Research Policy

1. Principles Concerning Research

1.1 Introduction

Presents broad principles to guide the research enterprise and assure the integrity of scholarly inquiry at CIT/CCCIR. The transmission of knowledge and conduct of scholarly inquiry are central and complementary functions of the Institution. They can be carried out effectively only if scholars are guaranteed certain freedoms and accept corresponding responsibilities. The research committee of R&D Centre, CCCIR hereby affirms the following principles concerning research:

Individual scholars should be free to select the subject matter of their research, to seek support from any source for their work, and to form their own findings and conclusions. These findings and conclusions should be available for scrutiny and criticism as required by the Institution’s Policy on Openness in Research.
Research techniques should not violate established professional ethics pertaining to the health, safety, privacy, and other personal rights of human beings or to the infliction of injury or pain on animals.
The Institution should foster an environment conducive to research. Where, because of limited resources, the R&D Centre cannot support all research demands, it should allocate space, facilities, funds, and other resources for research programs based on the scholarly and educational merits of the proposed research, and not on speculations concerning the political or moral impropriety of the uses which might be made of its results.
The above principles circumscribe the R&D Centre’s role with respect to Institution-connected research. They in no way diminish, and indeed they reinforce, the individual researcher’s personal responsibility to assure that the conduct of research, the sources of funding for that research, and its perceived applications are consistent with the individual researcher’s judgment and conscience, and with established professional ethics.

2. Rights and Responsibilities in the Conduct of Research

R&D Centre policies and practices related to research, including a review of obligations to students, staff, and sponsors are as follows:

2.1 Rights to faculty members

To carry out R&D Centres, CIT/CCCIR research mission effectively, scholars are guaranteed certain freedoms. Every researcher has the right to academic freedom in the pursuit and support of research as defined in the statement of Principles Concerning Research. Right to disseminate the results and findings of research without suppression is stipulated as Openness in Research policy. As a member of the research group every faculty member has the right to engage in external consulting activities, subject to the Institution’s limitations. It’s important that faculty member adheres to both the spirit and the letter of the policy.

2.2 Responsibilities of Faculty to staff and students

Faculty members must be aware of their obligations to staff and students working as part of the research team. It is particularly important that at least annually, each faculty member should review intellectual and tangible property rights and responsibilities (for management of data in all media, for proper authorship attribution, etc.), with all members of the group under his or her direction, including staff, students, post docs, and visiting scholars. Each member has the right to know who is sponsoring the research and supporting his or her salary or stipend.

On an individual level, the best interests of each staff member and student should be of particular concern. The Institution is committed to demonstrate support and appreciation for its staff. To that end, faculty members are encouraged to provide staff development opportunities and, if possible, a mentor relationship for those in their group.

2.3 Equipment Control

The control of both Institution and Government-owned equipment is mandatory under externally sponsored contracts and grants as well as under Institution policy. PIs are responsible for securing necessary approvals for the purchase of the equipment, and for proper tagging, inventory, and disposal of equipment.

2.4 Consulting

All participating faculty members, researchers, students, and visiting scholars, must sign Patent and Copyright Agreement before the commencement of any research activities

2.5 Patents and Copyrights

Members of the R&D centre occasionally may be permitted to engage in outside consulting activities under conditions decided case to case basis. Consulting is permitted provided the faculty member’s full-time obligation to the Institution is met. The maximum number of consulting days permissible for a member of the Faculty on a full-time appointment is 13 days per academic quarter.

3. Academic Freedom

CIT/CCCIR assures the fullest protection of freedom of inquiry, thought, expression, publication, and peaceable assembly at R&D Centre, CIT/CCCIR. R&D Centre, CIT/CCCIR’s central functions of teaching, learning, research, and scholarship depend upon an atmosphere in which freedom of inquiry, thought, expression, publication, and peaceable assembly are given the fullest protection. Expression of the widest range of viewpoints should be encouraged, free from institutional orthodoxy and from internal or external coercion. Further, the holding of appointments at R&D Centre, CIT/CCCIR should in no way affect the faculty members’ rights assured as per the Institution policy. In furtherance of these general principles, decisions concerning:

the search for, and appointment and promotion of, faculty
the assignment of teaching and other primarily academic responsibilities
the support and sponsorship of scholarly research
any other granting or withholding of benefits or imposition of burdens

shall be made without regard to a person’s political, social, or other views not directly related to academic values or to the assumption of academic responsibilities; without regard to the conduct of a person holding an appointment at CIT/CCCIR unless such conduct is directly related to academic values or to the assumption of academic responsibilities or is determined, in a proceeding pursuant to the Statement on Faculty Discipline, and without regard to an individual’s race, ethnic origin, sex, or religion. Nothing in the foregoing shall be deemed to affect the Institution’s application of affirmative action policies in its faculty search procedures.

