Are you a talented young cartoonist passionate about cultural advocacy and artistic collaboration? Apply now for the Cartoonist Residency Program — an empowering opportunity to support young African cartoonists through virtual and in-person learning, creative exchange, and cultural advocacy.Click here for more information and to apply: https://cfcafrica.org/call-for-applications-cartoonist-residency-program/  Read more

Grant size: 1 million Euros Donor: The Science Foundation Ireland The SDG Challenge seeks to support diverse, transdisciplinary teams to develop transformative, sustainable solutions that will contribute to addressing development challenges under the UN SDGs in countries where Irish Aid works.    SFI and Irish Aid are seeking solutions that contribute to SDG 2: Zero Hunger, “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. The SDG Challenge supports highly motivated, transdisciplinary teams developing transformative, sustainable solutions for UN SDGs in Irish Aid’s partner countries. Furthermore, interested applicants should take note of the following criteria: Teams must be transdisciplinary and focused on developing sustainable solutions for UN SDGs in Irish Aid’s partner countries. Teams should combine technical and non-technical skills and represent collaborative partnerships between researchers in Ireland and the partner country. Expertise in a STEM research area is necessary ,along with knowledge or experience in complementary fields like international development, economics, or behavioral science. Two academic researchers must be in the core team, with at least one from a relevant STEM discipline. Funding should reflect the contributions of all team members. https://www.afterschoolafrica.com/87048/science-foundation-ireland-sfi-2024-sustainable-development-challenge-over-e1000000-grant/ Read more

Grant size: $500,000 - $2,500,000 Donor: Mastercard Foundation The Agribusiness Challenge Fund will provide SMEs with innovative and commercially viable agribusinesses across 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa the opportunity to receive support to upscale their businesses in a bid to create sustainable employment opportunities for young people, with particular focus on young women. Selected SMEs will receive support from the Fund, including grants ranging from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000, disbursed over a 3-year period, based on the applicants’ development stage, scalability and business model, in accordance with agreed periodic milestone targets. The funding structure will be determined on a case-by-case basis after evaluating proposals and organizations. Additional support to successful applicants will include tailored technical assistance in alignment with FRP objectives over the 3-year period. https://mastercardfdn.org/all/the-mastercard-foundation-fund-for-resilience-and-prosperity-launches-agribusiness-challenge-fund/ Read more

Deadline: 4th October 2024 Grant size: Fellowship Donor: AREF Research Development The Africa Research Excellence Fund is pleased to launch the call for the 2024/25 AREF Research Development Fellowship Programme.  Programme Overview Aim. To support researchers in Africa who are emerging leaders and working on important challenges for human health, to develop their skills as a researcher. What we offer. A three to nine-month placement at a leading research institution in the UK, Europe or Africa, with additional support at your home institution before and after the placement. Up to £47,000 available Who is eligible? Early career researchers. These are research active post-doctoral scientists and clinicians with higher qualifications who are nationals of and employed in Africa (see detailed eligibility criteria). How to apply. Read the guidance documents carefully before developing your proposal and starting your application. Complete the application form via the portal at https://programmes.aref-africa.org.uk/ https://africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/funding-calls/open-funding-research-development-fellowship-2024-25/ Read more

Deadline: 1st October 2024 Grant Size: Not available Donor: Kellog Foundation While at the Kellogg Institute, postdoctoral fellows interact with leading scholars one-to-one and through the Institute’s seminars and lectures, international conferences, roundtable discussions on world affairs, and cultural events. The facilities at the Hesburgh Center are ideal for scholarly research. Fellows have spacious offices, on-site information technology support, and full access to library services, as well as other campus facilities. We invite applications from scholars who conduct international research on our themes of global democracy and/or human development. Applicants may come from any country and must have recently earned a PhD within the last five years.Most successful applicants will work in a social science discipline or in history. Advanced ABD graduate students may apply, but awards are contingent on their having completed the PhD before June 30 of the starting fellowship year. https://kellogg.nd.edu/opportunities/visiting-researchers/about-our-postdoctoral-visiting-fellowships#tab-3426 Read more

Grant Size: $100,000 to $500,000 Donor: Spencer Foundation The Spencer Foundation is pleased to announce the Research-Practice Partnership Grants Program to support education research projects that engage in collaborative and participatory partnerships. They view partnerships as an important approach to knowledge generation and the improvement of education, broadly construed. Rigorous partnership work is intentionally organized to engage diverse forms of expertise and perspectives, across practitioners, scholars, and organizations, as well as disciplines and methods, in knowledge generation around pressing problems of practice and/or policy. This grant program is open to existing partnerships between researchers and a broad array of practitioners. For example, practitioners might work in school districts, county offices of education, state educational organizations, universities, community-based organizations, and other social sectors that significantly impact learners’ lives. https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/research-practice-partnerships Read more

 Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000 Donor: U.S. Mission to Botswana The U.S. Embassy Gaborone of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a Trash to Treasure Program. The project will enable women waste collectors to access valuable business and life skills through a unique set of training and mentorship through a joint business and empowerment model, providing these women with skills and resources to make lasting change in their lives.  https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/355718 Read more

The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) is seeking applicants for the fifth cohort of the AAP African Futures Research Leadership Program. This competitive visiting scholar program supports early career researchers from the AAP consortium to work for one year under the mentorship of faculty members from MSU and their home institution, focusing on building skills in research for impact, writing scholarly and/or policy publications, disseminating of research results, and developing grant proposals for external support. Scholars will also participate in a structured professional development program while building bridges and lasting connections with MSU contacts and across their cohort.  The main objective of the African Futures program is to strengthen the capacity of a cadre of African researchers to return to their home institutions and become scientific leaders in their community, establish long-term partnerships with MSU faculty, co-create innovative solutions to Africa’s challenges, and in turn become trainers of the next generation of researchers. This program aims to address the gender gap in Africa, where only 30% of researchers are women, so scholars selected for the program will be women, or men who can demonstrate they are committed to support efforts towards gender equity in higher education institutions in Africa. The research areas that the scholars will engage in during the program should be aligned to AAP's research priority areas.  The AAP Management Team requests applications from early career researchers to participate in the next cohort, with work to begin virtually in February 2025. Scholars will spend September – December 2025 at MSU for the in-person portion of the program, followed by another period of virtual collaboration, ending in early 2026. The scholar and mentor team will receive a small grant for research and professional development activities including conference attendance and publication. Scholars will also receive a stipend during their time at MSU, visa application support, and round-trip travel from their home institution. Potential Research Areas  Selected scholars will work in one of AAP’s seven priority areas: Agri-food systems Water, Energy, and Environment Culture and Society Youth Empowerment Education Health and Nutrition Science, Technology, and Innovation Selected scholars will be paired with an MSU mentor and commit to working with the MSU mentor and the home institution mentor for the duration of the program.   Program Benefits  Professional development activities – AAP will offer structured professional development workshops centered on topics such as building equitable partnerships, academic time management, proposal development and budgeting, research communication, etc. to establish professional trajectories, to build research, writing, and publishing skills, and to support scholars to move through various stages of review, promotion, and growth.  Leadership activities – this will center on a research leadership retreat to expose scholars to the key competencies of research leaders, the work that research leaders engage in, personal reflection on their characteristics and career goals to help determine the pathway to advancement to research leadership. Collaboration networks – the early career researcher will be co-mentored by an MSU faculty member and a faculty member from their home institution. Mentors will have the opportunity to visit their counterpart for one week during the duration of the program. The scholar will also gain access to AAP’s broad network of researchers at MSU, across Africa, and beyond. Proposed activities should ultimately lead to potential long-term collaborations between MSU and the partner institution.    Expected Outcomes Each scholar and mentors are expected to produce the following outputs, at minimum, by the end of the program: Submission or evidence of publication of one to three joint manuscripts At least one grant proposal application At least one conference presentation Collaborations with mentors are meant to be long-term and continue after the end of the program. Scholars are encouraged to network with MSU faculty beyond their mentor while at MSU. Scholars are expected to submit regular progress reports to AAP and their home institution focal point. Failure to meet program and mentor expectations can result in early dismissal. Eligibility  Citizen of an African country  Completion of a PhD degree within the last 10 years  Employed as an Academic Staff member at one of the AAP African consortium universities including Egerton University, Makerere University, University of Dar es Salaam, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Botswana, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University Cheikh Anta Diop, University of Arts and Humanities, Bamako, United States International University-Africa, and University of Pretoria  Have documented approval of leave or sabbatical to participate in the program for the in-person period  Have a mentor at their home institution that will serve as a collaborator and mentor Research must be in one of the AAP priority areas Applicants may only submit one proposal to AAP in this round of funding. Prior scholars are not eligible to apply.  Application Requirements  Applicants should provide the following documents as part of their application package:  An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV) that provides a chronological review of their professional accomplishments  A letter of interest that demonstrates how their research interest and experience is aligned to the AAP research priority area and how they plan to implement long-term sustainable partnership (1 pages) (for male applicants) include how they have supported efforts towards gender equity in higher education institutions in Africa Names of potential mentors at MSU (applicants should browse relevant MSU department’s website to identify up to three faculty that are aligned with their research interests. Applicants should not contact MSU faculty directly - AAP will reach out on the applicant’s behalf) Two publications in refereed journals related to their research area  Two professional references that detail the relationship to the applicant and provide specific examples of their assessment of the expertise of the applicant’s research area  A letter from the mentor at their home institution indicating willingness to serve as a collaborator during the program, travel to MSU for one week of collaboration discussions, and mentor the early career researcher when they return to their home institution (1 page)  A written endorsement from the applicants’ Head of Department approving leave (1 page)  A letter of support from the AAP Focal Point for the scholar’s application (1 page) Selection Criteria:  Professional merit, scientific ability, potential career impact and future collaboration goals with MSU faculty (based on CV, letter of interest, publications, Head of dept and home mentor letters, and two reference letters)  Assurance and availability of resources from the home institution for a designated, funded position for the early career researcher upon completion of their fellowship (expressed in letter from head of Dept at the home institution)  Commitment to return to their home country following completion of training (expressed in a letter of interest)  The selection committee will ensure the best match of outstanding candidates and MSU mentors Additional selection factors may include diversity in scientific research areas and geographic origin  Applications are due on August 18, 2024  Apply: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a60s40TOPXGO5sq   Additional program dates: Program start date (virtual): February 2025 In-person program: Sept - Dec 2025 Program end date: February 2026 Questions  Please contact José Jackson-Malete at  jacks184@msu.edu  or +1 517-884-8587 with any questions.  Read more

