For Applicants | Application Process
|  Can PEER grant recipients use the funding to support a visiting scientist from the United States, including for workshops?
Yes. Travel expenses for visiting scientists from the United States can be covered using PEER funds.
View more FAQs... |
|
PEER proposal submission has two phases:
- Phase 1: A brief pre-proposal due by October 29, 2021. Following completion of pre-proposal review, applicants selected to proceed to Phase 2 are invited by National Academies to submit full proposals
- Phase 2: Full proposals due by March 7, 2022. Applicants invited to submit full proposals should refer to full RFP for details.
Timeline
| August 23, 2021 | PEER solicitation posted on National Academies website | | October 29, 2021 | Pre-proposals due to National Academies | | December 13-17, 2021 | Selected applicants are invited by National Academies to submit a full proposal, all others are notified of declination | | March 7, 2022 | Full proposals due to National Academies | | June 2022 | PEER awardees announced |
Budget Information
Projects funded under the current PEER COVID cycle are anticipated to run for one year only. If circumstances require and the project is otherwise in good standing, projects may request and receive a six-month no-cost extension at the discretion of their PEER grant managers.
Awards will be for a maximum of US $70,000. Only a total estimated budget figure is required at the pre-proposal stage. Detailed budget requests and further justification will be requested from applicants invited to submit a full proposal. Total estimated budget numbers should be developed commensurate with the support needed to achieve the project goals. A budget template (16KB, .xls) is available on the PEER website to help applicants better estimate anticipated total budget costs.
For questions regarding budget estimates for pre-proposals, applicants may contact PEER staff (peer@nas.edu).
If a project is selected to receive an award, funds will be made available to the applicant's institution at the start of the project term, after the grant agreement is signed by both the recipient institution and the National Academies.
Pre-Proposal Review Criteria
The pre-proposal review process will be managed by the National Academies. Pre-proposals will be evaluated by USAID and the National Academies based on the following criteria:
- PEER applicant compliance with eligibility requirements
- Participation of USG-supported partner, including verification of active research award or eligibility status, and degree of alignment with his or her expertise with the proposed project goals
- Alignment with research priorities outlined in Section II of the Request for Applications and USAID country-specific development objectives
- Development impact of proposed research
- (If a prior PEER awardee) Demonstration by the applicant of how the proposed work is distinct from their prior PEER award and /or how the proposed work significantly builds off the previous PEER award to achieve broader development impact
Applicants are required to submit a pre-proposal form through the PEER online system, completed in English. Paper and e-mail submissions are not accepted. Applicants are encouraged to check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the program website for additional details. After the pre-proposals are reviewed, applicants will receive notification from National Academies program staff that indicates one of the following:
- Pre-proposal has been deemed eligible and relevant, with an invitation to submit a full proposal
- Minor issues with eligibility and relevance, with an invitation to submit with issues addressed
- Pre-proposal deemed ineligible or insufficiently relevant to USAID objectives - not invited to submit full proposal
Policy on Fraudulent or Plagiarized Data and Documents in Grant Submissions
Applicants to PEER are advised that the program has a zero-tolerance policy regarding the submission of fraudulent or plagiarized data and documents as part of award pre-proposals and proposals. Any such cases discovered by PEER staff or brought to their attention by program sponsors, review panelists, partners, or members of the public will be investigated immediately. If the presence of fraudulent or plagiarized materials in a submission is verified, the following actions will be taken:
- The pre-proposal or proposal will be removed from further consideration for funding.
- The applicant will be notified of the findings of the investigation and will be placed on a debarment list prohibiting him or her from submitting any future pre-proposals or proposals to PEER.
- An appropriate official at the applicant’s institution will be advised of the case and provided with copies of the fraudulent or plagiarized materials for use in any further investigations or actions in accordance with that institution’s policies.
- The USAID Agreement Officer’s Technical Representative assigned to PEER will be notified so that information may be forwarded to the USAID Office of Inspector General to assist them in determining the applicant’s eligibility for any future support from USAID directly or through other implementing partners.
About the Pre-Proposal Application Template
The pre-proposal submission template, which may be accessed by clicking the "Ready to Apply" button on the PEER website, includes the following sections:
- PEER applicant information
- USG-supported partner information, including the partner’s USG-funded grant title, number, funding agency, program officer and contact information
- Project description (approximately 2 pages of text total), in which the following must be addressed:
- Project aims and objectives
- Significance of the research as it relates to a particular focus area and development impact to local, regional or national community
- A description of how the expertise of the USG-supported partner will complement the proposed project and how the partner will utilize travel funds requested in the estimated PEER budget
- Other potential partners with whom the applicant will collaborate on the project (for example, government agencies, USAID Missions, co-PIs, research networks, laboratories, and other implementing partners) and the nature of the planned collaborations
- Estimated total budget figure not to exceed a maximum of US $70,000. The budget for PEER projects varies depending on the proposed research scope, but the proposed duration should be one year.
- Appendices:
- A brief CV of no more than two pages for the PEER applicant. Please use this standard format for CVs (DOC). The CV should provide citations for no more than 5-10 recent and relevant publications.
- A brief letter of support written by the USG-supported partner explaining his or her intention to collaborate on the proposed PEER project and how the PEER partnership will contribute to the partner’s USG-supported research. The letter should also include the partner’s USG-funded award title, number, funding agency, program officer and contact information for his or her active USG award.
|
