Evaluation Process

The evaluation process for proposals will be conducted as follows:

1. Only valid documents will be considered in the process of evaluation and selection.

2. The evaluation will be conducted by the scientific committee or evaluation committee founded by FOSTECT.

3. The evaluation process is based on objectivity, honesty and fairness.

Scientific Committee:

1. The scientific committee is founded by the President of the Board of Management.

2. The scientific committee is responsible for assessing the project potential, suggesting the evaluation experts, reviewing expert feedback, and consulting with the Board of Management when selecting and evaluating the outcomes of the sponsored projects.

3. The scientific committee will be comprised of 5 permanent members (1 president, 3 reviewers, and 1 secretary).

Evaluation Experts:

1. The list of evaluation experts will be appointed by the scientific committee.

2. The evaluation experts are scientists or specialists with relevant experience to the project. Evaluation experts must have no conflict of interests that could potentially bias their involvement with the project.

3. The opinions of evaluation experts will be used by the scientific committee to consider and recommend project funding decisions.

Method and Evaluation Process of the scientific committee:

All scientific committee meetings must have at least four of five board members present. The meeting shall be chaired by the President. If the President is absent, the Vice President shall preside over the meetings.

The evaluation process is divided into two phases:

Phase 1: Select potential projects and the list of evaluation experts.

The Secretary shall provide necessary documents to members of the scientific committee at least seven days before the meeting.
Representatives of the evaluation committee shall provide to the scientific committee all documentation necessary for the selection process.
The President or Vice President of the scientific committee will chair the meeting.
Members will assess the project and provide a list of suggested evaluation experts.
The committee members will discuss and provide their opinions on the projects and the list of evaluation experts. If a project is accepted by three out of five members of the committee, it can proceed to phase two. For exceptional cases, the President of the Board of Management will make the final decision.
The chair of the meeting will collect feedback and draw conclusions on the successful projects and the list of evaluation experts, and subsequently complete the evaluation report.
The secretary will distribute documents and evaluation forms to the evaluation experts appointed by the evaluation committee.

Phase 2: Consideration of funding for selected projects.

The secretary will collect the opinions of experts, and distribute to the committee members at least three days prior to the meeting.
Members will discuss and complete their own opinion on the evaluation form.
The chair of the meeting will collect feedback and draw conclusions on the projects, and complete the final evaluation report
The projects with the highest scores (not less than 50/100) will be considered for grants. For exceptional cases, the President of the Board of Management will make the final decision.

Note:
Members of the scientific committee are not allowed to evaluate the projects in which they serve as principal investigators or members of research groups. Members of the scientific committee must participate regularly in meetings, and provide objective and fair assessments. Members are not allowed to reveal conclusions about the projects until they are announced by the authorized organization. Members must take responsibility for their own opinions on the projects and the conclusion of the committee.

Topic Selection:
1. Based on the conclusions of the scientific committee, the executive committee will provide a summary, and report to the Board of Management. The President of the Board of Management will then sign the decision for funding.
2. Based on the funding decision, the Director of FOSTECT will sign the contract with the principal investigators of the sponsored projects.

Grant Funding:
1. After signing the contract, researchers are responsible for the expenses on their projects and must guarantee the research contents and progress.
2. The provided funding will be given according to the contract and funding guidance of FOSTECT. The actual amount granted shall not exceed 50% of the contract amount.
3. In order to receive the other 50% of the grant, researchers must submit a final report indicating (with proofs) the amount and quality of completion compared to the committed outcomes recognized by FOSTECT.

Research outcomes:
1. The projects are recognized as “passed” when they become published in a prestigious journal, achieve a patent, or applied into business application with the names of the principal authors and entitled, “This research is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology Development of Ton Duc Thang University (FOSTECT), website: http://fostect.tdtu.edu.vn”, under Grant… …; or in Vietnamese “Nghiên cứu này được tài trợ bởi Quỹ phát triển khoa học công nghệ Trường đại học Tôn Đức Thắng (FOSTECT), website: http://fostect.tdtu.edu.vn, đề tài số …”

2. If the projects are marked as “failed” or suspended, the principal investigator must provide a partial or full refund of the grant amount based on the amount of completed work according to the assessment of the scientific committee and evaluation expert(s). Additionally, when the projects are marked as “failed,” the principal investigators of the project are not eligible to apply for any research funding in following year. In cases where a project could not be completed due to unavoidable factors, the President of the Board of Management will re-consider and make a final decision.

(Extracting from Decision No. 21/2014/FOSTECT-QĐ about "Project Appraisal and Evaluation Procedures of FOSTECT" signed by President of Board of Management of FOSTECT on 14/02/2014)