Deadline: 15-Nov-21
Explore is calling for concept notes for Preparatory Research Grants to recruit and support researchers to develop research proposals on forest landscape governance through a Preparatory Grant Mechanism.
Explore is a research network and community of practice dedicated to expanding and applying knowledge on forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia. Through multi-disciplinary and participatory, inclusive multi-stakeholder approaches, the network aims to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement on climate change and other international and national commitments.
Explore emphasizes gender equality and social inclusion. More than 50 percent of its advisory board members are women, and it seeks equal representation by female researchers. Explore also emphasizes transboundary collaboration and problem solving.
What Explore offers?
- Explore will support research preparatory grants ranging from US$3,000 to US$15,000 depending on the complexity and scale of the issues addressed, as well as the degree of transboundary approaches.
- Applicants should apply for the size of grant that best reflects the research innovation proposed for translating the forest landscape governance concepts into practice.
- A grantee can use the preparatory grants to enhance their capacities to produce high quality grant applications for full research grants in the second phase of Explore, as well as other funding opportunities.
- In addition to funding, Explore provides training and mentorship by scientific experts, as well as peer review of full research grant proposals to increase their quality and probability of attracting funding.
What Explore is looking for?
Explore is looking for new ideas for research in forest landscape governance. The network seeks research ideas that will improve forest governance, and an approach that integrates a range of themes. Explore welcomes concept notes for research on these topics and more:
- Role of policies and institutions in the development of sustainable forest landscapes
- Impact of climate change on local communities and response mechanisms
- Gender and social drivers and impacts of forest governance focusing on rights and roles of women, youth and other marginalized groups in natural resource management
- Changes in forests and effects on local livelihoods and poverty
- Trade-offs among economic development, environmental conservation and human rights in land-use planning
- Scaling up effective forest governance platforms
- Decentralizing natural resource management
- Links among forests, food and water
- Ways to mitigate risks in land and forest investments
- Forest governance and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- Forest governance and responding to COVID-19 response and building resilience
- Interdependence and intersectionality between local communities and natural resources in forest landscapes
Eligibility Criteria
- The call for concept notes is open to all scientific disciplines and fields of research related to forest landscape governance. Professors, senior scientists and postdoctoral researchers affiliated with universities and think-tanks in Southeast Asia are 3 Preparatory Research Grants eligible to apply.
- Principal researchers must be affiliated with a university or research institution in Southeast Asia, and be a national of and reside in a country in Southeast Asia. Fifty percent of team members must be women. Teams must include young and early-stage researchers, as well as a mix of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
- The concept note should focus on one or more of Explore’s seven focal countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Explore will consider submissions that involve other countries if the concepts involve key forest governance challenges for the region and/or integrate multidisciplinary research and lessons learned from both focal and other countries.
- Researchers can apply as individuals or as a team. There are no limits to team size, however, estimated budgets must respect the US$15,000 grant ceiling.
For more information, visit https://www.recoftc.org/projects/explore/explore-call-concept-notes-application