Call for Proposals: GREC-Aemers Rising Researchers Grant (Total Pool: BDT 500,000)

• Issuing organization: Aemers LLC, USA (the “Funding Agency”)
• Funding instrument: Small research grant
• Total pool: BDT 500,000 (five lac Taka)
• Number of awards: 2 to 5
• Award size: Minimum BDT 30,000; maximum BDT 250,000 per project
• Project performance period: 8 months of active research
• Manuscript timeline: Journal submission by Month 10; editor or reviewer decision by Month 12
• Eligible formats: Individual or team application (up to 4 members)
• Disciplines prioritized: Healthcare, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information Technology, Business, eLearning and Educational Technology, Engineering, Environmental Science

1) Program Overview and Purpose

The “GREC-Aemers Rising Researchers Grant” supports early-career investigators who will conduct independent primary research with broadly applicable findings. 

1.a) Geographical validity: Projects should address problems whose implications extend beyond a single locality in Bangladesh and contribute to globally relevant knowledge or practice. 

The program is designed to accelerate high-quality studies that can be completed within 8 months and converted into a manuscript suitable for a peer-reviewed journal within 10 months.

2) Priority Areas and Example Topics

We welcome rigorous proposals that apply quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods in the following areas:

• • Domain 1: Pharmaceutical Sciences and Healthcare Practice: 
    • Examples from Pharmaceutical Sciences: Drug discovery and natural products, Generic and biosimilar development, Formulation and drug delivery systems, Pharmacology and toxicology, Pharmacoeconomics, Biotechnology and vaccines, Clinical pharmacy and practice research, Regulatory and quality assurance
    • Examples from Healthcare Practice: Clinical trials and evidence-based medicine, Public health and epidemiology, Non-communicable disease management, Infectious disease control and antimicrobial resistance, Health systems and policy research, Telemedicine and digital health, Mental health and psychiatry, Surgery and minimally invasive techniques, Emergency and critical care, Maternal and child health, Medical education and training, Preventive medicine and lifestyle interventions, Palliative and geriatric care, Regenerative medicine and stem cell research, Personalized and precision medicine
  • Domain 2: Information Technology: 
    • Examples: Artificial intelligence and machine learning, Data science and big data analytics, Cybersecurity and cryptography, Cloud computing and virtualization, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and distributed systems, Human-computer interaction, Software engineering and agile methodologies, Computer vision and natural language processing, Quantum computing
  • Domain 3: Business: 
    • Examples: Strategic management and leadership, Entrepreneurship and innovation, Supply chain and logistics management, Organizational behavior and human resources, Marketing analytics and consumer behavior, Financial technology (FinTech) and investment strategies, Corporate governance and ethics, International trade and globalization, Small and medium enterprise development, Business sustainability and corporate social responsibility
  • Domain 4: eLearning and Educational Technology: 
    • Examples: Online learning platforms and MOOCs, Adaptive learning technologies, Gamification and serious games, Virtual reality and augmented reality in education, Artificial intelligence in personalized learning, Mobile learning applications, Learning management systems and analytics, Digital assessment and proctoring, Teacher training and digital pedagogy, Accessibility and inclusive education technologies
  • Domain 5: Engineering:
    • Examples: Civil infrastructure and smart cities, Renewable energy systems, Advanced materials and nanotechnology, Robotics and automation, Electrical power systems and smart grids, Mechanical design and manufacturing, Biomedical engineering and medical devices, Aerospace engineering and propulsion, Communication systems and signal processing, Structural and earthquake engineering
  • Domain 6: Environmental Science:

• • • Examples: Climate change mitigation and adaptation, Air and water pollution control, Waste management and recycling, Biodiversity and conservation biology, Sustainable agriculture and food security, Renewable energy and low-carbon technologies, Environmental policy and governance, Ecosystem restoration and land use planning, Marine and coastal ecosystem studies, Environmental health and toxicology

• Domain 7: Others, outside the specified domains above

Proposals may use Bangladesh as a study site if the question, design and contributions are framed for global relevance.

3) Funding Structure

• Total available funding is BDT 500,000 to be awarded to two to five best applications.
• Each individual award must be no less than BDT 30,000 and no more than BDT 250,000.
• Budgets must be realistic and tied to specific tasks and deliverables.

4) Eligibility

• Applicant status: Individuals or teams up to four members. If applying as a team, no member may submit another application as an individual or as part of a different team.
• Early-career requirement: The Principal Investigator (PI) must have earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 60 months at the time of application. Applicants whose bachelor’s degree is older than 60 months are not eligible.
• Prior funding restriction: The proposed project must not have received a grant from any source previously.
• Experience: Applicants with relevant research and publication experience will receive priority in review.
• Location and funds: Applicants must be able to lawfully receive funds in Bangladesh and comply with local research regulations.

