The Research Office is pleased to make the 2025 call for research proposals that are linked to the USP’s Strategic Research Themes (SRTs), namely:

1. Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Economies.
2. Oceans, Ecosystems, and Climate Resilience.
3. Education, Culture, Health, and Wellbeing.
4. Governance, Justice, and Equality.
5. Innovation, Empowerment, and Sustainability – cross-cutting theme

The Strategic Research Themes above have been derived from the Sustainable Development Goals (2015 – 2030).

Eligibility

1. Any research-active staff (meeting QoR at his/her level) of USP can apply as Principal Investigator if at least one year of the contract remains; and
2. The man-months of research workload for each team member of the project should be indicated in the final full proposal.
3. The early career researchers (Ph.D. within FIVE years) are encouraged to take the role of lead researcher and such projects will be given a preference.

The Principal Investigator can include Graduate Assistants, and Master’s and Ph.D. students in the SRT project provided their research statements are relevant to the SRT, but no scholarships will be provided.

Application Process

A two-step review process will be adopted to optimize the evaluation of the SRT project.

1. Applicants are invited to submit a brief research Intent of up to 2-pages (12-point Times New Roman, 1.5 line Spacing, approximately 1000 words) detailing the project title, project team, brief background, aim, objectives, brief methodology, expected outcome, and indicative budget with final figures of the project (no breakdown needed).
2. Applicants successful in Step 1 will be invited to submit a full proposal using the Project Proposal Template or can be obtained from the Research Office for final evaluation with the budget consistent with SRT Selection Review Criteria & Budget Guideline.

Proposal Selection Criteria and Budget

Projects are budgeted for up to FJD$35K and must have a detailed explanation of the budget.  Applicants are encouraged to refer to the Budget Guidelines when preparing the detailed budget.

The longer-term outputs might be quality publications, wider societal impact, and evolution to sustainable funding will also be considered.

Application Deadlines: Research Intent

• 14 September 2025: Closing date by 5 pm.
• 29 Sept 2025: Research Intents selection and Principal Investigators (PIs) will be informed to prepare the full proposal and submit it by 29 Oct 2025
• 24 Nov 2025: PIs of successful proposals to be notified.

Research intents should be emailed by 14^th September 2025 (COB) to Letila Talemaitoga [letila.talemaitoga@usp.ac.fj].

For further information, please feel free to contact us.

All the best!

Kind regards,

Prof. Gurmeet Singh

DVC (R&I)