1ST EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEST FOR COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CONFERENCE ON DURABILITY OF BUILDING MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS
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Objective
The DBMC 2020 Organizing Committee, in collaboration with the Centre for Development Cooperation (abbreviated in Catalan as CCD), which is part of the Innovation and Community Bureau (GIC) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTECH, hereby issues a call for proposals for the first edition of the International Contest for Cooperation and Development Projects, within the framework of the DBMC Conference. The main objective of the contest is to support and recognise the active participation of the university community in development cooperation projects in the field of sustainable building techniques and materials.
The members of the Organizing Committee for the contest will be Dr Joan Moreno (Vallès School of Architecture), delegated by the DBMC 2020 Organizing Committee, and Mr Didac Ferrer, representing the GIC. Dr Moreno will act as chair of the Organizing Committee for the contest.
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Scope
The first edition of the DBMC International Contest for Cooperation and Development Projects is open to projects, training activities and other initiatives related to cooperation in economically vulnerable countries that contribute to sustainable development and take into consideration the durability of building materials. The contest is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students who are enrolled in engineering, architecture, or architectural technology and building construction programmes, and who are also associated with a non-profit organisation. The contest is not open to international cooperation projects that are focused primarily on research.
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Requirements for participants
The contest is open to all students who form part of the university community at the international level, provided that they are associated with a non-profit organisation.
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Participants must be enrolled in official courses (bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programmes) in engineering, architecture, or architectural technology and building construction at any higher education institution at the time when their entry is submitted.
Each team of participants may only submit one application. In accordance with this requirement, teams must designate a project leader who will manage all of the human and material resources specified in the project. The project leader will sign all documents and act as an interlocutor between the Organizing Committee for the contest and the team of participants. The project leader must therefore be a direct participant in the proposed project.
In order to facilitate broad participation by members of the university community and encourage a diversity of entries, the contest organiser will not permit the same person to act as the project leader for more than one entry.
Entries must be supported by a non-profit organisation, public administration (local, regional or state-level) or university that carries out cooperation and development aid projects in countries that are socially or economically vulnerable. Non-profit organisations must be registered in an official register of associations in the country of origin of the entry or the country where the proposed project would be carried out.
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Execution period
The cooperation project must be carried out between the date on which the prize is awarded (23 October 2020) and 31 December 2021. The timeline for activities related to the proposed project must comply with this requirement, and the period for execution may not be extended beyond the end of 2021.
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Submission of applications
Documents related to entries must be submitted via the platform established for this purpose on the website for the DBMC Conference: https://congress.cimne.com/dbmc2020. The project leader must complete the application by sending to the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the contest (joan.moreno@upc.edu) the required information and attaching the documents specified in the call for applications. Templates for the documents that must be submitted with entries (report and poster) can be downloaded from the conference website.
Entrants must submit a report (max. 4 pages) in English, formatted as specified in the call. This report must include the project title, the personal details of the project leader and team members, the administrative details of the non-profit organisation supporting the project and the technical details of the project (i.e. objectives, background, context, methodology, innovative aspects, work plan and budget).
Each entrant must also submit a DIN-A1-size summary poster formatted as specified in the contest rules. Details of the required format can also be found on the DBMC 2020 Conference website.
This call will be available on the conference website from 1 April 2020, and the deadline for submissions is 30 June 2020.
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Documents to be submitted
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A project report based on the standard template that can be downloaded from the conference website. The report must include the project title, objectives, background, context, methodology, innovative aspects, work plan and budget. If applicable, evidence of other sources of funding that will be used to carry out the project must be provided.
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A DIN-A1-size summary poster. Abstract, objectives, methodology, innovation, work plan and budget, graphical/technical images, and supporting institutions sections must be included.
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A document issued and signed by the contact person for the other party (i.e. the entity supporting the project), in which that entity requests the collaboration and explains the relevance of the action and its importance in relation to the entity’s strategic objectives; and documentary evidence of previous contacts or collaborations.
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Proof of current enrolment for each student participating on the work team, including the project leader. Enrolment must be at an international official higher education institution in engineering, architecture, or architectural technology and building construction.
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A brief CV (max. 300 words) for each team member participating in the project. The CVs submitted should make specific reference to the training and/or experience that team members have in areas related to development cooperation.
The Organizing Committee for the contest reserves the right to request any additional information that it considers necessary to clarify or supplement the content of the proposals submitted.
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Process for selecting the winning entry
The process for selecting the winning entry will comprise two consecutive stages:
Stage 1
Once the documents for each entry have been submitted via the platform established for this purpose, the proposals will be assessed by the Selection Committee.
The Selection Committee will have five members, including representatives of the conference organiser and of public bodies involved in development cooperation. To ensure the independence of the selection process, the members shall not be connected in any way (directly or indirectly) to any of the entries. Details of the members of the Selection Committee will be made public at the ceremony where the winner of the contest is announced. Based on the defined criteria for assessing entries, the Selection Committee will select six proposals to progress to the second stage of the contest.
