ICSSR Post Doctoral Fellowship For Researchers : Indian Council of Social Science Research

Name of the Organisation : Indian Council of Social Science Research (icssr.org)
Name of the Fellowship : Post Doctoral Fellowship For Researchers
Location : India

Website : http://www.icssr.org/

Post Doctoral Fellowships :
The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) under its Research Fellowships programme awards Senior Fellowships (National, Senior and post-Doctoral) to social science scholars for conducting research on specific themes and issues proposed by the applicants. Fellowships are awarded for conducting studies that have the potential to contribute to theoretical and conceptual advancement in the disciplines, generate field-work based empirical work and new data, and are policy relevant. The studies could be both, macro or micro in nature.

The broad disciplines of study, within the domain of social sciences, are :
(i) Sociology and Social Anthropology;
(ii) Political Science/Pub. Admn. and allied subjects;
(iii) Economics and allied subjects;
(iv) International Studies;
(v) Social Geography and Population Studies;
(vi) Commerce and Management;
(vii) Social Psychology and allied subjects;
(viii) Education and allied subjects;
(ix) Socio-Linguistics/Socio-Cultural and allied subjects;
(x) Law, International Law and allied subjects;
(xi) National Security & Strategic Studies;
(xii) Any other (specify)

Within the framework of social sciences, an effort is made to promote interdisciplinary studies. In regard to other major disciplines such as natural science, medical science, agriculture science, etc., areas of interface between these disciplines and the social sciences are also covered under the Fellowships scheme.

Despite the fact that the award of Fellowships is — in general– application based and demand driven, the ICSSR may from time to time indicate the priority areas of research in its advertisement to obtain desired proposals.

The Fellowships are aimed at :
** Providing opportunities to social scientists to engage themselves in full-time research on important themes of their choice or to write books about their research;
** Assist young scholars who have the potential and competence for research to work full time on their approved research themes;

Three categories of fellowships are offered /awarded to scholars who are at different levels in their profession :
National Fellowships, Senior Fellowships, and Post-Doctoral Fellowships.

Eligibility for Award :
** Social scientists having a reasonable amount of quality research publications to their credit are eligible for the Fellowships. However, civil servants, journalists, social workers, action researchers, etc. may also be considered under this scheme provided they have an established record of academic work and involvement with social science research as reflected in their published contributions.
** Post-Doctoral Fellowships are awarded to scholars, preferably below the age of 50 years, who have shown significant competence in research work, have completed their Ph.D. or have done equivalent research work (in Social Science) of merit, and desire to work on approved research themes at institutions of excellence under the guidance of senior social scientists.

General Terms and Conditions :
** While accepting fellowships from any of the Council’s a fellow should not accept fellowship from any other organization. Also such fellow should not hold any fellowship from the same Council of research in span of five years (whether preceding or succeeding the fellowship from the Council of research) from the date of acceptance of the fellowship from the Council.
** The research undertaken by fellow would be reviewed periodically/time to time and the fellowship being granted by the Council may be discontinued if research undertaken by any fellow is found unsatisfactory. Fellowship amount already released to a fellow may be recovered if the research undertaken by him/her is not found to be satisfactory.
** Extension of Fellowships of National, Senior and post-doctoral fellowships up to six months to a maximum of one year may be considered in exceptional cases by the expert committee of the ICSSR. Any extension to be granted to a fellow should be considered on merit after due examination by an Expert Committee.
** In case of fellowship is awarded to in-service scholars/academic employed in University, Government Department etc.)’ their pay may be protected. However, in case of retired scholars/academics, pension should not be deducted form the amount of fellowships granted by the Council.

Procedure :
Post Doctoral Fellowships are awarded to scholars (in Social science), preferably below the age of 50 years, who have shown significant promise and potential for research. They should have completed/awarded their doctoral degree. They are required to work at an institution of excellence under the guidance of senior social scientists on a theme approved by the Council.

How to Apply?
Applications for the Fellowships can be sent once they are invited through advertisements in the Website of the ICSSR, Association of Universities Newsletter (AIU), Employment News, the Economic and Political Weekly, Mainstream, and some important daily newspapers. Completed applications can be sent to the ICSSR throughout the year. There is no last date for applying.

