Second Call for Staff Innovation Proposals – 2019/2020

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR
(RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND LINKAGES)

Second Call for Staff Innovation Proposals – 2019/2020
THEME: RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY FOR INDUSTRIAL

GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1. INTRODUCTION
   Innovation is the process by which ideas are transformed into new/improved
   products/services/processes. It leads to improvement in productivity, in efficiency
   and in quality of products leading to increased economic growth.
   The current national, regional and global focus is to expand economic
   opportunities through increased investment and innovation. As the world
   economies grow, it is imperative that this growth is achieved in a sustainable
   manner. The second call for innovation proposals is focusing on the theme of
   Research, Innovation and Technology for Industrial Growth and Sustainable
   Development and is therefore meant to provoke the applicants to come up with
   innovation projects that can mitigate the emerging dynamics of the needs of the
   world’s growing population.
   This call seeks proposals of Innovations that support innovation and
   entrepreneurial skillstechnologies to ensure utilization of natural resources in an

environment sensitive manner while fostering contributions towards socio-
economic growth and sustainable development.

The innovation should be in line with the national priorities as envisaged in the
Kenya Big Four Agenda and Kenya vision 2030, as well as the sustainable
development goals.

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE CALL
   The objectives of this call are to:
   i. Promote Machakos University staff creativity and contribute
   towards the realization of the national, regional and global agenda
   ii. Generate tangible prototypes and proven services to increase the university
   competitiveness in innovation
   iii. Provide an opportunity for Machakos University staff to actualize and
   patent their innovations.
2. SUB THEMES

a. Agriculture, food and nutrition security;
b. Health, Sports and Tourism; (Hot topic: Cancer)
c. Education and Ethical issues in research and product development.
d. Housing, Transport, Energy and Industrialization;
e. Environment, Natural resources and Climate change;
f. Mathematics, Statistics & Data Science; Basic and Applied Sciences;
g. Language, Culture, Social Equity and Governance;
h. Business, Entrepreneurship and SMEs;

1. GENERAL GUIDELINES
   a) Each proposal will be funded for a period of up to 1-year subject to
   submission of satisfactory progress reports and financial accounting.
   b) Each proposal will be supported with a maximum budget of KES.
   100,000/=.
   c) The proposals should be endorsed by the chair of the school research
   committee.
   d) Proposals by departmental/faculty teams will be given priority.
   e) Where the innovation proposal is from a team, the principal innovator
   should be clearly stated and all members of the team must endorse the
   proposal.
   f) Any supporting documents should be provided as appendices.
   g) The budget should be clearly itemised and justified in the following budget
   lines

i. Consumables/expendable supplies
ii. Equipment
iii. Local travel
iv. Extra personnel
v. Documentation
vi. Commercialization
vii. Any other costs

h) Any proposal that is being developed elsewhere should not be submitted
for this Call. Only original work should be submitted, plagiarism is highly
discouraged.

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i) Successful applicants are expected to adhere to their approved budget, work
plan and expected project completion date.

1. PROPOSAL FORMAT
   Application forms (staff innovation disclosure form) are available at Machakos
   University website: www.mksu.ac.ke The application form should be filled in Times
   New Roman, font size 12. It must contain the following sections dully filled as
   outlined in the application form: – (i) Title of the project (ii) Principal Innovator
   (iii) Co-Innovator(s) (iii) Background information (iv) Summary Description of
   Innovation (v) Advantages and Unique Features of the Innovation (vi) Sale of the
   Innovation (vii) Innovation History (viii) Declaration
2. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
   A soft copy and three (3) copies of the proposals should be submitted to the Director,
   Research, Innovation and Technology, not later than 30th

September 2019.
Incomplete applications as well as applications submitted after the deadline will not

be considered. Soft copies should be submitted through the email address: director-
research@mksu.ac.ke and copy to dvc-ril@mksu.ac.ke

1. ELIGIBILITY
   This is a competitive innovation grant managed by Machakos University’s Division
   of Research, Innovation and Linkages (RIL) through the Directorate of Research,
   Innovation and Technology (DRIT). To be eligible:
   a) The applicant must be a staff of Machakos University
   b) The proposal must demonstrate:
   i. Contribution towards new/improved quality product
   ii. Contribution towards improved production processes
   iii. Potential for patenting
   iv. Positive impact to the society.
   This 2nd
   Call for Staff Innovation Proposals, 2019/2020 is OPEN to all Staff of
   Machakos University including those with on-going Machakos University funded
   projects.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE/ON THE STATED

DEADLINE AT 5PM