Belmont Forum

Belmont Forum is a group of the world's leading scientific and technological research organisations. It aims to promote an international and interdisciplinary approach to research on global environmental alterations.

The Belmont Forum supports global environmental change research through collaborative research actions.
Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs) are mostly conducted through Joint Calls. International consortia consisting of researchers from at least three countries can receive support. The consortium should consist of natural scientists, social scientists, humanities researchers, and research users such as policymakers, auditors, and the private sector. Under the Belmont Forum Joint Research Actions Agreement, each Belmont Forum member supports researchers from its own country.
Each Joint Research Action is led by a Theme Programme Office (TPO) in a Belmont Forum member country. The calls are monitored by the Group of Programme Coordinators (GPC), which includes a representative from each country participating in the call.
Joint Research Actions focus on Belmont Forum priorities, such as global environmental change issues, and support new partnerships between natural scientists, social scientists and users.
 

Belmont Forum Member Countries are organisations, public or private, legally authorised to direct national or international sources of research funding and are active in Belmont Forum Topic Areas. Members commit to (i) actively participating in Belmont Forum operations, (ii) participating in Belmont Forum Joint Research Actions, and (iii) contributing to the Belmont Forum Secretariat through in-kind contributions or annual dues. New Members are admitted at Belmont Forum general meetings.

Belmont Forum Member Countries

Higher education institutions within the scope of the Higher Education Law, 

• Education and research hospitals, 

• Public institutions and organisations,

•  Capital companies (private organisations) resident in Turkey that create added value at the company level, regardless of sector and size, and have a trade registry certificate. 

TUBITAK 1071- Support Programme for Increasing the Capacity to Benefit from International Research Funds and Participation in International R&D Collaborations. 

• Applications from foundations, associations and their economic enterprises, co-operatives, unions, sole proprietorships and ordinary partnerships are not accepted.

• Higher education institutions, training and research hospitals, and public institutions and organisations will be supported with a support rate of 100% over their accepted budgets.

• Large-scale private organisations will be supported with a support rate of 60% over their accepted budgets, and SMEs with a support rate of 75% over their accepted budgets.

Project managers, researchers, consultants, assistant personnel and scholarship holders (except private organisations) can take part in the project team. The people who will take part in the project team must be registered in TÜBİTAK - Researcher Information System (ARBIS), and their records must be up-to-date.

Project executives;

• If they are university staff, they must have a doctorate/speciality in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine/proficiency in art degree.

• If they work in public or private institutions, it is sufficient to have at least four years of university undergraduate education.

• They must be permanent/full-time staff (except pensioners) of the institution (higher education institutions, public institutions or private organisations) where the project will be carried out.

Researchers or consultants who will take part in the project team;

• Must have at least a four-year university undergraduate education and be a permanent/full-time employee (excluding retirees) of the participating institution/organisation they work for.

• The rule that the private institution project manager must have worked in the relevant private institution for at least six months before the national application date, as stated in the Administrative and Financial Principles to be Applied to Research Projects, does not apply within the scope of this call.

• The project manager, researcher and assistant personnel must reside within the borders of the Republic of Turkey. A foreign national may work as a manager/researcher/assistant personnel in the project, provided that he/she work in an institution/organisation within the borders of Turkey.

• Persons whose contribution rate in the project is less than 10% cannot work as researchers. A maximum of 10 researchers can work in a managerial institution.

• In order for a consultant to take part in a project, the project must have one or more subjects that require special expertise, and this must be stated in the project proposal with justification. The number of consultants to be assigned to a project is limited to the number of subjects that require special expertise in that project.

• Retirees who do not work in any institution can take part in the project team as managers, researchers or consultants, provided that they do not receive PTI. In order for retirees to become project managers, they must receive approval from a senior official of the institution/organisation where the project will be carried out that they can take part in the project.

• According to the explanation made in Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Establishment of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey regarding PTI payments, PTI payments can only be made to those who hold cadres and positions in public institutions or organisations (including foundation universities).

• Foreign researchers (foreign/Turkish researchers residing abroad) cannot be assigned to the Turkish project team within the scope of this call.

• Persons employed by the institution, under the supervision of the project manager or researchers, full or part-time, limited to the duration of the project and whose names are not mentioned in the final report, can be assigned to the project management. Assistant personnel are not defined as "Project Personnel" in PBS. Requests for assistant personnel are made by submitting detailed information on the work to be done by the assistant personnel in the project in the budget form.

Scholars;

• "Students" (excluding special students and preparatory students) or "Research Assistants" with student status and post-doctoral researchers who are continuing their undergraduate and graduate (Master's and PhD) education in higher education institutions in Turkey can take part in the project team as scholars.

• Scholarship payments can also be made from the project to those who receive BİDEB scholarship or a monthly scholarship from public institutions/organisations. However, the total amount of scholarship to be calculated by taking into account the amount of monthly scholarship received from BİDEB or public institutions/organisations cannot exceed the project's monthly scholarship upper limits determined by the TÜBİTAK Board of Directors for that year. Those who receive a scholarship from any project supported by TÜBİTAK cannot take part in a second project as a scholarship recipient.

