FAQs for Microsoft Research (MSR) India: Call for Collaborative Projects on Cloud and AI Technologies for Societal Impact
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Is this purely a funding program? How is it different from other grants/ accelerator programs?
No, in fact funding is the least important aspect of this program. With this program, the goal is to be able to have greater positive societal impact by leveraging expertise and ongoing work at MSRI, in combination with ideas external community has. We strongly believe that we can make a lot happen if we join forces, and complement each other’s efforts in areas of mutual interest.
For ideas to scale over time, funding is required so allocation of funds/ resourcing will be driven by milestones the proposal has.
- What kind of milestones would be good to have in the proposal? What do you mean by “Picture of success for the project, and vision for scale deployment, with timelines for the project?”We expect proposals to very clearly define milestones, and the picture of success one year from now. We expect to engage with selected projects over a period of 1 year, so keeping 4 milestones in mind (for example, this is what we’ll be able to jointly achieve in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year) will be very helpful. These milestones could include development cycles, incremental deployment plans, and/or anything else you think the evaluation committee should know.
- How important is to call out the collaboration with MSR? What does this mean?This is one of the most important aspects of the proposal. The key objective of this program is to be able to collaborate on areas of mutual interest. Therefore, we expect proposals to clearly call out what kind of research collaboration is possible. Proposals are expected to very clearly call out research problems they’d like to collaborate. You can draft this response by looking at the Technologies for Emerging Markets page. This will help you articulate if you’re looking to collaborate on ongoing projects at MSRI, or with people at MSRI who are SMEs and can help you.
- What is the criteria for selection?Proposals will be considered based on responses to key points listed on the website (and below) under the “themes” section. These are: Problem Statement, Previous Known Work, Proposed Solution, Collaboration with MSR, and Project Milestones. Please make sure you cover each question, preferably point wise in the order the questions are listed. Here’s the list for quick reference.
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Problem Statement: A precise problem statement on using cloud/AI technologies to solve significant societal challenges, preferably aligned to one or more of the above themes.
2. Previous Known Work: What are current and known approaches to address/solve this problem? What is being attempted? What are the limitations of current approaches, if any?
3. Proposed Solution: Proposed research effort / technology approach to address the problem. Please specify clearly what is unique in your thinking and approach, and any unique insights you have as to why you believe your approach will work.
4. Collaboration with MSR: Why do you want to collaborate with MSR? Please mention specific areas where MSR can contribute and add value, or interest in working with ongoing projects from MSR in this area. See the Technologies for Emerging Markets page or descriptions below for description of ongoing work at MSR)
5. Project Milestones: Picture of success for the project, and vision for scale deployment, with timelines for the project.