Initial Screening

An initial screening (preselection) process is based on identifying proposals that meet the following basic requirements:

• Completeness in terms of information requested.
• Alignment with the WRC’s core strategic research objectives and the specific focus of the KSA being approached for funding.
• Alignment with programmes for which funds are available. In this respect, it is crucial to take note of the funds allocated in each KSA, as this is reviewed and adjusted annually.
• Submission by a South African institution, organisation or individual, for research to be funded and executed in South Africa. It is not permissible to support research or researchers outside South Africa with research funds contributed by South African water users.
• All proposals must be drafted in compliance with the Guidelines for Proposal Preparation and Submission document.
• Proposals must be submitted, in English, via the WRC's Internet-based electronic submission system. This system is made available when the official Call for Proposals is announced on the WRC website.
• Non-solicited research proposals
  A proposal must be clearly directed at a specific KSA and must address a topic of high priority within that KSA, as indicated by the Thrusts and Programmes for which funds are available within that KSA.
• Solicited research proposals
  It is essential that proposers adhere to the Terms of Reference (ToRs). These are drafted for specific projects in consultation with stakeholders to ensure that the research will be relevant to the needs of the country and support the WRC’s strategic objectives.

Any proposal not meeting these basic requirements will be eliminated during the initial screening process and will not be be referred to reviewers for further consideration.

Selection Criteria

Following the initial screening, the focus of the selection process is primarily on the applicability of the research and the quality of the proposal.  The criteria are basically similar for both solicited and non-solicited research proposals. Furthermore, the selection criteria help to ensure that the WRC’s expectations and requirements with regard to strategic initiatives such as capacity development, equity and re-dress, knowledge dissemination, innovation, commercialisation and leveraging of resources will be met.

The selection criteria include:

• Applicability and relevance to the needs of society and to the WRC’s strategic research objectives
• Scientific/Technical credibility
• Potential contribution to capacity building and competence development
• Innovation
• Knowledge application/commercialisation
• Knowledge dissemination
• Leveraging of resources
• Financial and in-kind contributions from organisations other than the WRC
• Anticipated value for money (through critical assessment of the proposed budget)
• Track records of research team, project leader and lead organisation (where applicable)
• Make-up of the research team with regard to equity and redress

Criteria are appropriately weighted and a final merit score is ascertained to assist in decision-making. It should be noted that these scores are used as a guide rather than as an absolute basis for the prioritisation and ranking of proposals during the evaluation and selection process.

Evaluation Process

Evaluation and final selection of suitable research proposals follows a four-stage process:

• The first step is the screening of proposals for:
  • completeness of the submitted information
  • relevance, to ensure that proposals address topics (thrusts, programmes) for which funding has been allocated
• Proposals which qualify will then be referred to external, expert reviewers (national and/or international) for further evaluation (with particular reference to the selection criteria)
• Based on the reviewers’ assessments, the WRC’s responsible research manager will prepare recommendations for further evaluation and consideration by a KSA team. These teams consist of the KSA Director and selected research managers
• Recommendations emanating from the KSA team assessments are then presented to the WRC Executive (CEO, Deputy CEO and all KSA Directors). Final decisions made at this level, complete the selection process

In the interests of transparency, all decisions to either fund or not fund a particular research proposal are fully documented. The main reasons for decisions not to fund are routinely communicated to proposers of research projects.