Colleagues, <Please circulate> This research competition is being organized by IDRC as part of the <http://www.idrc.ca/roks>Research on Knowledge Systems (RoKS) exploration under the newly established "<http://www.idrc.ca/ips>Innovation, Policy and Science" Program Area, which supports the development of science, technology and innovation policies to alleviate poverty in developing countries. This competition will support research to better understand the changing roles of universities in the South, and the implications for developing country governments and research institutions. The Research Competition The overall objective of this competition is to develop an ongoing "knowledge network" that can advance collective understanding of the "Changing Role of Universities in the South." To build enduring partnerships, grantees will interact with each other and with <http://developinguniversities.blogsome.com/>UniDev throughout the research process. The research competition includes three different competitions (Regional, National, Graduate) and is open to researchers and research institutions throughout the developing world. Some recent thinking on the changing role of Southern universities is available on the <http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-94518-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html>RoKS website and should be consulted when developing proposals. Objectives and Research Themes This competition invites research proposals that address the following questions: * What are the new forms of universities in the South, what is driving this change, and what does this change mean for universities in the South? * How should the role and impact of university research in the South be in order to meet its development potential? * How should entrepreneurship and academic research functions be linked? The deadline for concept note submission is June 16, 2006 (5:00pm EST) for Regional and National Awards. Deadline for Graduate Awards' applications is September 1, 2006. Submissions received after that date, or which are incomplete, will not be eligible for consideration. Concept notes that are qualified through a peer review process will be asked to submit full proposals. Information regarding the status of your application, other than our confirmation of its receipt, will not be available. For more information and to download a complete concept note application kit, please click on: http://www.idrc.ca/roks/ev-94514-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html or contact roks@idrc.ca. IDRC is committed to equity and encourages applications from qualified women, men, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities. We thank all applicants for their interest and will ONLY contact those teams whose background, quality & feasibility best match the criteria of the award.