USADF invites applications from registered African agricultural cooperatives, producer groups, processors, and enterprises for grant financing.  Grants will support solutions that extend your organizations’ own capabilities to increase your revenues, create jobs, improve farmer incomes, and achieve sustainable market-based growth. USADF is accepting applications in the following countries: Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia Click your country (above) to access the full request for applications including eligible value chains. Application instructions Your submission must include the following information from your organization: financial statements for the last 2 years registration document completed grant application form, in English, or French Applications must be in the sectors identified above for each country.   Applications can be no more than US $250,000. Submit all documents to the e-mail address found in your country’s call for proposal by the specified deadline. Only complete applications will be considered. Download a copy of the grant application form here: ENGLISH APPLICATIONFRENCH APPLICATION We look forward to reviewing your proposals! Read more

Welcome to the sixth annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. This is where agrifood innovation meets impact. Africa’s food sector faces mounting challenges in climate resilience, food security, and nutrition. The need for groundbreaking solutions has never been greater. Are you an agripreneur leading the charge against these pressing issues? Do you have a transformative venture that’s making waves in the agrifood landscape? We want to hear from you. Before you dive in, take a moment to review our important eligibility criteria and terms. Remember that you do not have to complete your application in one session. You can start today and save your progress to continue later. A high-quality application is how you will get your business noticed. Here’s what you need to do to get started: Join the GoGettaz Community when you enter the competition and you’ll get access to education, mentorship, and investment networks to help you launch, grow, or scale your agrifood venture. Review the eligibility criteria and terms below. Create your VC4A profile and begin your application! You can save your progress to continue later. Are you ready to make your mark on Africa’s agrifood landscape? Join us for the sixth annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition and be part of the solution. Apply now and let’s grow together. For more information, see our brochure or check out our terms and conditions. https://vc4a.com/gogettaz/2024/ Read more

We seek to fund innovative prevention and promotion ideas that target the early drivers of mental health and well-being in underserved 10- to 24-year-olds. We are looking for solutions that address both the specific upstream drivers of young people's mental health and well-being and the broader systemic barriers hindering the implementation and integration of mental health initiatives. Our focus is on culturally sensitive and community-driven approaches that consider the social and environmental factors influencing mental health. Projects must be implemented in at least one of 12 priority countries (Colombia, Ecuador,Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania,and Vietnam) and align with locally-led landscape analyses. Three types of funding opportunities are available, each with different scopes, funding amounts, timelines, and evaluation criteria. Successful project teams will have a deep understanding of the mental health needs of young people in priority countries. Eligible applicants include organizations formed, legally incorporated, and able to receive and administer funding. A key requirement is the meaningful involvement of young people and/or those with lived experience of mental health challenges in the project's design, testing, and evaluation. To learn more visit https://being-initiative.org/funding-opportunities/request-for-proposals-funding-bold-ideas-for-youth-mental-health-in-12-countries/   Read more

