Your project must be something that interests you and that you feel safe and prepared to research.

When preparing a project, consider:

• Meaning (Why would others care?)
• potential impact (How will this advance the area/field of knowledge? What is the impact on society? And on the environment? And on people's lives?)
• Innovation (How will this change the status quo – consider the background of your research: What research has already been done on this topic? How was it done? Under what approaches? What are the results? How does it align with or differ from yours? In If in doubt, contact the team at INNOVATES.)
• REAL ESTATE FINANCING (To which development agency – national or international – do I intend to submit my project?)
• Internationalization (Are there international partners? Is there potential for internationalization of research?)
• daring level (Is the project audacious/daring while being feasible within the proposed time frame? Does the topic navigate the frontier of knowledge?)
• project type (regular or thematic, or network projects)

Design a project considering your academic background, line(s) of research(es) and previous experiences. Based on the theme of the project, assess the need to include national and international partners. Scale the team size and expertise needed to achieve the goals outlined in the project. The experimental design must be clear and well defined, as well as the objectives. The inclusion of flowcharts describing the different stages of the project and the goals to be achieved help considerably in the experimental design. The scientific advances to be achieved in carrying out the project must be explained and discussed, in light of the existing scientific literature on the subject. The impact of the research must also be clearly spelled out in the proposal.

Remember that the project must allow diversity of ideas, that is, projects must be multi-institutional and with international and interdisciplinary collaborative networks.

Consider the importance of returning to society, with the participation of qualified professionals to publicize the projects and their results in layman's language, whether using social networks, or scientific journalism professionals to reach the wide-reaching media.

Compliance is essential to the success of your research project. From the moment you begin thinking about your project and throughout the duration of the grant, ensure that your research is and remains in compliance with university policies, state and federal laws, and the requirements of funding agencies, where applicable. whatever.

Therefore, observe the specific needs if your project fits one or more of the items below:

• My research uses genetically modified organisms: be aware, as the units normally have a Biosafety Committee. Talk to your unit's Technical Research Assistant.
• My search uses controlled products.
• My search uses vertebrate animals.
• My search may involve tests with human beings.
• My research involves genetic heritage and/or associated traditional knowledge.
• Note the need for Data Management: the project must be accompanied by a data management plan, in which at least the metadata must be deposited in the UNICAMP Research Data Repositories and, in the case of sensitive data, the project must follow the General Data Protection Law (LGPD).
• How the compliance policy from UNICAMP affects my research.
• How the compliance policy the funding agent to whom I intend to submit my project affects my research (e.g. FAPESP, FINEP, CNPq).
• Can my research result in new technologies or modify existing technologies (can they be submitted to the INPI and the PCT)? refer to UNICAMP Innovation Agency (INOVA) prior to disclosure of the data by any means.
• If the project involves international partners, where can I find guidance on activities and/or international cooperation agreements?

Try to properly size your team so that the number of people does not fall short or beyond what is necessary. A larger number of people leads to management difficulty, in addition to demotivating those who have few activities. However, a smaller quantity leads to work overload and consequent delays and/or decrease in research quality.

Be clear about the scope of action and responsibility of each team member and take into account the fluid communication capacity of each one.

Take into account the importance of having a diverse team in terms of knowledge about the subject of the research, about research tools, strategies and methodologies, and diversity also in terms of training level (undergraduate, master's, doctorate, teachers in early careers and more senior faculty). Try to ensure age (age and professional) and gender balance.

Keep an eye out for scholarship possibilities for team members.

Check if your unit/center/nucleus already has administrative support teams to manage your project. It is important to have qualified technicians who fit into the different areas of knowledge and professionals from the financial sector, aiming at an adequate and balanced use of resources and assistance in purchases and rendering of accounts.

Define your needs and assess your capabilities:

• What resources will you need to obtain to do your job?
• What resources do you already have?

Understanding your needs and resources will help you narrow down the project scope for a specific call for proposals, identifying what facilities/infrastructure you can access and whether you should engage in collaborations with other researchers or partners to optimize the use of resources (facilities/ infrastructure).

In what it refers to available equipment, try to look for or help establish multi-user work platforms: Don't forget to look for what you need in other places/laboratories in your unit or in other units and also check the existing facilities. see the Equipment and Services Center / Service Facility, UNICAMP's research equipment park.

To help you prospect opportunities, the Grant Office of the Dean of Research at UNICAMP keeps an updated page containing funding opportunities with links to Recent Calls from Major Research Funding Agents.

