Update: 10 November 2022
The evaluation and short-listing process has been completed.
Notifications have now been issued to all Lead Applicants regarding the status of their submission(s).
We are unable to notify partners/co-applicants directly, please follow up with the Lead Applicant for an update.
The application documentation for the Full Proposal stage has been sent to the Lead Applicant named on the short-listed submissions.

The validation checks have now been completed. Notification of the submission status will sent to the Lead Applicant email address only. If the lead applicant has not received an update by 21 August,
kindly email RIC-2D.info@ku.ac.ae

No, a separate email confirmation will not be issued at this stage.

An on-screen pop-up will appear temporarily once the submit button has been clicked. The pop-up reads “Success: You have successfully submitted this form”.

If you do not see the pop-up, save the application, sign out and then log back in. Click the submit button again, the pop-up should appear within a few seconds. Every time your press submit, it will over-ride the previous submission.

Once the pre-proposal has been received AND the subsequent validation checks have been conducted, an email will be issued to the Lead Applicant to confirm whether or not the submission passed the initial validation checks and if it is being evaluated as part of the short-listing process.

To report any technical issues regarding the submission of an application to RIC-2D,
please email RIC-2D.info@ku.ac.ae. General queries regarding the RIC-2D fund and wider activities of the Center can also be addressed to this email.

Submission must be made online via: www.ku.ac.ae/ric-2d/pre-proposal Click the 'Register/Apply Here' button to start the process.

In order to apply to the RIC-2D Fund, an account must be created via the submission portal. Click on the register/apply button on this web page: www.ku.ac.ae/ric-2d/pre-proposal
An email address and password must be provided to complete the registration, use the email address and registered password to complete the Login field.
From the Login field, click the 'APPLY' button, this provides access to online Cover Form for completion and uploading of the pdf pre-proposal document.

The pdf file name should use the following format: organization name_lead applicant surname_lead applicant first name.pdf e.g. khalifa_jones_john.pdf

If the Lead Applicant is responsible for more than one project submission, a submission number should be added as follows:
e.g. khalifa_jones_john_1.pdf
khalifa_jones_john_2.pdf

Note: only one pdf file can be uploaded per cover form. See response below to 'How can I submit more than one project /pre-proposal'.

It is advised that the pdf file size should not exceed 5MB to avoid encountering technical difficulties when submitting a proposal.

Yes. If you need to make changes to an uploaded Pre-Proposal template and/or replace the uploaded document, use the upload function to add the new version of the document. The old version of the pdf will be overwritten by the newly uploaded file.

Yes. Log into your account, upload and submit the replacement pdf file. This will automatically override the original submission.

It is only possible to submit one project under the same login details. To submit a separate pre-proposal/project concept, a new registration must be created using a different email address. If you do not have multiple email addresses (work, Gmail, outlook etc.) then another member of the project team can use their email information to register a new account. The online cover form should still be completed with the Lead Applicant details, the registration email and Lead Applicant details do not have to be the same.

If you encounter any difficulties please email RIC-2D.info@ku.ac.ae, your enquiry will be addressed as quickly as possible. Please note that traffic to the website is likely to increase as the deadline approaches, it is advisable to register via the submission portal in advance of the deadline to ensure there is time to address any issues. You can upload and submit the pre-proposal pdf as many times as necessary - every time a pdf is uploaded and/or the application is submitted, it will override the previous submission.

No. Submissions will be automatically date and time-stamped. Only those submissions received by the deadline (20 July 1pm GMT) will be eligible for consideration. The website will be monitored and if a technical IT issue arises with the submission portal, guidance will be provided via the website as appropriate.

No. Proposals will only be accepted via the online submission portal: www.ku.ac.ae/ric-2d/pre-proposal You are advised to register online and submit your proposal ahead of the deadline to ensure any technical issues can be addressed in time.

It is anticipated that at least 5 awards will be made, subject to the total budget being requested.

Up to US$ 6 million is available per award based on a cap of US$ 2 million per year for 3 years. Projects can be of lower value and/or shorter duration. The budget requested should be appropriate the scope and scale of the project outputs to ensure their successful delivery.

The standard institutional costing protocols should be followed by each entity involved in the project delivery. For the pre-proposal budget, these rates should be combined to arrive at the total project cost. In addition to providing the total project cost, applicants are required to specify how much of the requested total budget is to be allocated to CAPEX/equipment expenses and how much equates to overhead charges. A full break-down of the budget costs per entity is only required at the Full Proposal stage.

For Khalifa University applicants, Department of Finance (DoF) protocols still apply. Therefore, any faculty time and graduate student costs are considered in-kind expenses and should not be included in the Total Requested Budget amount. FiBi can be used to help generate a budget for Postdoctoral researchers, consumables, equipment, travel, other expenses. Note: The pre-proposal should only be submitted via the RIC-2D website and not via FiBi.

Moderate changes to the budget will be accepted at the Full Proposal stage, circa 10-15%. Anything beyond this is deemed to significantly change the scope and scale of the project and will need prior approval in order to continue with such a submission.

No, the overhead rate is fixed at 20%. All other costs will be covered in full. Any difference between an entity's actual overhead and the capped rate can be considered as an in-kind contribution to the project.

No, there is no limit. However, depending on the interest in the call applicants involved in more than one submission may be requested to prioritise the submissions they are involved in based on the anticipated impact of the different proposals.

Yes, a Lead Applicant can put forward a number of different projects however, please note the submission portal will only accept one submission under the same email and password registration. To submit more than one project, a separate registration will need to be created for each submission. See the response to 'How can I submit more than one project / pre-proposal' above for further instructions.

The guidance statement in the pre-proposal template should read as follows:

If ‘yes’ has been selected for any of the 4 statements listed in the disclosure section of the online cover form, please provided further details here.

Please also disclose whether there are prior or current investors with claims on the commercial outcomes of the proposed activity (if relevant).

Additionally, identify the added value this Fund stands to provide compared to other sources of available investment/funding.

Kindly ignore the following request to: Disclose existing background intellectual property upon which the proposed work is based (if any).

Applications will still be accepted if the original guidance structure was followed.