Deadline: 15-Jan-23

The Science for Africa Foundation is requesting proposals for its African Agriculture Climate Adaptation Research System.

This RFP seeks innovative approaches to enhance climate adaptation for agriculture in Africa in ways that link directly with and strengthen the ecosystem of local actors and institutions.

Objectives

Specifically, the objective of the challenge will be:

• To support innovations that strengthen agriculture-related risk management processes and adaptation prioritization, planning, and investment, through intra-Africa research collaboration on data, data science, and modeling.
• Programming that promotes co-learning, trainings, and/or scientist exchanges to strengthen capacities around specific core agricultural adaptation data-related research areas, e.g., modelling and data analysis, data translation for decision makers, etc.,
• Methods for coordinating among researchers and institutions to support prioritization of climate resilient innovations for a given landscape, assessment of impact from previous priorities and changing climate context, and reprioritization based on responsive learnings, etc. These methods may include:
• Developing and delivering innovations in connecting ecosystem actors across agriculture, water, planning & development, environment (etc.) sectors
• Ways to integrate local perspectives and help balance trade-offs, costs, and benefits of adaptation
• Strategies to improve productivity in indigenous agrifood systems, based on indications of robustness to projected climate change and variability
• Innovative systems for collecting data and quantifying the impacts of climate-smart interventions on SSP livelihood, consumption, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity, etc. This may include data collection as well as analytics, e.g., ways to distinguish between benefits under a variety of climate conditions, and the cost and benefits in poor, good, average years.
• Strengthened FAIR data management practices for agricultural and climate data programs, including genetic information, enabling data sharing and collaboration
• Platforms to mobilize additional investments in national and regional centres of excellence for climate-smart R&D, e.g., at the smaller-scale connecting innovators and researchers with donors, to larger scale support for institutional processes.

Funding Information

• Seed projects (proof of concept projects) – studies that have a new idea that needs to be validated and data collected to support or confirm the idea – USD $100,000.
• Transition to scale projects – projects that have proved their concept works and need to validate in a controlled environment as they seek to develop the product or process and prepare it for scaling – USD $200,000.
• All the projects will be within a grant term of 18-24 months.

What are they looking for?

• They are looking for projects that meet the stated objectives above, and:
  • Are led by a PI based in Africa. Teams comprising multiple African institutions within or across countries will be given preference over applicants from single institutions. Other global partners may be included.
  • Are based in an African institution, including academic institutions, research centres, non-profit organisations and for-profit organisations. For-profit organisations will, however, not be allowed to charge indirect costs.  Partnerships with the implementers / end-users, whoever they may be, would be recommended to avoid developing solutions without clear demand and consideration of user needs.
  • Demonstrate at least 90% of the funding is going to (an) African institution(s).
• They particularly encourage applications from women-led projects and organisations.

For more information, visit https://scienceforafrica.foundation/funding/african-agriculture-climate-adaptation-research-system-request-for-proposals