3.1 Grievance Procedures

The grievance procedures outlined below are designed to assure that decisions by faculty members and administrators comply with the standards of academic freedom. These procedures are internal to the Institution and are aimed at preserving confidentiality and academic integrity while protecting the rights of individual faculty members. The following procedures shall apply to all grievances arising under this Statement on Academic Freedom:

The rights herein conferred shall be enforceable only by a person who is directly aggrieved and who holds a faculty (as defined above) position; no other person or persons shall have standing to complain.
If any faculty member feels aggrieved by a decision that he or she believes to be in violation of this Statement, he or she may file a grievance pursuant to the Statement on Faculty Grievance Procedures and its attendant standing rules.

4. Confidentiality

If, in a program of research, an outside person or entity has made available to the investigator confidential information, provision may be made to preserve confidentiality and/or a short delay in the publication of research results during which time the information source may examine the proposed publication in order to assure that the investigator has not disclosed, intentionally or unintentionally, any portion of the confidential information supplied, provided that any such provision for delay must contain assurance from the information source that he will conduct his review as expeditiously as possible, that he will not attempt to thwart publication for any reason except to protect confidential information previously supplied, and that he/she will indicate with specificity a sentence or sentences which he contends constitute such a disclosure.

5. Research Misconduct

“Research misconduct” is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

Fabrication means making up data or results, and recording or reporting them.
Falsification means manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
Plagiarism means the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.
Research misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data.
A finding of research misconduct requires that:
there is a significant departure from accepted practices of the relevant research community
the misconduct is committed intentionally, or knowingly, or recklessly
the allegation is proven by a preponderance of the evidence. (R&D Centre, CIT/CCCIR’s disciplinary procedures may establish a different standard of proof for disciplinary actions.)
Allegations or suspicions of misconduct outside the scope of this policy should be referred for investigation to the cognizant dean, vice provost or vice president; the process of investigation and reporting obligations may differ from those required for research misconduct cases.

6. Openness in Research

That a research program shall be regarded as requiring secrecy:

If any part of the sponsoring or granting documents that establish the project is not freely publishable
If there is a reasonable basis for expectation that any documents to be generated in the course of the research project will be subjected by an outside sponsor to restrictions on publication for a period in excess of that reasonably required (i.e., more than 90 days) for the sponsor to ascertain whether information he or she is entitled to have treated as confidential would be disclosed by publication
If access will be required in the course of the project to confidential data so centrally related to the research that a member of the research group who was not privy to the confidential data would be unable to participate fully in all of the intellectually significant portions of the project

7. Retention of and Access to Research Data

The PI is responsible for the collection, management and retention of research data. PIs should adopt an orderly system of data organization and should communicate the chosen system to all members of a research group and to the appropriate administrative personnel, where applicable. Particularly for long-term research projects, PIs should establish and maintain procedures for the protection of essential records in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. Research data must be archived for a minimum of three years after the final project close-out, with original data retained wherever possible. In addition, any of the following circumstances may justify longer periods of retention:

Data must be kept for as long as may be necessary to protect any intellectual property resulting from the work.
If any charges regarding the research arise, such as allegations of scientific misconduct or conflict of interest, data must be retained until such charges are fully resolved.
If a student is involved, data must be retained at least until the degree is awarded or it is clear that the student has abandoned the work.
Beyond the period of retention specified here, the destruction of the research record is at the discretion of the PI and his or her department or laboratory.
Records will normally be retained in the unit where they are produced. Research records must be retained on the CIT/CCCIR campus, or in facilities under the auspices of R&D Centre, CIT/CCCIR, unless specific permission to do otherwise is granted by the Dean of Research.

8. Roles and responsibilities of principal investigator

The Principal Investigator (PI) serves as the primary individual responsible for the scientific integrity and fiscal and administrative management throughout the period of the award. The PI’s specific responsibilities include:

Being cognizant of, and adhering to, all sponsor-imposed terms and conditions, as well as institution policies and procedures related to administering sponsored agreements. This would include relevant government and university regulations regarding the use of equipments and infrastructure facilities, conflicts of interest, and purchasing and equipment management policies.
Obtaining prior approvals from the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) or working with RAC to request prior approval from the sponsor for post-award changes relating to the conduct or scope of the work, and/or budget amendment, expenditure of funds awarded or extensions of time.
Observing campus policies and procedures to protect intellectual property rights and academic freedom.
Supervising project personnel including co-investigators, post-doctoral associates, and students.
Monitor subrecipient progress and review and approval of subrecipient invoices.
Submitting technical/programmatic progress reports in a timely fashion to the sponsor as required by the terms and conditions of the award.
Managing, controlling, and expending funds in accordance with the restrictions imposed by the award terms and conditions and university policy. Funds should only be expended to directly support the project effort and expenditures should not exceed the total amount of funds awarded. Deficits and disallowances incurred against an award fund are the responsibility of the principal investigator.
Contract and grant accounts should be monitored on a continuous basis and reconciled monthly to ensure only allowable project-related costs are charged to the specific account. The monitoring process is the primary responsibility of the PI and any financial administrator assigned at the college or department level. Assistance is provided by the assigned RAC.

