International Foundation of Science (IFS) Individual Research Grants for Developing Countries 2018

Application Deadline: 31st December 2017

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: See list below

To be taken at (country): A Developing Country

Eligible Fields: Proposals are sought under one of three research areas:

• Biological Resources in Terrestrial Systems: Including but not limited to: Biodiversity, Forestry, Natural Products, Renewable Energy and Climate Change.
• Water and Aquatic Resources: Including but not limited to: Water Resources Research; Research on all aspects of freshwater, brackish and marine aquatic organisms and their environments.
• Food Security, Dietary Diversity and Healthy Livelihoods: Including but not limited to: Research on Food Production; Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine; Crop Science including Underutilized Crops; Food Science and Nutrition, and Food Security issues.

About the Award: Providing early-career support to promising young developing country researchers has been the mandate of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) for many years.

Within the Individual Research Approach (IFS Strategy 2011–2020), IFS continues its commitment to support excellent individual research and to build capacity of early-career scientists in the developing world to undertake research on the sustainable management of biological and water resources. Applicants are encouraged to tackle research issues linked to these areas, and to develop solutions that are relevant to local contexts. By encouraging local researchers to work in their home countries, generating cutting-edge and locally relevant knowledge, we hope to contribute to strengthening their countries’ research capacity and ultimately contributing to a global research community aimed at reducing poverty and supporting sustainable development.

Offered Since: 1974

Selection Criteria: To qualify for IFS funding, research projects must be

• related to the sustainable utilisation, conservation or management of the biological or water resource base
• conducted in a developing country
• of a high scientific standard
• feasible
• relevant for the country/region

Eligibility:

• To be eligible, applicants must be citizens of a developing country that is eligible for IFS support, and carry out the research in an eligible country (this does not have to be the country of citizenship).
• Individual research grants will be awarded to individual early-career scientists in eligible developing countries in support of excellent science.
• Researchers applying for a first IFS research grant must be at the beginning of their research careers and have a minimum academic degree of an MSc/MA or the equivalent. To be of eligible age, men must be younger than 35 years and women must be younger than 40 years. If the applicant’s 35th (men)/40th (women) birthday is on the closing date of the call, he/she is still eligible.
• Applicants must be attached to a national research institute (e.g. university, non-profit making research centre, or research-oriented NGO) in an eligible developing country. The institution is expected to: administer the grant, guarantee that the applicant has a salary (or other source of income), and provide basic research facilities. Researchers employed at international research institutes or NGO’s are NOT eligible.  However, researchers doing part of their project at an international institute can apply for an IFS grant, if their principal affiliation is with a national institution.

Number of scholarships: several grants are awarded

Value of Award: Individual Research grants are awarded on merit in amounts up to USD 12,000 for one to three years. Grants are intended for the purchase of basic tools for research: equipment, expendable supplies and literature, as well as field activities.

Duration: Up to 3 years

Eligible African Countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Republic of, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Other Countries: Asia and the Pacific: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam
Latin America and Caribbean: Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Suriname, Venezuela
Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen

How to Apply

• A researcher may submit only one application at a time for consideration by IFS.
• Applications for IFS Research grants must be submitted using the standard IFS Application Form in English or French.
• It is important to go through the Application instructions on the Program Webpage (see Link below) before applying.

Visit Program Webpage for Details