ALL applications MUST be completed online on the NRF Connect website: https://nrfconnect.nrf.ac.za

(PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHED FRAMEWORK FOR MORE INFORMATION)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Full-time employees based at an NRF recognized public South African University that are resident in South Africa and receive a salary from the institution are invited to apply as Lead PI’s or Co-PI’s of a Thematic Research Cluster.
2. Researchers based at Science Councils, National Facilities or Research Institutes are not eligible to hold a grant in the Thematic Research programme, however they may participate as collaborators in the Thematic Research Cluster supported at South African public universities.
3. The Lead PI must hold a PhD and must be an established researcher with a track research record of more than 10 years research experience as evidenced by the research outputs, student supervision, and research projects leadership.
4. The Lead PI should be an expert in the area under which the project will be submitted.
5. The Lead PI must have the capacity to make a serious commitment to the project and cannot assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be placed in the hands of others.
6. The Co-PI must hold a PhD and should have experience of either a well-established researcher or of a newly established researcher.

THEMATIC RESEARCH CLUSTER COMPOSITION REQUIREMENTS

• The majority members of a Thematic Research Cluster should be based at the same institution. The participation of one additional public South African university is permitted for cases where certain research expertise is not available at the host institution.
• The research cluster should be interdisciplinary and is required to submit an interdisciplinary proposal.
• Each Thematic Research Cluster must contain at least one newly established researcher and at least 1 well-established researcher, and must have at least three Co-PIs who may either be newly established or well-established, thus consist of no fewer than four qualifying members
• The Lead PI in a particular thematic area should be an expert in the thematic area of the project that s/he is leading. The members of the Thematic Research Cluster should not submit more than one application to this call.
• The Lead PI in a particular thematic area should be an expert in the thematic area of the project that s/he is leading. The members of the Thematic Research Cluster may not submit more than one application to this call.
• The Lead PI and the Co-PIs may participate as collaborators in more than one Thematic Research Cluster; however, they will not receive a direct grant in more than one Thematic Research Cluster.
• The members of the Thematic Research Cluster may not hold any alternative NRF research grants in 2026. This will exclude funding from instruments that support Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers, funding for Mobility, or funding for equipment received from programmes such as the National Equipment Programme.
• Each Thematic Research Cluster must include the capacity building and collaborative participation of emerging researchers, and/or postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students?
• Thematic Research Clusters are strongly encouraged to include non-academic collaborators/partners, which could be the possible end-user of the research outputs. Even though non-academic collaborations/partnerships are not compulsory, it is understood that the involvement of possible end users in the process of co-creation of the research proposal facilitates taking into account the needs of the end users

PLEASE NOTE: Contract employees, retired researchers and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to receive a grant from Thematic Research Programmes, however they may participate as collaborators
 

For enquiries, kindly contact the following NRF Professional Officers COPYING your institutional DA’s – Mrs Patricia Ngwenya at ngwenyap@ukzn.ac.za or call Ext 3273 & Ms Nondumiso Radebe at radeben4@ukzn.ac.za  or call Ext 8431

Jane Mabena – Concept Note: Thematic Research – Health

Email : JS.Mabena@risa.nrf.ac.za

Tel.: (+27) 12 481 4067

Singathwa Mbangeni – Concept Note: Thematic Research – ICT

Email : S.Mbangeni@risa.nrf.ac.za

Tel.: (+27) 12 481 4169

Uzubenathi Nomawule – Concept Note: Thematic Research – Energy Email : u.nomawule@risa.nrf.ac.za