While responsibility for certain day-to-day management of the project finances may be delegated to administrative or other staff, accountability for compliance with the sponsor requirements and university policy ultimately rests with the PI.

9. Educational Assistance

CIT/CCCIR recognizes that the skill and knowledge of its employees & associated members are critical to the success of the organization. The educational assistance program encourages personal development through formal education so that employees or associated members can maintain and improve job related skills or enhance their ability to compete for reasonably attainable jobs within CIT/CCCIR. CIT/CCCIR will provide educational and training assistance program to its employee or associated members immediately upon the assignment. Before going for training, employees or associated members must sign a bond depends upon the numbers of days and the cost of that program.

While training program is expected to enhance employee’s performance and professional abilities, CIT/CCCIR cannot guarantee that participation in formal training will entitle the employee or associated members to automatic advancement, a different job assignment, or pay increases.

10. Higher Education Support Scheme

CIT/CCCIR faculty members would like to pursue PhD will be supported through higher education support scheme. The following are the eligibility conditions for availing the scheme:

Permanent faculty members pursuing PhD under VTU at CIT/CCCIR Research Centre will be supported under this scheme with a waiver of tuition fees up to 50% of the total fees for PhD program (For external candidates tuition fees are fixed to Rs. 20,000/- per year)
1. The fees waiver is for the four years only, after four years a full fee has to be paid to the college.
2. Lab facility, hardware and software resources, library facility, journals and conference papers, external expert support and internal expert support will be extended to all faculty members
3. Faculty members will be provided OOD to attend conferences, seminars, workshops and paper presentation
4. Review meetings and expert committee suggestions will be provided to all registered students
5. Any other facility or support expected from CIT/CCCIR will be provided to faculty members with prior approval
6. Patent and journal publication fees will be sponsored by the institution (based on recommendations from the committee)

11. Clauses for availing higher education support scheme

Faculty members availing the higher education support scheme need to submit a signed document comprising of the following:
After completion of PhD every faculty member is expected to work for the organization for a minimum of two years, not adhering members need to reimburse the fees (as approved by the management)
Atleast one publication per semester is expected by the faculty members in reputed journal paper and one publication in international conferences
The maximum duration for completion of PhD is four years, members taking more than four years need to pay 50% of the tuition fees.
Discontinuing of PhD will lead to penalty and fees sponsored need to be reimbursed (as decided by the committee)
Faculty need to propose, guide and encourage M.Tech and B.E. students in their project work and also deliver guest lecturers to students and faculty members on progress work

12. Incentives and Allowances

Faculty members involved in activities mentioned below apart from their regular work load are entitled to the following incentives to encourage them to actively participate in R&D activities.
1) Paper publications with college name in the affiliation
2) Conduction of workshops and seminars at CIT/CCCIR
3) Conduction of national and international conferences at CIT/CCCIR
4) Writing text books and preparation of lab manuals books with CIT/CCCIR affiliation
5) Research proposals and grants at CIT/CCCIR with funding from various organizations
6) Conduction of training courses at CIT/CCCIR
7) Corporate training programmes through CIT/CCCIR
8) Consultancy activities through CIT/CCCIR
9) Awards and recognitions from national and international bodies with CIT/CCCIR affiliation

13. Proposed incentive scheme for faculty members:

Paper publications	Rs. 5000/- in impact factor journal	Rs. 2000/- for reputed and peer reviewed journal		Rs. 500/- in any other journals
Conduction of workshop and seminars	As per the norms prescribed in the budget allotment. Only sponsored workshops and seminars will be supported with a minimum sponsorship of Rs. 1,00,000/-
Conduction of national and international conferences	Rs. 5000/- for the coordinator and Rs. 5000/- for the team members		Rs. 10000/- for the coordinator and Rs. 10000/- for the team members
Writing text books and preparation of lab manuals books	Rs. 10000/- for the author and Rs. 5000/- for co author
Research grants	• 20% of the grant amount will be distributed at incentive to principal investigator and co investigator • 10% will be distributed at the start of the research project remaining 10% at the end of every academic year on successful completion and submission of the progress report • Incentives to office staff will also be distributed those who have directly or indirectly contributed for the project
Conduction of training	50% of the revenue will be disbursed to faculty members and the team members at the completion of the program
Consultancy project work	80% of the revenue will be distributed to the faculty and his team involved in the project work
Guidelines: All faculty members recipient of the incentive scheme need to render their services in the college for minimum of two years, else they need to reimburse the incentive with interest Prior permission need to be taken before starting of any of the activities from the management, only upon prior approval the incentive scheme is valid Faculty members involved in multiple projects and multiple activities need to indicate their contribution towards progress of the project work upon which they will be considered for the incentive scheme