Deadline: 20 February 2017
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) is seeking proposals for its Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) programme with an aim to improve the performance, governance and influence of higher education systems and institutions.
SPHEIR partnerships will seek to transform the quality, relevance, access and affordability of higher education to achieve sustainable change in higher education (HE) systems. SPHEIR partnership proposals can address higher education transformation on two levels:
- Higher education delivery – the design and delivery of degree programmes that embed new and more effective content and/or apply innovative delivery models and teaching strategies to achieve learning outcomes that respond to market needs.
- Higher education enabling systems – initiatives intended to enhance higher education systems and institutions, by changing the culture and practices that affect the performance of public or private universities, higher education governance bodies, and national or regional quality assurance and/or accreditation bodies.
Grant Information
- Grants of between £1 million and £5 million will be available.
- Partnerships can last between two and four years.
Eligibility Criteria
- SPHEIR will fund partnership projects that target beneficiaries and HE systems in below mentioned countries.
- All partners must be legal entities, such as academic institutions, public sector bodies, private sector companies, or not-for-profit organisations. No partner can be an individual person.
- Partnerships must include at least two organisations, at least one of which is legally entitled to operate in each country where activity will take place.
- Lead and other confirmed partners must demonstrate senior level institutional authorization to apply for a SPHEIR grant and to implement the proposed project should it be selected.
How to Apply
Applications should be submitted online by the partnership’s lead partner through the given website.
Eligible Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
For more information, please visit SPHEIR Partnership Proposals.