All applications for Fellowships have to be made on the prescribed Application attached with these guidelines, along with all the following Enclosures :

Enclosure-1 : Application Formand Academic CV of applicant/s
Enclosure-2 : Abstract of Proposal
Enclosure-3 : Full Research Proposal Guidelines for formulation of Research Fellowship
Enclosure-4 : Duly Attested .SC/ST/OBC/PH certificate, if applicable
Enclosure-5 : Applications to be forwarded by the Employer
Enclosure-6 : Non-Public Institutions, as per prescribed format along with No Objection and Salary Certificate from the Employer
Enclosure 7 : Two passport size photographs
Enclosure 8 : Salary certificate from the employer
Enclosure-9 : Copy of the Ph.d certificate

All application forms have to be submitted a hard copy of the proposal is to be sent. Applications must be duly forwarded on the prescribed format with signatures and seal of the Head of the Institution where the scholar is employed or affiliating institution in case the scholar is not employed.

Incomplete applications and those not duly forwarded will not be considered for Fellowship.

Mode of Processing :
Post Doctoral Fellowship applications will be evaluated by a Committee of experts set up for each social science discipline. The committee will meet first to evaluate the proposals and second for interactions if necessary.

Procedure for Selection :
** All requests in response to the advertisement must be accompanied by the Application, Research Proposal (not exceeding 5000 words), , name of a senior social scientist who will supervise the study and his consent letter along with a copy of his bio-data. Guidelines for formulation of Research Fellowship Proposal have been given at Annexure-3. The scholar must mention name of the affiliating institution/organization and proposed supervisor.
** The proposals are examined by a panel of experts and its recommendations are placed before the Research Committee/Council for formal approval. No scholar will be considered for a second fellowship unless five years have elapsed from the date of termination of the last fellowship.

Affiliation and Overhead Charges :
** The fellow must be affiliated to an university/college/ reputed institute (funded by central or state government) of his/her choice with the prior approval of the Council for distribution and administration of funds. The affiliating institution will provide the requisite research infrastructure to the scholar and maintain proper accounts. For this, the Council shall pay, to the institution, overhead charges at seven and a half percent (7.5%) of the total expenditure incurred.
** However, this amount (7.5%) shall be paid only after the completion of the fellowship and on receipt of. Audited Statement of Accounts and Utilization Certificate (in the prescribed proforma GFR 19-A) duly certified either by the Statutory Auditors of the Institute or Chartered Accountants and Director/Competent authorities.

Value and Duration :
** The value of the fellowship is Rs. 28,000/- p.m. (Consolidated) in case of not employed scholars.
** In case of employed scholars, salary protection is provided. The fellow will be entitled to allowances as per the rules admissible at the parent institution. The leave salary and pension contribution/employer’s share of CPF contribution will also be borne by the Council.
** A contingency grant of Rs. 20,000/-p.a. is admissible through the entire period of the fellowship to both not employed and employed scholars.
** The duration of fellowship would be two years extendable up to one more year in special circumstances only for SC/ST and Women Scholars.

Mode of Payment :
The sanction of the fellowship is issued initially for one year, which is effective from the date of joining. The each year’s grant is released in three instalments amounting to 40%, 40% and 20%. The third installment is released only on receipt of the annual progress report and Statement of Accounts. The same procedure is followed for the second year. The last installment will be released on receipt of the 3 copies of the final report on completion of the fellowship.

Final Report and Accounts :
** Fellows are expected to submit the Final Report (in triplicate) in publishable form, within six months after the completion of their fellowship.
** The affiliating body will have to submit an Audited Statement of Accounts and Utilization Certificate (in the prescribed form GFR 19-A), duly certified by a chartered accountant, for the entire expenditure incurred.

Monitoring of Senior and post-Doctoral Fellowship :
** All fellows will be required to submit a six monthly progress report and simple statement of accounts duly signed by the Registrar/Director of the Institute..
** The Fellow is required to submit three hard copies of the final report of the study along with its two copies of the summary to the Council on completion of the fellowship .
** The Council will evaluate the final report by the expert and send the comments to the scholar.

Obligations of the Forwarding Institution :
** The forwarding institution, where the proposed fellowship research is to be located has to provide, in the prescribed format contained in the Application Form, an undertaking to administer and manage the ICSSR grant and provide logistical support for study.
** Such institution will be under obligation to ensure submission of the final report and audited statement of accounts.

Last Date : No last date

For Further Details & Updates, Kindly Visit the Official Website.