The Scottish Government announces the 2017 round of funding for its Zambia and Rwanda development programs. The focus regions are Central Province in Zambia, and Western and Southern Provinces in Rwanda. Among the priority themes are agriculture, and renewable energy as a component in other priority themes. Applications are restricted to Scottish-based organizations. The closing date for submitting concept notes is 04 May 2017. Link
Africa
Earth Journalism Network — InfoCongo
The Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering grants of up to US$1,500 for stories about pressing issues in the Congo Basin. The main focus is to show the impacts of environmental change on human lives and ecosystems. For this reason, EJN prioritizes stories about forests, water, climate change, wildlife, extractive industries, conflicts, and crimes. Proposals should focus on the production of one or more story, map, or data visualization element. The deadline for applications (English, French) is 20 May 2017. Link
Association of African Universities — Practical Skills for African University Students
With financial support from the government of Sweden, the AAU will make grants of up to US$600 per person to help post-graduate university students acquire practical skills via internships of 12-24 weeks. The grants are for training purposes only, not for the completion of theses or dissertations. The program is open to students in AAU member institutions. The deadline for applications (English, French) is 23 May 2017. Link
Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture — Staff Exchanges with Lilongwe University
RUFORUM announces support for seven staff exchanges at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The goal of the fellowships is to provide opportunities for academics from outside Malawi to enhance faculty teaching, research, and collaboration at LUANAR. Applications are invited from permanent teaching faculty staff, particularly women, employed at any of RUFORUM’s 66 member universities. The deadline for applications (English, French) is 30 June 2017. Link
Swedish International Development Agency — Training in Strategic Environmental Assessment
Sida funds short-term training in selected development topics for participants from developing countries. The Africa program includes a course on strategic environmental assessment, with a focus on energy. Participants may be nominated by organizations and agencies within the energy sector that work actively with energy plans, policies, and programmes at national or regional levels. The following countries are invited to nominate candidates: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. The training will be provided in two parts, first in Sweden and then to be decided. The closing date for applications is 31 July 2017. Link
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science — RONPAKU Fellowships for PhD Students 2018
The RONPAKU fellowships are a program of the JSPS to support students from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to pursue PhD degrees at Japanese universities. Each fellow submits a research dissertation co-supervised by an advisor in Japan and an advisor in the fellow’s home country. The fellows do not pursue doctoral courses in Japan (i.e., dissertation only). RONPAKU will award about 20 fellowships across all subject areas. The application deadline is 25 August 2017 for submissions to RONPAKU from Japanese universities; applicants need to send their documents to their prospective Japanese advisors in advance of this deadline. Link
European Commission — Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in European Overseas Territories
The EC funds the program Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in European Overseas Territories (BEST) in order to fund actions on the ground, both at the local and regional level. BEST 2.0 is open to applications for projects in the overseas territories of the Caribbean, Pacific, South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Polar/Sub-polar regions. Small grants are up to €100 thousand; medium grants are €100 thousand to €400 thousand. Potential applicants include local civil society organisations; small for-profit organisations; municipalities; OT governments and their departments and services; European Member State bodies; and regional and international organisations. The deadline to submit concept notes is 14 April 2017. Link
Rockefeller Foundation — Sustainable Development
The Rockefeller Foundation defines several initiatives and topics that guide its grant making. Those of principal relevance in the Terra Viva Grants Directory are food security in Africa; resilience to climate change; energy production and consumption; water and fisheries; and ecosystem services. Requests for support must fit Rockefeller’s issue areas, current initiatives, and geographical regions. Inquiries can be submitted at any time. Link
Southern Africa Network for Biosciences — Innovative Solutions in Nutrition
The Southern Africa Network for Biosciences (SANBio) is a NEPAD program for collaborative research, development, and innovation addressing challenges in health and nutrition in Southern Africa. The SANBio/BioFISA II Programme invites
proposals for innovative solutions in the nutrition sector. Themes are value addition to indigenous foods; post-harvest technologies; and other nutrition innovations for the SADC region. The SANBio member states are Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The application deadline is 28 March 2017. Link
Drivers of Food Choice — Competitive Grants Program
With funding by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK’s Department for International Development, the program “Drivers of Food Choice” solicits applications for research projects that will provide a deep understanding of the drivers of food choice and the relationship with agriculture among the poor in the world’s low- and middle-income countries. Research grants can be awarded to any organization (e.g., research organizations, NGOs, government institutions, and private-sector organizations) committed to improving food and nutrition security in one or more of the 41 countries that account for 90% of global under-nutrition. The program expects to fund seven research grants of up to US$300 thousand each. The deadline for concept memos is 01 April 2017. Link