Research - Standard Operating Procedures

Procedure for Ph.D./MS (Research) Scholars:

• Contact an approved Supervisor at SXCCE.
• Obtain a no-objection certificate from the Correspondent through the Principal.
• Submit application to Anna University and proceed with registration.
• Submit internal SXCCE Registration form before the first DC meeting to CFRD.
• Submit half-yearly progress reports through the Supervisor.
• Provide seminar presentation details before submitting the synopsis.
• Submit thesis submission form to CFRD before the viva voce exam.

Procedure for UG/PG Projects:

• All UG & PG student projects must be reviewed and approved by the Principal and HOD through UG-RAC and PG-RAC, and must be informed to RAC before project commencement.
• Projects must be initiated at the start of the 7th semester.
• All communication must be routed through the Dean (Research).

Procedure for Patent Filing:

• Initial brainstorming at department level to evaluate patentability.
• Inventors prepare patent documents as per patent office guidelines and submit softcopies to CFRD via HOD and Department Research Coordinator, including the filled Patent Processing Form.
• CFRD reviews and refines patent documents to improve legal strength.
• Institution will be listed as the “Applicant”; inventors will be “Inventor/s.”
• Refined documents sent to inventors for feedback if needed.
• Final documents submitted by CFRD via the patent office e-portal.
• CFRD monitors evaluation and coordinates with inventors as required.
• Patent processing fees will be borne by the institution.
• Quarterly review of patent application status conducted by CFRD and reported to the Principal.
• Upon grant, inventors must submit a copy of the certificate to CFRD, HoD, and Department Research Head.

Revenue sharing after grant and commercialization of patent:

Inventor/s	Institution
75%	25%

Procedure for soliciting Research proposals

On an ongoing basis, Centre for Research and Development, the Department Research Heads, HODs will be referring to the web portals of research funding agencies such as DRDO, ISRO, DST, UGC, AICTE, TNSCST, etc to find out and inform the “Call for research proposals” that would suit the research capabilities of the departments. Centre for Research and Development will forward the details of “ call for research proposals” to all the members of faculty as a ‘Whatsapp Message’.

1. 1. In addition, the researchers of the department also on their own identify research projects through various sources.
   2. Where required, the Department Research Head/ HOD will identify the Principal and Co-investigators based on research profiles to work on the proposal.
   3. The Principal Investigator will explore and gather details about similar proposals and identify suitable research problem statement.
   4. After informing the Department Research Head and HOD, PI will approach the Centre for Research and Development with the Proposal details and detailed profile of the Investigators who will be working on the proposal, along with their publications and their expertise in the domain of the project at least one month before the last date.
   5. After reviewing all the proposals received for the call, Centre for Research and Development will approve the PI and authorize him/her to work on the proposed research project if confirming to the norms of the funding agency.

Review of Research proposals before submission

The quality of the evolved proposal is critical for the award of the project to SXCCE and hence a critical review of the same is imperative before submission.

1. 1. The Department Research Head and HOD will critically review every section of the evolved proposal including the detailed plan
   2. For projects above Rs 1 lakh, external experts will also be involved during the review of the proposal. • The proposal has to be submitted for review to the external expert at least 10 days before the last date.
   3. The proposal is further refined based on the input provided during the review.

All the project proposal shall be presented through 5 PPT slides in front of Project Proposal Review Committee (PPRC) nominated by RAC. Slide 1: Tittle of the project proposal, PI ,CO-PI , funding agencies details, Ref. Slide 2: Need for the project, project requirement Expertise available. Slide 3: Research methodology Slide 4: Activity chart with time line (fish bone diagram or PERT or Gantt Chart) Slide 5: Budget Details (project /process/service/Technology Demonstration Constitution of PPRC Chairman - Principal Secretary - Research (Dean) Members - Nominated by the Chairman. Expected outcome: All the project proposal shall be revised within 3 working days   Purchase Procedure for Research Project (Funded Project) The PI will identify and list recurring/non-recurring items to be procured for the project as mentioned in the sanctioned order.

1. 1. Quotations for the identified items will be sourced at least from three vendors(if possible)

   2. The received quotations and comparative statements with necessary delivery & payment details will be reviewed by the Dean-Research for choosing the vendors and forwarded to the Principal for Approval.

   3. All the items have to be purchased after the reviewing by the Dean Research and approval from the Principal.

   4. The institution’s purchase procedure will be followed for further activities of procurement. All the payments have to be done only to the supplier directly by account transfer

   5. If the project is funded by Central Government funding agencies, the payment details have to be uploaded in the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

   6. All the items purchased must be updated in the Lab stock register periodically.

Submission of Funded Project Progress Report & Review

The Principal Investigator will submit the Annual progress report and all the bills pertaining to the project, Utilization Certificates (UC), Statement of Expenditure (SE) as per the format of the funding agency to the Centre for Research and Development for approval.

1. 1. Centre for Research and Development will review and approve the submitted Annual progress report and the accounts statements at the first level and forward it to the accounts officer for the next level approval.

   2. The accounts officer verifies and approves the accounts statements and expense details and forwards it to the Principal and chartered accountant for approval.

   3. After the approval from the Principal and Chartered Accountant, PI will submit the annual progress report, bills, UC and SE to the funding agency every year.

Procedure for Seed grant

1. 1. Seed grant is provided to faculty members to engage themselves in intense research activities.

   2. An amount of Rs. 50,000 is provided to a faculty member from each Department.

   3. Faculty members who require seed grant shall submit the Seed Grant Request Form to Dean-Research through HOD.

   4. The proposal submitted by the faculty members will be scrutinized by Institutional Research Committee.

   5. The recommended Proposals by the IRC will be forwarded to the Correspondent by Dean-Research through the Principal

   6. The Correspondent reviews and approves the proposal and grants the seed money

   7. Seed grant shall be used for procurement of equipment, hardware, software and consumables and Travel

   8. The faculty members shall make a quarterly presentation about the progress of the project to the Institution Research Committee.

   9. The faculty members who are provided with seed grant shall publish at least a technical paper in SCI/Web Of Science journals aligned to their area of research or leading to a patent.

   10. Upon completion of the project, the faculty members shall present and submit a project report to the Dean-Research

   11. The validity of seed money utilization is one year.