Apply for the 2016 African Union Research Grant. Up to USD1 Million.

Application Deadline: 17th of August, 2016

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Africa Countries, EU Member States

To be taken at (country): Candidate’s Home Country

Brief description: The African Union Commission launches Phase 2 of the African Union Research Grants programme with an open call for proposals for Research and Innovation in Africa supported by the European Union.
This call for proposal supports Africa’s Science Technology and Innovation Strategy-2024 which addresses the aspirations identified under Agenda 2063 and Priority 3 on Human development of the EU-Africa partnership. The call supports research on: Food & Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) with particular attention on Sustainable Intensification.

Objectives of Research: 

Overall Objectives

The Overall objectives of this call for Proposals are to deploy Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the Agricultural sector as tool for Africa’s sustainable economic growth, wealth creation, and food and nutrition security, as well as for political stability through:

• supporting collaborative Research and Innovation (R&I) activities that address critical issues facing African countries and contribute to the sustainable development of African countries and the fight against poverty, while respecting ethical and gender issues;
• developing the capacity of the African Union Commission (AUC) to design, implement and monitor R&I funding programmes and establish the basis for a credible and reputable African framework programme for R&I that could attract additional funds from other sources, e.g. African Union (AU) Member States and other partners and donors;
• enhancing intra–regional and North-South scientific collaboration and research that contributes to Africa’s sustainable development.

Specific Objectives

The Specific objective of this Call for Proposals is to award grants to finance research projects that aim to Eradicate Hunger and Ensure Food and nutrition security. It is highly envisaged that the deployment and the improvement of science and technology research in this challenging area will effectively contribute to Africa’s poverty reduction strategies, economic growth and social development efforts.

About the Award: The African Union Research Grant (AURG) is one of the programmes initiated within the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (DHRST) to support a Pan African research and development through grants and direct funding. The programme provides the needed opportunity to use Science and Technology (S&T) as a tool for sustainable development, building and strengthening Africa’s S&T capacities. The African Union Research Grants programme is financed through the Financing Agreement between the European Commission and the African Union Commission (CRIS number: DCI/PANAF/037-621 under the Pan-African Programme (PanAf), based on Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation (DCI) for the period 2014-2020. It is based on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which establishes the fight against poverty as the primary objective of EU development policy and refers to the European Consensus on Development (2006/C 46/01) [24.02.2006], the ‘Agenda for Change’ COM(2011) [637 final 13.10.2011] and subsequent relevant Commission communication.

Offered Since:

Type: Postgraduate Research

Eligibility: In order to be eligible for the grant, candidates must:

• be legal persons
• be registered locally in ( or have a memorandum of understanding in relevant research areas, with) an African Country prior to the publication of this call for proposals
• have at least a three-year record in the formulation and/or implementation of research activities in Africa for which they will have to provide the relevant legal documents
• be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with their partners, not acting as an intermediary
• be able to demonstrate their experience and capacity to manage activities corresponding in scale and complexity to those for which a grant has been requested
• have stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the continuity of their organisation throughout the implementation of the proposed action
• Partnerships must involve at least three organisations out of which 2 should be national of Africa countries. The number of African countries in a partnership should be a majority. There is no upper limit to the number of members in a partnership; however it is highly recommended that partnership should not to exceed five.
• A partnership should be composed in such a way as to allow for the achievement of project objectives in the most efficient manner. Those proposals having partners from the different AU Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have an added advantage
• belong to at least one of the following categories:
  • National or regional science and technology organizations, research institutions, universities, government ministries or public and private institutions dealing with scientific research including  regional science and technology institutions, with separate legal status, not belonging to any national system but formally recognised by one of the eligible countries; or
  • Established science and technology networksprovided that: all network members and the network headquarters are located in eligible countries; the network has a legal status; the network is applying in its own right; and the network has been registered for a minimum of two years;

Selection Criteria: The evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the following documents:

• African Union Commission Grants Management Manual
• Guidelines for the applicants

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Scholarship:

• minimum amount: USD 500,000.00
• maximum amount: USD 1,000,000.00

Duration of Scholarship: Not stated

How to Apply: Go apply here

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

Award Provider: African Union