5) Required Outputs and Timeline

Project period: 8 months of research, followed by publication milestones through Month 12.

Mandatory deliverables

1. Month 1: Final protocol, detailed workplan and data collection instruments; evidence of ethics review or exemption (IRB or equivalent) where applicable.
2. Month 4: Mid-term progress report with preliminary analyses or fieldwork status.
3. Month 8: Final technical report, cleaned dataset and codebook or analysis scripts as applicable, plus a full journal-ready manuscript draft.
4. Between months 9 and 12: Submit the evidence of manuscript submission 

Engagement obligations for winners

• Agree to a recorded interview and provide a plain-language research summary for public communication.
• Host up to three unpaid student volunteers or interns from the Funding Agency during the project, under a mutually agreed scope that respects ethical standards and authorship norms.
• Present a poster at the Funding Agency’s Research Showcase.
• Serve as a juror in future grant cycles when invited, provided no conflict of interest exists.
• Acknowledge funding in professional bios, social media and all scholarly outputs using the standard wording provided after award.

6) Allowable and Unallowable Costs

Allowable

• Data collection expenses, participant compensation, transcription and translation.
• Research assistant stipends, short-term technical services, software licenses, cloud computing.
• Local travel essential for fieldwork, materials and minor equipment.
• Modest PI stipend up to 20 percent of the total budget.

Not allowable

• Institutional overhead or indirect costs.
• Tuition fees, degree-seeking expenses, non-project travel, major equipment purchases, general office furniture.
• Payments for work performed before the grant start date.

Equipment cap: Durable equipment should not exceed 30 percent of the budget and must be justified by the methodology.

7) Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

All eligible proposals will be reviewed by an independent committee. Proposals are scored against the rubric below.

Criterion	Weight
Significance and global relevance of the problem	25%
Methodological rigor and feasibility in 8 months	25%
Investigator track record and team capability	15%
Clarity and completeness of the 1,000-word proposal	10%
Budget realism and value for money	10%
Alignment with priority disciplines and engagement obligations	10%
Ethics, risk mitigation, data management plan	5%

Ties may be resolved by considering disciplinary diversity and practical potential for uptake.

8) Application Package

Part 8.1) Submit the Google Form linked Here. 

Part 8.2) Submit a shared Google Doc via email (to contact@grecaemers.com) in English that includes the following sections or tabs:

1. Cover page: project title, PI and team details (names, affiliations, emails), priority discipline, total budget requested.
2. 1,000-word proposal covering: background and significance, research questions, study design and methods, sample and instruments, analysis plan, feasibility and risk mitigation, expected contributions and global applicability.
3. Timeline showing tasks across 8 months, plus the Month-10 submission and Month-12 decision milestones.
4. Detailed budget with justifications and a payment schedule request aligned to Section 10.
5. CV for the PI and brief bios for each team member, highlighting any publications or prior research.
6. Declaration by all team members confirming eligibility, exclusivity of participation, and that the project has not received prior funding.
7. Names and contacts of institutional references from professors or mentors of the host institutions.

9) Key Dates

• Call released: October 15th, 2025
• Deadline for questions: November 1st, 2025
• Application deadline: November 15th, 2025, 11.59 PM Bangladesh Standard Time
• Notification of award: within 30 days of the deadline
• Earliest start date: within 15 days of award acceptance

Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

10) Award Administration and Disbursement

• Standard disbursement: 40 percent on award and contract signature; 30 percent upon approval of the Month-4 progress report; 30 percent upon acceptance of the Month-8 technical report and manuscript draft.
• Disbursements may be adjusted to match project risk and cash-flow needs.
• The Funding Agency may withhold or reclaim funds if milestones are missed without approved justification.

11) Authorship, Intellectual Property and Data

• Investigators retain authorship and intellectual property developed under the award.
• Winners grant the Funding Agency a non-exclusive license to feature summaries, interviews, posters and non-confidential materials for outreach.
• Open data and code sharing are encouraged when ethically and legally permissible. Sensitive data must be protected in line with the approved ethics plan.

12) Compliance and Ethics

• Primary data collection must follow recognized ethical standards. Projects requiring IRB or equivalent approval must obtain it before fieldwork.
• Risk management, participant safety and data security must be described in the proposal.
• Researchers are responsible for all permits and institutional approvals.

13) Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality

• Reviewers will declare any conflicts and recuse when necessary.
• Application materials will be used solely for review and administration and will not be shared outside the process.

Quick Checklist

• Bachelor’s degree within last 60 months (PI).
• No prior grant for the same project.
• 1,000-word proposal included.
• Budget within BDT 30,000 to 250,000.
• 8-month research plan with Month-10 submission and Month-12 decision target.
• Agreement to interviews, poster presentation, hosting unpaid volunteers or interns, future jury service when invited, and proper funding acknowledgments.