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CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FUND (URF)
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of University Research Funding (URF) is:
- to assist in stimulating and promoting the research culture within the institution, and
- to provide research project running costs for staff members who wish to upgrade their
qualifications.
2. PROCESS
Call for URF process feedback
Call for URF applications will be open from beginning of J une each and close 31 August each
year (unless an extension is communicated).
Call for URF applications open. Call will be advertised on CPUT website, e-mails to:
Newsflash, Deans, Faculty Research Co-ordinators
Workshops on the process for researchers at Cape Town, Bellville, Mowbray and Wellington
Campuses.
Applicants to submit F1, F1A (and F3 where applicable) to Faculty Research Co-ordinators
(FRC).
Faculty Research Committee to screen F1, F1A and/or F3 in terms of facultys own criteria.
Only approved applications (decided on by Faculty Research Committee) to be submitted to the
research directorate to be captured on URF database.
The Research Directorate is responsible for the review process of all submitted applications.
Preferably reviewers must be independent and not have a vested interest in the project (project
leader, supervisor, or friend of applicant).
URF Evaluation and Allocation committee consisting of the DVC: Research, the Director of
Research and Faculty URF representatives will meet for final screening of applications.
3. ELIGIBILITY
- All CPUT permanent staff and those appointed on contracts of two (2) years or more.
- Researchers who have external grants are NOT eligible to apply for URF.
4. TARGET
- First time applicants who have not previously been supported institutionally or by any other
agency such as, for example, NRF.
- Applicants who have been supported previously but have received no support from other
agencies such as NRF.
- Supervisors of CPUT funded postgraduate students who need support in terms of project
running costs.
CPUT researchers who have external funding, but this particular external funding does not
provide support to Postgraduate students. These researchers may then apply to URF for support
towards the running expenses of their Postgraduate students (R20 000 towards a Masters
student and R40 000 towards a Doctoral students projects running cost.

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Revised version_ August 2009_THW
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5. CONDITIONS
- If an applicant is successful in applying for URF for allocation in 2009, and becomes an NRF
grantholder (IRDP, Thutuka or Focus Areas) at this time, the applicant must declare this fact, and
the URF will be cancelled.
- Only one URF application per person will be reviewed. If an applicant's name does appear as
part of a separate URF application, no specific funding may be requested for that person.
- If a researcher wants to apply for URF for more than one post-graduate student with totally
different topics, he/she should submit one consolidated proposal with the various student projects
listed as objectives of the main project.
- The funds may be used to support research running costs, research assistants' stipend, field
work travel and running costs, local conference contributions and related costs, editing and proof
reading, and the purchase of minor equipment not supported by the departmental equipment
budget if less than R25 000.
- URF can not be used to supplement the researcher's own salary.
- If none of a given grant's budget has been used by August each year, it will be cancelled unless
a satisfactory motivation is submitted to the research directorate. Researchers have until
December each year to spend their URF allocations.
- All unused URF allocated for use in 2008 will be cancelled on 31 December 2009.
- The maximum amount which will be allocated in 2010 for U
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RF is R75 000 per application per
principal researcher/supervisor, R20 000 per masters student and R40 000 per doctoral student.
- The total amount that is available for URF allocations is determined by the institution, not the
Research Directorate.
- In the past this available amount has always been less than the requested amount, resulting in
some partial allocations. It is likely to be the case again in 2010.
6. PRIORITIZATION
Applications are individually assessed on merit and will be prioritized according to the following
factors:
- Development status of the applicant.
- Scientific merit of the application/proposal
- Capacity development element
- Social impact
7. EXCLUSIONS
The following items will NOT be funded:
- Undergraduate bursaries
- International study visits and conferences
- Consultancy fees
- Internet vouchers, stationery, textbooks
- Office furniture
- PCs, laptops, memory sticks, printers, printer cartridges, cell phones. Exceptions will be
considered for researchers who use computers and related equipment as being their only
"laboratory"-type expenses in their field of research.
- Printing, binding and copying of theses
- J ournal and professional body subscriptions
- Research costs for NRF bursars (as those should be covered through the NRF grant)
- Supplementation of researchers' salaries
- Large items of equipment >R25 000

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Revised version_ August 2009_THW
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