USI Research Opportunity

General

The Centre for Research has been established at the United Service Institution of India (USI) by the Council of the Institution with the support of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, to conduct independent specialised research and study of policy problems, and suggest options relating to National Security issues and matters concerning the Defence forces, in an objective and non-partisan manner. It will be run by a Board of Management whose members have been appointed by the USI Council.

Chairs

At present, the USI Centre for Research (USICR) awards five fellowships annually based on the recommendations of the three Service Headquarters, DRDO and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) subject to approval by the Board of Management, for the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Chair, the Admiral RD Katari Chair,the Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee Chair, the Professor DS Kothari Chair and the Ministry of External Affairs Chair. In due course, it is hoped to increase the scope and content of work at the USICR.

Eligibility

Fellowships are open to all serving personnel who are members of the USI. Subject to the discretion of the Board of Management, these fellowships, together with others that may be instituted, may be awarded to other than Service personnel, including those who are not members of the USI.

Submission of Proposal

A synopsis of the research proposal, in quadruplicate, will be submitted to the Director USI by 31 December every year, either directly or through one of the Service Headquarters, for consideration by the Board of Management. The proposal should contain the focus and scope of the project, a framework in the form of chapterisation, a bibliography, details of field work if any, and the methodology of research; it should indicate the precise contribution which the project is expected to make to the existing body of knowledge on the subject. A copy of the research scholar's bio-data should accompany the proposal. Guidelines for the formulation of research proposals are given at Appendix attached.

In the case of serving personnel, the proposal should be routed through the concerned Service Headquarters; retired personnel may route their proposals through one of the Service Headquarters, or send these directly to the Director, USI, for further action. In cases where the proposals are routed through Service Headquarters, an advance copy of the proposal will be endorsed to the Director, USI.

Processing and Decision on award of fellowship

Service Headquarters concerned will be requested to comment and indicate their recommendations with regard to the proposals pertaining to the respective Chairs, before these are submitted to the Board of Management for consideration.

The Board of Management will examine the proposals, and where necessary, appoint a sub-committee to study them and make recommendations, prior to a final decision. Should the Board consider it appropriate, it may invite potential research scholars to make a brief personal presentation of the synopsis and may suggest modifications if necessary, before a final decision is taken.

After detailed consideration of the various proposals and the recommendations made by the Service Headquarters and by the sub-committee, if appointed, the Board of Management will decide which of the proposals be accepted for the year, and the research scholar apprised accordingly.

Where considered appropriate, Service Headquarters may depute serving officers as research fellows, with the approval of the Board of Management, to either assist the scholars, or conduct independent research.


Scholarship and contingency grants

Commencing from the year 2002-2003 payments as under will be made to all scholars :-

(a) Honorarium. A sum of Rs.12,000/- (equivalent to two months honorarium) only be paid after the scholar completes his initial discussion regarding the progress on research work of the project with a designated member of the Board of Management. This should take place within three months of the commencement of the project. A sum of Rs.30,000/- (equivalent to five month's honorarium) to be paid after presentation of the Project at the USI. The balance of Rs.30,000/-(equivalent to five month's honorarium) be paid on submission of the completed project report and its acceptance for publication.
(b) Contingency Grant. The Contingency grant of Rs.12,000/- per annum be paid to all scholars doing research. The amount be disbursed in four instalments of Rs.3,000/- every quarter.

Scholarships and contingency grants currently provided are from the interest accruing from a corpus set up through contributions from the three Service Headquarters; Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is hoped that in due course, when additional funds become available, it will become possible for the Director USI to invite research proposals directly from qualified and interested persons, for consideration and decision by the Board of Management.

Conduct of Research

All research projects under this scheme will commence on 01 July every year and be completed within twelve months from the date of commencement. Extension of time will only be accorded in exceptional cases and on the condition that no additional grants will be provided. No major changes to the research design will be made without reference to and concurrence of, the Board of Management.

Research scholars for each project will periodically discuss progress on the Project with a designated member of the Board of Management, who in turn will apprise the Board at its periodic meetings. A certified statement of contingency expenditure will be submitted quarterly, based on which the payment will be made by the USI.

Termination of grants

Should the Board of Management determine that progress on a project is unsatisfactory, or that the provisions of these Rules are being violated, it reserves the right to terminate the grant for the project. In such an eventuality, the research material available at that point in time will be handed over to the Director USI for use by another nominee.

Presentation cum discussion and final report

After nine months into the research project, a presentation should be arranged by the research scholar with the assistance of the USI, to elicit views and opinions that may be relevant to the topic, from experts on related disciplines for preparation of the final report.

The final report will be submitted to the Director USI in triplicate on completion of the project period, but not later than three months thereafter. It should be comprehensive enough to be published as a monograph.

The Board of Management would greatly appreciate the inclusion of the following aspects in the final report:-


(a)Implication for further research

(b)Implications for policy

These should be enunciated clearly and adequately so that they could be brought to the notice of relevant government bodies and/or other concerned authorities.

Publication of the project and copyright

The USICR reserves the right to publish the final report of the project financed by it. Such reports shall be published by the USICR within a year of the acceptance of the report, and the decision to do so will be communicated to the research scholars within six months of the receipt of the report. The copyright of all publications relating to the research project shall vest with the USI.