Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP) for Black South African Academics 2022

The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the FirstRand Foundation (FRF) have partnered to pursue the goal of increasing the proportion of suitably qualified Black African academic staff and academic staff with disabilities, at South African public universities, by establishing the Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP).

The NRF issues a Call for Proposals for BAAP annually. This Call will be accompanied by a detailed NRF Application and Funding Guide explaining the information to be included in the NRF online application. Applicants will be invited to apply for funding in one (1) of the following two (2) tracks:
? PhD Track: for applicants registered for a PhD degree; and
? Post-PhD Track: for applicants intending to pursue Post-PhD research training.

In the context of higher education, a PhD qualification is a requirement for undertaking high quality research and supervising PhD students. The production and support of emerging researchers, i.e. those that are on the path to becoming established researchers, is also a prerequisite to promote globally competitive research and innovation. The NRF therefore promotes the research development of emerging researchers, employed at South African public universities, from the pre-PhD level to the attainment of an NRF rating.

Aim
This programme is a directed intervention aimed at promoting the development of Black academics specifically, Black South African citizens and academic staff with disabilities, by accelerating the training of PhD and Post-PhD candidates to enhance their research training and accelerate their progression to become established researchers

Objectives
In light of the above, the objectives of the Black Academics Advancement Programme are to:

• Support academics, particularly Black South African females and persons with disabilities, employed at public universities in South Africa to attain a PhD qualification and Post-PhD research training in all disciplines; and
• Promote the attainment of an NRF rating by Black South African early-career academics, especially Black and female researchers and persons with disabilities.

• Table of Content
• About FirstRand
• BAAP Black Academics Advancement Programme
• Requirements for BAAP Black Academics Advancement Programme Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for BAAP Black Academics Advancement Programme
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About FirstRand

FirstRand Limited, through its portfolio of integrated financial services businesses, operates in South Africa, certain markets in sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, and India. The group’s track record of delivering superior returns to shareholders has been achieved through a combination of organic growth, acquisitions, innovation and the creation of completely new businesses. Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), FirstRand Limited is the largest financial institution by market capitalisation in Africa. FirstRand can provide its cus... continue reading

BAAP Black Academics Advancement Programme

Requirements for BAAP Black Academics Advancement Programme Qualification

The following general eligibility criteria apply to all applicants:

? Applicants must be Black, South African citizens or South African citizens with a disability;
? Applicants must hold a permanent, full-time academic appointment at one of the 26 public universities in South Africa, or a fixed-term appointment that extends for the full grant period plus one additional year.
? Applicants must not have received or hold a valid NRF A, B, C, or P rating at the time of commencement of the programme. Should an NRF Evaluation and Rating application and the BAAP application be submitted simultaneously and both are successful, then the BAAP grant will not be awarded.
? This grant may not be held concurrently with a Thuthuka Grant. In cases where the BAAP and Thuthuka applications are submitted simultaneously and both are successful, then the Thuthuka grant will not be awarded.
? New Generation Academics Programme (nGAP) scholars are excluded from applying to this Call.

PhD Track
The following eligibility criteria will apply, at the time of application, in respect of the PhD Track.

Applicants must:
? Be registered for a PhD degree in any discipline;
? Not be older than forty five (45) years of age;
? Have a proposed PhD research project, supported by the nominated supervisor.

This is a compulsory report which must be submitted electronically via the Reference Section of the application.

Post-PhD Track

The following eligibility criteria will apply, at the time of application, in respect of the PostPhD Track.

Applicants must:
? Not be older than forty five (45) years of age; and
? Have completed a PhD degree within five (5) years of the time of application

Interview date, Process and Venue for BAAP Black Academics Advancement Programme

The selection of successful candidates for this grant will be guided by the principles outlined below.

• Equity and redress: In keeping with the equity and transformation objectives of the country, BAAP will support only South African citizens employed at public universities as full-time academics. The equity target for this programme is to support South African citizens being 90% African and 10% comprising of Indian, Coloured and persons with disabilities. Fifty five (55%) percent of all grants will be prioritised for female applicants.
• Institutional spread: Ideally, two (2) awards per annum will be made to each university that submits applications that meet the eligibility and merit review criteria. However, more than two awards per annum may be made to institutions subject to the availability of BAAP funding.
• Commitment to excellence: Even though the programme has a developmental focus, only quality proposals that are scientifically sound and obtain a favourable independent merit review will be considered for funding.
• Achievability: The research proposal and individual’s development plan must be realistic, i.e. achievable in terms of the research objectives, the resources required and the projected completion times.
• Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Nomination: Only applications with a letter of nomination including a strong motivation from the DVC Research (or equivalent) at the university where the academic is employed, will be considered for the award.
• Candidate’s personal motivation: As this is a developmental programme, only applications with a well-motivated academic and research career plan, with intended outcomes will be considered for the award

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details,visit BAAP website