VC & CEO’s Research and Innovation Grant

Eligibility for Staff and Students

1. The applicant must be a full-time member of staff or a bonafide student at KCA University;
2. Students interested in applying for the call MUST nominate an active member of staff to supervise the project. It is highly recommended that the Lead Staff Member submits the project application;
3. Applicants MUST HAVE NO record of ethical misconduct;
4. The project must be within the priority areas of focus for the 2026 call;
5. Applicants for Pilot Projects can apply for up to KES 500,000 while applicants of full-scale rollout projects can apply for up to KES 1,000,000 subject to availability of resources and robustness of the submitted proposal and budget;
6. The applicants bear responsibility for any legal disputes that might arise in respect to any ownership claims on the innovative ideas by third parties;
7. The proposal must be original and innovative in nature. Any use of Generative AI in the preparation of the project proposal MUST be disclosed;
8. An innovator/researcher is eligible to submit only one application for funding in any given call. An innovator/researcher whose name appears in any other applications will be penalized;
9. Applicants must not in any way be involved in the administration of the Vice Chancellor and CEO’s Research Grant, including playing an advisory role on the fund;
10. Applicants who have received funds from other sources for the same project must justify their application for the Vice Chancellor and CEO’s Research and Innovation Grant;
11. The Person(s) applying should have relevant qualifications and competence in the subject area of the proposed project;
12. All members of a research team must sign the proposal before submission to signify their consent to participate in the research project;
13. Applications sent through email will NOT be considered, the Team Lead should submit a duly filled Application document in PDF format using the form linked here;
14. A non-disclosure agreement will be co-signed between the applicants and the University with respect to material nonpublic aspects of their applications.