Before you begin to develop a proposal, it is important to be sure you are eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator.

Anyone holding the following positions may be designated as the PI:

1.  All tenured and tenure-track Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors and Librarians
2.  All Research Assistant Professors, Research Associate Professors, Research Professors, Extension Specialists, Clinical Professors, and Senior Research Fellows
3. All Adjunct, Visiting, Emeritus, Lecturers or other faculty who have the approval of their Department and the approval of the Dean of the relevant Faculty. ​​​​ PIs in this category should either include a Co-PI from appointment types described in 1 and 2 above; or provide a signed memo where the Chair and Dean shall accept full fiscal and administrative liability and responsibility for the actions of the Principal Investigator included in this category.
4. All Post-Doctoral Fellows who have the approval of their Department and the approval of the Dean of the relevant School or College. The Post-Doctoral Fellow’s mentor must be included as a Co-PI.
5. All Professional Staff who are not also students with the approval of their Department and the approval of the Dean of the relevant Faculty, or Vice-Chancellor.

In cases where the PI is affiliated with a Non-Profit Organization, the application will be reviewed on a case-by-case consideration, including an assessment of the organization’s track record, & additional documents may be required.

Any researcher from the targeted countries who is eligible to be a PI is also eligible to be a Co-PI. Researchers from non-targeted countries can only serve as co-applicants.

No

No. Students may designate their mentor/advisor as the PI.

To be eligible, researchers should be affiliated with a university and public research institutes.

Yes, provided that other conditions are met.

In the spirit of taking a decolonial approach towards the whole process, the project has no intention to prematurely disqualify potentially great ideas/ proposals. However, it strives by all costs to minimize financial risks. Partners are encouraged to go through the registration process for as long as they come from a legitimate entity. However, further documents may be requested during the review process, and they may further be partnered with other teams within the same region.

Yes! The program is more than happy to support an existing project and propel it to greater heights for as long as it aligns with the scope of the call.

• Generally, the project is open to Lower to Middle-Income countries. Where there is ambiguity, the best thing is to seek clarity from the project staff (see contact details at the bottom, of the page).

We will consider any project based on at least SDG3 (“Good Health and Well-being”) and SDG5 (“Gender Equality”). The research should be aimed at enhancing early detection, warning, and response to infectious diseases with AI being the entry point.

No, it is not acceptable for someone to submit two proposals as a PI. One can, however, be a PI in one application and a co-applicant in another. With that said, a researcher may be named in two applications, but not as a PI.

Direct costs are those that can be specifically and easily identified with the project or activity and are allowable under IDRC’s and York University’s guidelines. Indirect costs, are those costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives, and cannot be easily and specifically identified with a particular sponsored project. These costs are also sometimes called “facilities and administrative costs (F&A)” or “overhead.”

University indirect costs include building and equipment depreciation and use allowance; general administration; departmental, sponsored program, and sponsored project administration expenses; interest; operation and maintenance expenses; library expenses; and student administration and services expense. We will pay the university for indirect costs (up to 13%).

Anticipated members of the program should be identified in the proposal: up to four in the registration stage; eight members in the NOI stage and up to 15 members in the full proposal, inclusive of the potential Director (PI).

The project is open to all innovative ideas. However, it lays an emphasis on the use of locally sourced, contextually relevant, and relatable data. It is further desirable that there is clarity on the research, and its public policy impact.

• The 15/01/2023 deadline at this point is for pitching the research ideas. The process has been made to be as accessible as possible. All you need to do is to write about your general idea and attach the CVs of the research team. Prospective partners are encouraged to review the website closely, as a lot of information has already been shared via the same platform, including the project timelines.
• Additionally, applicants are encouraged to reach out to the AI4PEP staff in cases where they are in doubt or require clarity on specifics during any stage of the process. It was also mentioned that the project will provide on-going support to applicants during the different stages of the application process. The Briefing Session was an initial form of such support, there will also be workshops to guide applicants through the next phase of the application process.

The announcement of shortlisted proposals will be on January 15, 2023.

The announcement of competition results will be on March 20, 2023.

In the spirit of decoloniality, the project would like to make the process as accessible as possible, hence there is deliberate language flexibility. Applicants should feel free to fill the applications in either of the above languages.

The funding has been allotted in CA $ as stated in the call. However, the project anticipates and appreciates the dynamics around varying currencies in different locales. Applicants are requested to convert currencies as needed and align with the CA $.

Up to CAN$1,283,286 per region (up to CAN$362,500 per team).

Funds are administered through the university.

The project seeks to take a decolonial approach in its processes and methodologies. You are encouraged to nominate reviewers from your region to encourage community participation in the process.

The project strongly encourages collaboration. However, applicants are encouraged to bring organic ideas. If they find partners with whom they are compatible, that would be acceptable. In cases where some projects could benefit from collaborating, such partnerships may be recommended in the next phase of the proposal. Yes, two Co-Principal Investigators are allowed but there should be just one principal institution.