Minciencias Convocatoria 36 | Basic and Space Sciences (2023-2024)

Minciencias Convocatoria 36 | Basic and Space Sciences (2023-2024)

This page is a historical reference for Convocatoria 36 from Colombia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, known as Minciencias. It is not a current “Frontier Research Fund,” and it is not an open application opportunity. The official Minciencias record identifies the call as an allocation from the Science, Technology and Innovation component of Colombia’s General Royalties System (SGR). Its purpose was to form a list of eligible projects in basic and space sciences that could move the frontier of knowledge and strengthen research capabilities in Colombia’s territories.

The call is closed and marked “Finalizada” by Minciencias. The official record lists the closing date as April 11, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Colombia time. It also records publication of the definitive eligible-project results on July 22, 2024. No next round is confirmed on the official Convocatoria 36 record, so researchers should not treat the archived closing date as a future submission deadline or assume that this call has reopened.

Opportunity snapshot

The COP 365 billion figure is the total amount assigned to the call, not a personal award and not a promise that every eligible project would receive the same amount. The terms allowed an individual project to request between COP 10 billion and COP 36.5 billion from the SGR. Inclusion in the eligible-project list did not itself create an unconditional financing commitment; projects still had to pass the applicable SGR validation, prioritisation, and approval stages.

What Convocatoria 36 covered

The official objective was to create a list of eligible research projects in basic and space sciences, using territorial demands set out in the 2023-2024 biennial call plan. Projects were expected to generate and transfer knowledge, strengthen research infrastructure, and contribute to territorial development. The terms describe four connected elements rather than a general-purpose research award:

1. Generation of new knowledge in basic and/or space sciences.
2. Strengthening of research infrastructure.
3. Social appropriation of knowledge.
4. A cross-cutting decentralisation strategy.

The call’s scientific scope included biological sciences, chemical sciences, physical sciences, Earth and environmental sciences, mathematics, computing and information sciences, and space sciences. A proposal needed to explain how its research addressed one or more territorial demands and one or more challenges in the relevant biennial plan. It also needed to show how the project would build capacity outside the strongest existing research centres, rather than treating regional participation as a formality.

The infrastructure component could cover facilities, robust or important equipment, technology, software, and related capability when those items were directly connected to the research. The terms also identified scientific and technical services, training for equipment operation, publication and dissemination, national or international mobility tied to project work, and social-appropriation activities as potentially supportable activities. These provisions belong to the 2023-2024 terms; they should not be read as a standing mobility benefit or as evidence that a future Minciencias call will use the same budget rules.

Projects had to include a decentralisation strategy benefiting departments with low or medium-low IDIC classifications. The terms listed possible routes such as mobility of researchers and students between alliance members, social appropriation of knowledge in those departments, and infrastructure, equipment, or human-capacity strengthening for local allies. A proposal using mobility therefore needed to connect it to knowledge transfer, specify the people and institutions involved, describe the duration and activities, and identify reports or expected products. The source does not support a blanket claim that every applicant received doctoral or postdoctoral exchanges.

Who the historical call was for

Convocatoria 36 was directed at alliances between SNCTI entities located in different departments across at least three regions of the SGR. At least one entity had to be domiciled in a department with a low or medium-low IDIC classification at the time of opening. This is more specific than a simple requirement for a Colombian university to lead a three-institution consortium. The official terms do not describe the opportunity as a generic fund for any university or research centre, and the page should not be used to infer a universal lead-applicant rule for a future call.

The proponent had to demonstrate relevant experience: either at least two science, technology and innovation projects executed or under execution during the previous five years, or at least one such project financed by the SGR allocation for science, technology and innovation. The experience had to relate to basic or space-science research, or to the strengthening, construction, adaptation, or improvement of research infrastructure. Supporting contracts, agreements, administrative acts, or completion records were to be placed in the SIGP system with the experience form.

The terms also required the proponent to demonstrate adequate performance under the Project Management Index for Royalties (IGPR), subject to the stated exception for entities that had not been assessed in the two immediately preceding years. The proponent needed at least one A1, A, or B research group in the natural-sciences area under Minciencias’ classification in force when the call opened. An entity could participate as proponent in no more than three projects, and the same alliance could not submit more than one project.

All alliance members had responsibilities. The signed unified endorsement, institutional commitment, and governance model had to be completed by the legal representatives or authorised representatives of the national entities in the alliance. The governance model addressed coordination, legal and administrative operation, financial arrangements, intellectual property, sustainability, technical decisions, monitoring, and reporting. Allies could contribute expertise and other support, but their contributions had to be quantified in cash or in kind.

What a historical application required

The application route described in the terms was the Minciencias Sistema Integrado de Gestión de Proyectos, or SIGP. The process was as follows:

1. Review the official terms of reference and the territorial-demand annex before designing the project. The project needed to respond to relevant departmental demands and include the required scientific, infrastructure, social-appropriation, and decentralisation elements.
2. Pre-register participating entities through the SIGP entity-registration form. Approved entities received access credentials by email, while an unsuccessful registration produced a notice explaining the rejection. Already registered entities could update their information.
3. Register the executing entity and participating entities, then open the SIGP project form. The initial project record required the project title, executing entity, call, and contact email. The proponent entity could not be changed after registration.
4. Complete the online project information and upload the supporting materials. The terms required the technical document, the budget, the signed alliance endorsement and governance model, evidence for the experience requirement, and other documents connected to the eligibility requirements. An ethics or bioethics committee endorsement was required when applicable.
5. Submit the project through SIGP, use the validation control, correct any displayed deficiencies, and send the form. A successful submission generated an identification code. Only the complete online submission counted; documents sent by email, post, fax, cloud link, or another channel were not accepted unless Minciencias specifically requested them.
6. Monitor the registered project in SIGP. The proponent could review requirement observations with the issued credentials and respond during the adjustment or clarification periods set in the call schedule.

The technical document was expected to address the territorial problem or opportunity, participants, population, objectives, alternatives, methodology, the four project components, value chain, social and environmental sustainability, regional results and impact, expected products, schedule, risks, management indicators, ethics, permits, financing sources, and bibliography. The budget format covered personnel, equipment and software, training and events, technology services and tests, materials, intellectual-property protection and dissemination, travel, infrastructure, administration, monitoring, and risk-related items. The terms specified digital PDF files for required documentation, with the budget submitted in the prescribed spreadsheet format.

Historical timeline and current use

The official Minciencias page records the opening of Convocatoria 36 on November 10, 2023, the April 11, 2024 closure, and the July 22, 2024 publication of definitive eligible-project results. The record also includes the call documents, annexes, addenda, later modifications, and the definitive eligible-project list. Those materials are useful to researchers who want to understand the structure of a large SGR science call, compare territorial-alliance requirements, or prepare a proposal for a separately announced programme.

There is no current application action to take for this archived entry. Do not build a submission schedule around the 2024 date, reuse the COP 365 billion total as a current budget, or describe Convocatoria 36 as an open fund. If Minciencias announces a new basic- or space-science call, verify its number, official page, terms of reference, eligibility rules, funding limits, and deadline independently before updating this page. A future call may use different regional definitions, documents, award mechanics, or application systems.

For recordkeeping and future comparison, use the official Convocatoria 36 page and its linked terms of reference rather than the Minciencias homepage. The dedicated record is the source for the closed status, historical deadline, total resources, eligible-project results, application documents, and the alliance structure described here. The page is therefore useful as a clearly labelled archive item, but it should not present the closed cycle as an opportunity accepting applications today.