Composition of the Selection Committee:
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1 representative of the DBMC 2020 Steering Committee (chair)
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1 representative of the DBMC 2020 UPC Institutional Committee
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1 representative of the DBMC 2020 Organizing / Local Organizing Committee
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1 representative of the DBMC 2020 Scientific Committee
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1 representative of the UPC’s Innovation and Community Bureau
If necessary due to the number of entries received, the Selection Committee may request the technical assistance of external experts who have no connection to the entries submitted for the purpose of assessing the projects submitted.
Stage 2
A member of each of the six pre-selected entries will be invited to present their project at the 15th edition of DBMC Barcelona 2020, and their registration fees for the event will be paid in full. Travel and subsistence expenses will not be covered.
During the conference, the six representatives of the pre-selected entries will have a designated space where they can exhibit their projects to attendees. A slot in the programme will also be reserved for the presentation of the entries (either in person or by remote means).
Up until the second last day of the DBMC 2020 Conference, all registered delegates may vote by electronic means for one of the cooperation projects presented. The outcome of this vote will have a weighting of 60% in determining the final result. The other 40% will be determined by the votes of the Selection Committee based on the information available in Stage 1 (preliminary report and poster).
The winning entry will be announced at the closing session of the conference.
For the decision to become final, the project leader must expressly confirm the acceptance of the prize by 30 October 2020 by electronically completing the acceptance document available on the platform for the conference and delivering a signed hard copy to the Organizing Committee for the contest.
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Criteria for assessment of entries
The Selection Committee will assess the projects submitted based on how well the proposals align with the objectives of the conference, particularly with respect to the durability of building materials and components. The following points will be considered:
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Clarity in the presentation of the proposal
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Innovation and relevance of the stated objectives
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Social, economic and environmental viability and sustainability of the proposed actions
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Availability of co-funding from project partners or external sources and, if the project involves mobility, a commitment to cover the travel, accommodation and living expenses of the team members who will execute the project
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Work plan, distribution of tasks among team members, and fit between methodology, project design and requested resources
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Participation of non-profit organisations in the preparation and development of the project, with input based on their experience in development cooperation projects
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Alignment of the initiative with the principles of the DBMC 2020 Conference, with a focus, therefore, on design or training in durability of building materials and components
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Economic and logistical viability of the project with respect to its physical execution within the time period prescribed in the contest rules
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Financial prize
A single prize in the amount of €5000 (taxes included) will be awarded to the winning entry.
This financial support may be used only to partially or fully cover the cost of carrying out the project. Expenses related to travel, insurance, visas, vaccinations, or travel and accommodation for team members may not be included in the project budget.
Accordingly, priority will be given to projects that are partially funded from other sources that will cover indirect expenses which are not related to the physical execution of the project.
The organiser of the conference will pay 50% of the financial prize in advance after the document confirming acceptance of the prize has been received. The remaining 50% will be paid after the project has been carried out and the final report has been received.
Payments will be made by bank transfer to the account number provided by the winning entrant.
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Monitoring and reporting on activities
The project leader must report any delays or difficulties that affect the execution of the project – including any changes to the established timetable, the setting in which projects are carried out, or the composition of the work team – to the Organizing Committee for the contest, and any such changes must be authorised by the Committee.
The leader of the winning project must submit a narrative report on the project carried out by 31 December 2021. The team leader shall be responsible for the accuracy of information provided during the execution of the project, and the Organizing Committee for the contest may at any time request any information it considers necessary to monitor and evaluate the activities carried out within the framework of the project.
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Withdrawal of the prize
The Organizing Committee for the contest may withdraw all or part of the prize money awarded if the terms and conditions contained in these rules are violated, or in the event of any significant deviation from the stated content and objectives for the project.
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Timetable for the call
Publication of the call 1 April 2020 Deadline for reception of entries 7 September 2020 Publication of entries received and accepted 10 September 2020 Publication of entries selected to progress to Stage 2 20 September 2020 Conference 20 – 23 October 2020 Announcement of winning project 23 October 2020 Deadline for acceptance 30 October 2020 Project execution Until December 2021 Submission of final report 31 December 2021 -
Additional clause
Due to the pandemic COVID-19 and depending on its evolution, the Organizing Committee of the 1st International Contest for Cooperation and Development Projects, in agreement with the DBMC 2020 Organizing Committee, reserves the right to modify the contest rules included in this document (including, if it is necessary, the cancellation of the contest), at any moment and with the corresponding dissemination on the DBMC 2020 website and to all interested parts.
Nominations must be submitted by June 30, 2020 to the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the projects contest, joan.moreno@upc.edu, and must contain:
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Title of the cooperation project
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Contact Person Data: name / surname / e-mail Address / Institution / Contact telephone / Entity supporting the project
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Project Report (according to Project Report Template, maximum 4 pages, pdf)
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DIN-A1 poster (according to Poster Template, 1 page)
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Supporting Entity report signed by the reporting organization itself (maximum 600 words, pdf)
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Copy of University or College registration of each member of the team work
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Brief CV (maximum 300 words) for each team member
Documents to be downloaded for the DBMC 2020 Cooperation Projects Contest