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
Africa
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
European Commission — Women and Sustainable Energy
The EC calls for proposals to promote women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in the sustainable energy sector and value chain, with an emphasis on financial services. The action must take place in multiple countries which are recipients of official development aid, including in Sub-Saharan Africa and possibly in other developing regions. Partnerships among academia, civil society, NGOs, international or local organizations, financial institutions, government, private sector, etc., may bring added value to a comprehensive approach. The amount of funding is from €4 million to €8 million, varying with cost shares. Reference EuropeAid/155118/DH/ACT/Multi. The deadline for submitting concept notes is 25 April 2017. Link
Christensen Fund — Grants for Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity
The Christensen Fund makes grants to indigenous-led and community-based organizations for projects that combine biodiversity with cultural diversity. Pre-proposals are accepted for consideration in the following programs: African Rift Valley; Central Asia; Northwest Mexico; Melanesia; Global; and San Francisco Bay Area. Most grants are in the range of US$50 thousand to US$100 thousand for one or two years. The application period for pre-proposals is 01 August through 31 August, except for the Melanesia Program (01 September through 30 September). Link
West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use — Capacity Building Workshop
The West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), in collaboration with NASA and the University of Missouri, will be conducting a capacity building workshop on the theme of “Interdisciplinary Remote Sensing, Modeling, and Validation of Environmental Processes.“ The workshop, to be held in Ghana in June 2017, is for advanced doctoral students and early-career scientists across all countries of West Africa. It will focus on advanced analysis of satellite and climate data for multi-sectoral applications, including climate, agriculture and water resources. The workshop will take sponsored and self-sponsored participants. Tuition and workshop fees will be waived for sponsored participants. The deadline for expressions of interest is 15 March 2017. Link
Young Innovators in Agribusiness — Postharvest Technologies Competition 2017
The East Africa Postharvest Technologies Competition aims to identify scalable post-harvest technologies in East Africa. Applications are open to both institutions and individuals of 18 years and above in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. The competition will select top 50 technologies from successful entries and offer them accelerated training on scaling up and pitching. Twenty-five participants in the accelerated training will be invited to showcase and pitch to development partners, donors, governments, farmers/traders associations, and investors at the East Africa Postharvest Technologies Fair in May 2017. The top five technologies will divide seed awards totaling US$30 thousand. The closing date for applications is 20 February 2017.
International Development Research Center — Innovations to Improve Livestock Vaccines in Africa and Asia
Canada’s IDRC calls for proposals to support novel ideas or pre-existing innovations to respond to the challenges of existing livestock vaccines in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. The research should focus on vaccine improvement for one or more of the eligible livestock diseases identified in the announcement. Eligibility to participate in the call for proposals extends to applicants from research-focused organizations in the private sector, academia, and research institutes anywhere in the world. The program will fund up to six research projects at a maximum of CA$1 million each. The deadline for proposals is 21 March 2017. Link
RUFORUM — Community Action Research Programme 2017
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is partnering with the MasterCard Foundation to implement the programme “Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development (TAGDev).” TAGDev announces the 2017 call for proposals for the Community Action Research Programme. The objective is to extend university activities to work more closely with rural communities. The current call focuses on crops and livestock value chains of strategic importance in Kenya and Uganda. In this current call, proposals will be accepted only from Egerton University and Gulu University. The application deadline is 27 March 2017. Link
University of California at Davis — Trellis Fund for Horticulture
With funding provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Trellis Fund makes small grants for horticultural projects in the following countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The maximum funding is US$4 thousand per project. Successful applicants in these countries will be paired with U.S. graduate students that have relevant technical expertise. The closing date for applications is 03 April 2017. Link