• A maximum of 4 (four) undergraduate students can take part in a project at the same time.

• Conditions required for Postdoctoral Researcher scholars:

• Having a PhD and not working in any institution/organisation,

• Not having an academic title of associate professor and above,

• Not having more than 7 years from the date of obtaining the doctorate, specialisation in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine or proficiency in an art degree.

• Conditions required for Foreign Master's/PhD scholars:

• Master's scholars must be under the age of 30*

• Doctoral scholars must be under the age of 35*

(*) The specified ages must not be completed as of the first day of the application year.

Scholarship amounts are included in the national rules of the calls.

Who cannot be a Project Executor?

The top executives of public institutions/organisations (Rector, Chief Physician, Hospital Administrator, General Manager, Provincial Director of National Education, etc.) cannot serve as project executives if their duties continue during the application, but they can serve as researchers. Deputy top managers of public institutions/organisations (Vice Rector, Deputy Chief Physician, Deputy General Manager, etc.) may serve as project executives within the scope of these calls.

Members of the Group Executive Board and Advisory Board of ARDEB can work as project coordinators, researchers or consultants within the scope of this call, provided that their duties continue during the application.

Within the scope of the call, an allowance may be requested per executing organisation for travelling to participate in domestic/overseas scientific meetings (congresses, conferences, etc.) and for travelling for activities such as study visits, networking, etc. between project partners.

(The aforementioned travel support is included in the project budget and is not a budget provided in addition to research support.)

Within the scope of the call, an allowance may be requested per executing organisation for travelling to participate in domestic/overseas scientific meetings (congresses, conferences, etc.) and for travelling for activities such as study visits, networking, etc. between project partners.

(The aforementioned travel support is included in the project budget and is not a budget provided in addition to research support.) For each application, international applications must be made at https://www.bfgo.org according to the calendar announced by Belmont Forum, and national applications must be made at https://uidb-pbs.tubitak.gov.tr according to the calendar announced by TÜBİTAK. For the applications to be valid, both application steps must be completed in full. For each call, the announced national rules should be carefully considered.

National applications to TÜBİTAK within the scope of this call can only be made with an electronic signature.

For applications to be made using a qualified electronic certificate, the signature process must be completed before the specified deadlines. For applications made using a qualified electronic certificate, the persons in the project team and all executing/participating institution/organisation officials must have a qualified electronic certificate (e-signature).

The results of the international independent referee/panel evaluation to be coordinated by the call secretariat will be accepted by TÜBİTAK as the final evaluation result. The projects to be supported will be determined at the Call Steering Committee meeting, where all funders are represented based on the referee evaluation results. Projects with negative international evaluation results cannot benefit from national support within the scope of the relevant call.

In the projects supported within the scope of the TÜBİTAK 1071 support programme, the provisions of the “Principles of Intellectual Property Rights to be Applied in Projects Supported in accordance with the Regulation on Project Incentives and Support Principles” are applied.

Other Important Considerations;

It is expected that the table will help to clarify the differences between having one executing organisation on PBS and having more than one executing organisation in a project.

• As a project coordinator, more than one project application can be made to this call.

• The same project proposal cannot be applied to more than one programme in the same period.

• Consultancy and service procurement expenses received from international project partners are not supported.

• The national support start date of the project can be the earliest international project support start date. However, it should be ensured that the national support start date is after the date of completion of the e-signature process of the project proposal via PBS and determined as the first/fifteenth day of the month.

• The provisions of the relevant provisions of the Regulation on the Programmes Executed by the TÜBİTAK Research Support Programmes Directorate and the Administrative and Financial Principles to be Applied in Research Projects shall apply to the suspension, abolition and cancellation of the projects. In addition, in cancelled projects, if the project executor private institution(s) is/are at fault, all expenditures made to the relevant project executor private institution(s) within the scope of the project shall be recovered with legal interest.

• In the event that the progress/result reports (including Certified Public Accountant audit and certification report for private organisations) are not sent to TUBITAK on the date required by the project agreement, a deduction of up to thirty percent (30%) may be applied on the transfer amount related to the progress/result reports of private organisations for the relevant period with the decision of the Group Executive Committee. This provision shall not apply if it is determined that the delay is due to force majeure.

• If the international call secretariat requires a consortium agreement regulating the duties and responsibilities between all partners of the project, the use of project results and issues related to intellectual property rights, the responsibility for the preparation and entry into force of the relevant agreement belongs to the project partners. TUBITAK does not share a draft consortium agreement text to serve as an example. The Turkish partners of the project should request that TUBITAK support be initiated after the consortium agreement is put into force.

• In order to support the costs of the partners who are members of the board of directors of joint stock companies, limited liability company partners and limited liability company partner managers working in the project, there must be a provision in the articles of association regarding the wages or a general assembly decision must be taken. In case a general assembly decision is required, the costs after the date of the general assembly decision are supported.