Documento(s) 5 de 5

 

Please attach your research or design proposal following the format and instructions listed below. Proposals must include relevant citations in the text and a bibliography. Research/design proposals should be a maximum of 5000 words, double-spaced (approximately 20 typed pages), excluding the bibliography.

 

The project title should be concise and meaningful, and include the name of the city and country where the intended research/ design project will take place.

 

Provide a summary of your proposal (approximately 250 words), presenting an overview of the proposed research or design project, including your research theme(s), methodology and expected outcome(s). If you submit your application in French, the abstract should be submitted in French and in English.

 

3.            Introduction (approx. 1250 words)

 

Purpose: In one sentence, outline the topic and the purpose of your research or design proposal.  Also clearly identify whether your proposal is for a research award or a design award.

 

Problem and Justification: State clearly and justify the problem or issue to be addressed in relation to the particular development context in which your research/design project will take place. Describe the urbanization trends —including urban population, growth rate and size— for the city, country and the region under study.

 

Scope: Specify the focus of your investigation, setting the limits of your research/design project in terms of the work to be produced, the particular time period, the specific geographical area(s) and group(s) of people involved.

 

Definitions: Provide the definition of the key terms and themes to be explored in the context of your research or design project.

 

Research Questions and Initial Hypotheses: Break down your research problem into specific research questions which you will address; in each case state your working hypothesis.

 

Provide a clear and concise description of what you plan to achieve over the course of the project, identifying the goals, the main and specific objectives, which should be concrete and measurable, and against which your project’s achievement could be assessed.

 

Based on your knowledge of the literature, explain the theoretical approach or perspective which helped you understand the problem and formulate your hypothesis.  Identify the knowledge gaps your research will address to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

 

Give specific examples of methods and techniques you plan to apply or develop to examine your hypothesis. Realistically assess the data available from secondary sources and the data you will need to generate from primary sources. Discuss the limitations the data may present and how you will deal with this. Suggest variables, data collection, processing, and analysis techniques which you plan to apply to test your working hypothesis.

 

Discuss any possible obstacles to the execution of the research/design project and to the eventual use of the results. These may include expected difficulties in securing access to data, the difficulty of coming to reliable conclusions, and the partial nature of the results. Identify any ethical questions related to the proposed research/design project.

 

Applicants submitting a design project should also provide graphical representations (plans, sections, elevations, 3D views, sketches and diagrams) with dimensions, the description and estimated cost of the materials and other resources needed to build or implement the proposed design as well as any additional relevant information that would facilitate the assessment of its pertinence, feasibility, quality, and sustainability.

 

Does the proposed project involve carrying out any physical activities (for example, but without limitation the construction, alteration or destruction of a building, or the modification of a physical environment)?  Please be as specific as possible in answering this question.  

 

Describe the anticipated results and the potential uses of your research/design project. Identify the target beneficiaries and explain how the results may impact on them (for instance, in terms of their environment and their financial, human, resource, and social and political assets, gender equity…).

 

In addition, explain the impact you want this whole research/design project to have on the participants (if applicable), yourself, and the host institutions (the local academic institutions and non-academic organizations to which you will be affiliated) over time, and your strategy to achieve this goal.

 

In a wider perspective, explain how the results of this particular project could eventually be used in other settings.

 

As well, describe how the proposed research/design project is innovative and contributes to the advancement of the existing technical and/or scientific knowledge and identify the specific disciplinary fields that will particularly benefit from it.

 

In the case of a research/design project which end results involve a prototype that could eventually be distributed, used or implemented at a wide scale, applicants should comment on its potential socio-economic impacts such as the:

 

 

 

Documento(s) 5 de 5