Deadline: 15-Sep-22
The Cluster of Cooperation (CLOC) Eastern Africa is accepting applications for its Seed Money Grant to promote research and education programs/projects between African and Swiss Higher Education Institutions strengthening existing partnerships, geared towards the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda.
The CLOC Eastern Africa is a network of researchers and institutions that aims to foster North–South partnerships for research and education. It works to strengthen the capacities needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Africa’s strategic framework, Agenda 2063, by providing an adequate platform to promote knowledge generation, information exchange, and opportunities for academic collaboration between Swiss universities and key actors in Eastern Africa.
Goals
The role of science is to provide knowledge and to engage in negotiations with policy and civil society for shaping transformations towards more sustainable development.
The Seed Money Grant is allowing researchers to conduct pilot projects, exploratory studies and/or joint grant proposals (eg desk studies, field research, design education/training/capacity building modules, etc.) with key partners. These joint activities should contribute towards the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the national priorities of the respective countries.
It launched its activities in 2021. It is part of the swissuniversities Development and Cooperation Network (SUDAC). Its goals are:
- To establish strong inter- and transdisciplinary research partnerships that generate policy-relevant research results on SDG-related key topics for the region and help guide decision-making processes.
- To build capacities of researchers through a training and teaching program that fosters transformative research and strengthens national-level collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and civil society.
Themes
Thematically, the CLOC Eastern Africa focuses on the following areas and their interlinkages:
- Land and water management and governance
- Food security and nutrition
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Health issues and the one health approach
- Migration (rural–urban, internal, and outmigration).
Funding Information
The maximum amount for a Seed Money Grant is CHF 17,000.
- Up to CHF 15,000 for personnel costs, local travel, project consumables, material/equipment, and miscellaneous.
- Up to CHF 2’000 for mobility expenses for young African researchers for an exchange visit to Switzerland in the frame of the project
Eligible Expenses
- Personnel costs : time dedicated to the project by staff in the African and Swiss institution(s).
- Local travel costs in the CLOC Eastern Africa region : directly linked to the research project.
- Mobility grant : a grant up to 2,000 CHF is provided per project for young African researchers for an exchange visit to Switzerland in the frame of the project.
- Project consumables directly linked to the proposed objectives.
- Material and equipment : for direct use on the project and not exceeding 10% of the total award. Equipment and facilities that generally form part of the basic infrastructure, operation and standards of a scientific institution may not be funded.
- Miscellaneous : other costs related to the project activity.
Eligibility Criteria
The call is open to all scientific disciplines and fields of research, and targets researchers with affiliations to African and Swiss Higher Education Institutions.
- One applicant of a Higher Education Institutions in Ethiopia or Kenya identified as “main applicant (primary lead).
- One applicant of a Higher Education Institutions in Switzerland identified as “main applicant (co-lead)”.
- Additional participants from Higher Education Institutions or policy/practice organizations from Switzerland, and/or the CLOC Eastern Africa region if relevant (Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Ruanda, Burundi, Uganda).
For more information, visit https://www.cde.unibe.ch/research/projects/cloc_eastern_africa/index_eng.html