Deadline: 10 February 2019
The African Academy of Sciences (The AAS), the United Kindgoms’ Department for International Development (DFID) Weather and Climate information Services for Africa (WISER) programme and the Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa have announced the implementation of a multimillion dollar initiative to support Africa-led climate science research through the Climate Research for Development (CR4D) in Africa initiative.
The CR4D initiative was conceptualized at the Africa Climate Conference in 2013 as a mechanism to strengthen links between climate science research and climate information needs to support development planning in Africa. The initiative addresses climate research priority areas that have been identified in Africa by African researchers.
Research Priorities
CR4D has set the following priorities for research:
- Foundational climate science: focusing on improved understanding of the underpinning drivers and dynamics of climate variability and change in Africa; improving forecast and climate prediction skills; developing robust climate change projections for Africa at multiple scale; and better prediction and attribution of extremes of climate and impacts.
- Impacts, information, translation, communication: focusing on enhanced added-value in sub-seasonal to seasonal predictions; enhanced understanding and communication of climate impacts across five priority GFCS areas {agriculture, water, health, disaster risk reduction, and energy}, as well as migration, urbanization, marine and coastal zones, etc.; improved metrics and analytics for evaluation and validation of skills and uncertainties in forecasting and projecting future climate and impacts, including understanding communication theory, barriers and opportunities.
- Engagement with policy, development and decision communities: focusing on improved assessment of the uptake, application and user value of climate and impact information by stakeholders and enhanced capacity for co-production including trans disciplinary research.
Eligible Projects
Proposed research projects must:
- Be guided by the CR4D priority research areas and address identified climate research gaps in Africa.
- Be transdisciplinary and demonstrate strategic partnerships with local and/or regional stakeholders for enhanced output and impact.
- Create a research ecosystem where research leadership is provided, and young researchers may be mentored.
- Show a commitment by the applicant’s host institution to support the applicant in delivering the research objectives.
- Work with national meteorological services and/or other sector-specific stakeholders for enhanced impact.
- Be locally relevant but scalable and replicable elsewhere.
Number of Fellowships
CR4D will award up to fifteen (15) fellowships to conduct research based at an African institution for a 12-month period.
Funding and Costs
- The full cost of the award per fellow is a maximum of USD 130,000. Applicants are required to use the following budget lines (as detailed on the application form):
- Personnel costs in accordance with their host organization’s policy.
- Travel costs.
- Research supplies and services.
- Other direct costs.
- Research support costs. This includes indirect costs charged by organizations according to the organization’s policy but not exceeding 15% of the grant amount.
Duration
The CR4D Fellowships will be for a fixed term of up-to 12 months ending in February 2020. No cost extensions will not be considered for this grant.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible candidates for the CR4D fellowship must:
- Be African nationals. Applicants from all African countries are eligible for this fellowship.
- Be hosted at or affiliated with a university, higher education institution or research institution in Africa.
- Hold a PhD at the time of submission of their application and/or have demonstrable significant research experience in climate or related science with a proven track record of high level research in their field of expertise.
Host Institution Eligibility
Each applicant who is awarded a fellowship must be hosted by an eligible African institution. A and a letter of commitment from the applicant’s host institution is a precondition for this award.
- Eligible host institutions in sub-Saharan Africa include:
- African Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education and Research.
- African Private Institutions of Higher Education and Research.
- For profit organisations are not eligible to host CR4D Fellows.
- Candidates can apply to hold the fellowship at their current institution in sub-Saharan Africa or to move to a new host institution in sub-Saharan Africa. If an applicant needs to move from his/her home institution for the CR4D fellowship, a written authorisation by their employer is required.
- Host institutions must:
- Provide the required laboratory and office space for the Research Fellow to meet the aims of their research programme and ensure they have access to equipment at the institution.
- Limit the teaching responsibilities of the research fellow (including lecturing, tutorials, supervision and examining of students and other student contact time) to a maximum of 7 hours per week. The Research Fellow should have a minimal administrative load.
- Ensure that the Research Fellow receives the same level of support as other members of staff at the institution including access to postgraduate students and other resources and will be invited to departmental meetings along with other faculty staff.
- Provide the Research Fellow with support within the department from an experienced member of the faculty who can advise them on the development of their career.
- Ensure that the Research Fellow has timely access to the funding provided by the CR4D Fellowship and will not unduly delay access to funding.
- Demonstrate a good level of financial grants management. This will be determined by audit before the award is made and the institution will be required to complete the AAS Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) assessment.
- Provide information on how the institution/department supports the development of early career researchers transitioning to independence including relevant policies on supporting early career researchers (post-PhD).
How to Apply
Applicants can apply via given website.
For more information, please visit https://www.uneca.org/stories/15-african-researchers-receive-%C2%A315m-conduct-research-impacts-climate-change-africa