approved budget allowances in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the project.
- Travels for scientific meetings: ‘Scientific meeting travel” in projects, may be supported on condition that the support requested remains within the limitations of national standards in Turkey for SRP – Graduate and international standards for other types of SRP and that there is an allowance for it in the budget and that the studies regarding the project are presented in the meeting. Regardless of the project type, it is essential that a scientific meeting should be participated in towards the end of the project period or at the latest within a year of the termination of that period. Expenditures and disbursements regarding travels for scientific meetings are supported within the framework of the rules in the Directive “Regulations on Support for Participation in Scientific Meetings”
Limitations regarding the travel support from the project budget are announced on the Campus Research website by the Office of the Campus President.
Article 17 – Advanced spending from the budget of the Scientific Research Project might be possible provided that the project manager makes a request. In that case, the project manager is obliged to settle the advance in no more than one month from the date of the advance payment. A new advance will not be granted from the project budget before the earlier one is settled.
Article 18 – It is essential that expenditures regarding the project be made within the period of the project. A new purchase process cannot be started after the final date of a project period and no disbursements are paid off except for those which are approved within the project period and except for the travel expenditures which are defined in Article 16/b.
Article 19 – Members of the project team and University staff may not receive any payments from the project budget. However, payments may be made to METU students who are in receipt of a Graduate Research Scholarship or an hourly-paid Student Assistantship Scholarship and who contribute to the project.
CONDUCT AND MONITORING
Article 20 – Scientific research projects approved and supported by the Office of the Campus President are monitored annually unless otherwise is stated in the approval form. At the end of each fiscal year, the project manager prepares and submits an annual progress report covering the scientific studies and expenditures in that period. The dates of the progress report are stated in the Approval Form. Progress reports must be submitted no later than 15 days as of the stated dates with a “Progress/Result Report Form”. The Progress/Result reports of the Inter-campus Projects are made available to the other campus involved, so that these projects can be monitored through their entirety.
Article 21 – Any additional funds secured for the project from different sources during the life-span of the project should be specified in the progress report.
Article 22 – Progress reports are evaluated by the Scientific Research Commission according to the procedure outlined in the Article 8 and Article 9, and the decision of the Commission is delivered to the Office of the Campus President. In the case of non-satisfactory progress report, the insufficient aspects are underlined and a revision is requested within 15 days. Relevant project managers are informed of the result of the evaluation by the Office of the Campus President.
Article 23 – Funding of the project continue only after the previous period’s progress report is accepted. Payments are suspended for the projects when either progress reports are not submitted or deemed unsatisfactory. Following the approval of the progress report the remaining allowance from the previous fiscal year is transferred to the next year. Unless a different expense proposal is made in the approved report, the same allocation shares among the items are kept in the transfer process.
Article 24 – In the event that the project manager leaves the Campus for a permanent or a long-term assignment, a new manager can be assigned to the project by the Commission upon the proposal of the manager and by the approval of the relevant program coordinator.
Article 25 – The Research Coordination and Support Office is authorized to follow and monitor the projects’ progress. All the relevant issues regarding projects such as applications, notifications, correspondence, submitting documents are leveled directly at this unit. Originals (or copies if originals are not available) of all supporting documents related to projects are kept in project files in the Research Coordination and Support Office
COMPLETION/SUSPENSION/CLOSING OF PROJECTS
Article 26 – It is essential to complete scientific research projects within the periods stated in approval forms. However, if a project cannot be completed for valid reasons within its time, the period can be extended upon the application of the project manager, with the affirmative view of the Commission and by the approval of the Office of the Campus President. In the event of exceeding the upper time limit of three years for valid reasons, an extension can be made by following the same procedures.
Article 27 – In the event that a project budget is insufficient for valid reasons, an extra allowance can be granted upon the application of the project manager, with the affirmative view of the Commission and by the approval of the Office of the Campus President. Transfers among the different budgetary items are possible, in the same manner.
Article 28 – The project manager prepares a “Completion Report” at the end of the project’s life. The report must be submitted no later than a month from the date stated in the Approval Form. The Completion Report is evaluated according to the procedure defined in Article 22, and the decision of the Commission is forwarded to the Office of the Campus President. A project is deemed successfully completed upon the approval by the Office of the Campus President on the basis of the Commission’s recommendation.
Article 29 –
a) Projects considered incomplete are closed upon the proposal of the Commission and by the approval of the Office of the Campus President.
b) Projects deemed to be not progressing may be suspended for a certain period of time upon the proposal of the Commission and by the approval of the Office of the Campus President.
Article 30 – When a project is suspended for a certain period, closed, or completed with the acceptance of a completion report, use of funding is terminated, except for the approved expenditures and travel expenses defined in Article 16/b. In each case, the project manager is notified of the decision regarding the project by the Office of the Campus President. If the project is closed, the developments and expenditures up to that time are evaluated and the recommendation of the Commission is presented to the Office of the Campus President.
CITATIONS
Article 31 – All kinds of publications and presentations resulting from the studies in the project must bear the project number and the notification that they are supported by the Scientific Research Fund of the Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus. It is imperative that one copy of the papers and presentations which are accepted to be published or presented be submitted to the Research Coordination and Support Office.
COPYRIGHTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Article 32 – Copyrights of the intellectual and artistic works resulting from a project belong to METU Northern Cyprus Campus, excluding the Inter-campus Projects. The copyright policy is stated in the Inter-campus Project contracts. A project manager has the right to publish the research results in national or international media unless otherwise is stated in approval form.
Article 33 – In the event that any kind of intellectual products such as works of art, inventions, industrial designs, integrated circuit topographies and technical knowledge which come up during or as a result of the project is to be commercialized, the project manager applies to the Office of the Campus President no later than a year after the completion of the project. Scientific Research Projects Commission presents its proposals regarding the acquisition, allocation and commercialization of the intellectual property rights to the Campus Executive Board. The final decision regarding these issues is taken by the Campus Executive Board. If there is no application by the project manager within a year of the completion of the project, the legal personality of the METU Northern Cyprus Campus has the right to make a disposition regarding the intellectual propriety rights. A project manager’s share from the revenue of the intellectual propriety right cannot be less than half of the amount remained after all the expenses for the project, including the support given in the scope of Scientific Research Project, and the expenses concerning the acquisition of the intellectual propriety rights are deducted.
TAKING EFFECT AND EXECUTION
Article 34 – This directive takes effect on the date of the approval by the Senate of the Middle East Technical University.
Article 35 –The Directive which took effect in accordance with Decision No 2015/3-4 dated March 31, 2015, issued by the METU Senate is no longer valid as of the date this Directive is issued.
Article 36 – The Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus executes the articles in this directory.
In case of discrepancy, the Turkish version of this Directive is binding.