To get funding for your project, consider:

• What will the results mean, not just for your own research, but for your field of knowledge, for other fields, and for the people who will review your proposal?
• How does your potential project fit into the objectives of the funding body or agency or other type of funding agent to which you are going to submit the proposal?

Try to understand how the financing agent will analyze your project. Put yourself in the shoes of an ad hoc advisor and analyze your own project, according to the rules of the financing agent. As an example, see in Forms for Initial Opinion the questions asked by FAPESP to the ad hoc assessors, for each funding modality. On this link has the Opinion for the CEPID modality.

Visit the page of INOVA – UNICAMP Innovation Agency.

FINEP provides some tutorials for registering and submitting proposals on its SISGON platform.

• Tutorial to register   
• Tutorial for filling out proposals
• Video to register an individual
• Video to register a legal entity
• Video to correct Registration and Links

Contracting is the stage that follows the disclosure of the positive result of a request for funding a research project. The granting of amounts is preceded by the signing of a contract between the grantee researcher and the funding body, which sets out the rules for the release and use of resources.

Normally, accompanying the contract, supporting documents, registrations, signatures of directors and other requirements are required, depending on the financing agent. In "Documents” some of the documents generally requested are available or, depending on the case, an explanation on how to obtain them.

Financing contracts with companies or international organizations are governed by agreements or cooperation agreements, with rules that vary and must be well known. before proposal submission to avoid legal doubts, if the proposal is approved. To establish agreements and agreements, the researcher and institutional support teams in the respective units must be aware of UNICAMP standards, determined in Resolution CONSU-A-16/2022.

We show below the rules of the main government funding agents:

• FAPESP

O Term of Grant is the document that formalizes the granting of resources by FAPESP to the Grantee(s), for the development of a previously approved research project, and establishes the conditions and obligations of the grantees (researchers and scholarship holders), the Institution or Host Company and from FAPESP.

• FINEP

Os contracts with FINEP They are signed through agreements with or without the intervention of FUNCAMP. After approval of the notice and sending of requested documents, FINEP sends the draft contract for signature. This document must be processed at SIAD by the responsible unit.

•  CNPq

Hiring at CNPq is carried out in accordance with the call for proposals. The proponent will have up to 90 (ninety) days to sign the AWARD TERM from the date of publication of the extract of the final decision of the call for proposals judgment in the Official Gazette of the Union.

During the development of research, it is necessary to always be aware of the rules and deadlines determined in the concession contract. Inherent to the execution of the research project, purchases, research progress reports, financial statements, etc. they must always be monitored by the institutional support teams for researchers at each university unit (institutes, faculties, centers or nuclei). If the unit does not already have a well-structured team to provide this support, the Grant Office team can guide the researcher.

For the research to progress properly, you need to pay attention to:

• Execution: Implement project activities according to the established plan, monitoring progress, ensuring quality, and adjusting course as necessary.
• Communication: Clear and regular communication must be maintained with all stakeholders such as the funding institution, project partners, project team and beneficiaries to ensure coordination and information flow.
• Monitoring and evaluation: Monitor project performance in relation to established goals and indicators, identify problems or deviations and implement corrective actions as necessary.
• Reports: Prepare periodic reports as required by the funding institution, providing information on project progress, results achieved and use of resources.
• Closure: Perform the final evaluation of the project, record lessons learned, results and effects received. Adequate closure, including final reports, accountability and delivery of results in agreement with the financing institution.

As an example, here are some of the guidelines and rules defined by FAPESP and CNPq regarding the use of resources:

• FAPESP

  • Accountability and Use of Resources

• CNPq
  •  Carlos Chagas Integrated Platform

  • Accountability – Technical report

Disseminating research results is as important as the research itself. It is through the dissemination and sharing of data obtained through the development of research projects that scientific debate takes place, the exchange of experiences and results, the comparison of techniques, methods, tests and knowledge generated and, consequently, advancement scientific, social, economic and cultural.

In this context, adequate management of research data is an essential part of good research practices as it facilitates its reproduction, thanks to the possibility of reusing and sharing data and evidence, in addition to helping to carry out new research and analyzes on similar topics.

Important research funding agencies, such as FAPESP, require that when submitting the proposal, the researcher must present the plan for managing and sharing the data to be obtained with the proposed research.

At UNICAMP, the UNICAMP Library System (SBU) provides a form that provides unique and reliable access for the author to deposit their intellectual production in the UNICAMP Research Data Repository (REDU).

Some useful links for preparing DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS and clarifying doubts:

FAPESP – Data management

FAPESP – Open Science

FAPESP Agency – Data Management Plans