Partnerships for Innovative Research in Africa 2024 Call for ProposalsInfo session and Q&A slides The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP), a consortium of ten leading African universities, a distinguished research network for African research institute, and Michigan State University, is inviting proposals for its Partnerships for Innovative Research in Africa (PIRA) strategic funding program. As a consortium-wide initiative, PIRA is a tiered funding opportunity designed to cultivate and support multidirectional, collaborative research partnerships at any stage of their development, whether they are initiatives to explore and create new relationships or scale existing ones. One of the unique aspects to these grants is the expectation that organizations will establish and develop fair and equitable partnerships from conception to closeout of the project, involving local stakeholders throughout the project, respecting their knowledge and expertise, and taking an adaptive approach that is responsive to the local context. Proposals should outline processes to establish such partnerships. Fair and equitable partnerships must also be established among members of the consortium if multiple organizations are working on the implementation of the project. Proposed partnership activities may entail cooperative research, capacity building initiatives, outreach and/or other activities that align with AAP’s pillars of building bridges, transforming institutions, and transforming lives. Proposals must address at least one of AAP’s priority areas: agri-food systems; water, energy and  environment; culture and society; youth empowerment; education; health and nutrition; and, science, technology, and innovation. Proposals are encouraged from diverse disciplinary perspectives. Submitted proposals must include principal investigators from both MSU and at least one African AAP member university. The project implementation timeframe will be 18 months. FUNDING TIERS The tiered funding structure is designed to support partnerships at different stages of maturity to create and strengthen relationships among institutions and act as a catalyst for research teams in securing external funding that will allow for long-term engagement. Applicants should submit proposals for the funding tier that best fits the level of engagement established among the PIs on the research team. However, AAP management reserves the right to relegate proposals to a different tier if deemed more appropriate during review. To ensure broad impact, more awards will be given at the planning grant level than the scaling grant level. Proposed activities for each tier may include, but are not limited to: Planning Grants (up to $50,000), inception and early-stage partnership research activities, travel support for co-developing joint proposals (in accordance with all MSU travel guidelines), short-term capacity building trainings, network development, research symposia, or other activities that align with AAP’s priority themes and strategic objectives. Scaling Grants (up to $100,000), continuation of ongoing partnerships that have the potential to significantly scale their research, capacity building, or outreach activities, broader institutional linkages, or other activities that align with AAP’s priority themes and strategic objectives.  ELIGIBILITY The lead investigators for proposals must come from MSU and AAP African member universities. Proposals may also include partners from other institutions globally. Teams are encouraged to include partners from the private sector, governments, civil society organizations, and pan-African/global institutions. Individuals who were PIs or co-PIs on grants from the previous round of PIRA grants or AAP’s strategic partnership grants are not eligible to lead proposals under this call but may participate as team members. MSU ISP staff are not eligible to lead proposals. GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS All submissions must have a cover sheet and proposal narrative that includes the information listed below, a budget and budget narrative using the provided template, and letters of support. Please submit all application material via the application portal by Wednesday, August 14 at 11:59 PM EST. Application with the project's title as well as names, institutional affiliations, titles of all principal investigators, and a brief (about 100 words) project summary A proposal narrative, not to exceed 5,000 words with one appendix for references cited, that includes: A description of the partnership, containing: Capacity statements from each partner institution that outlines their respective strengths in relation to their proposed roles and responsibilities in the partnership A brief description of the past or ongoing partnership, if applicable The rationale for partnership and evidence that it will create or cultivate equitable, sustainable, and mutually beneficial partnerships A problem statement that identifies the shared challenges to be addressed by the program activities, the theory of change, their relevance to AAP’s themes and pillars Clearly defined objectives of the proposed partnership A description of program activities as well as a logical framework that connects the proposed activities with their intended outputs, outcomes, and programmatic objectives A timeline of activities A monitoring, evaluating, and learning plan that outlines proposed indicators and collection methods Identification of potential sources of additional funding that the partnership will pursue during the program’s period of performance A line-item budget and budget narrative using the template provided. Templates and more information on budgetary considerations are below in BUDGET. A letter of support from each partner’s department, institution, or organization; and A CV or resume of each principal investigator (1-page max). A letter of support for each PI from their dean or head of department that signifies buy-in from each partner at the institutional level. Please use the provided template SELECTION CRITERIA Program goals should align with at least one of AAP’s pillars: Building bridges: Bringing people and organizations together to work toward common goals. Illustrative activities under this objective include: sponsoring thematic symposia or workshops that bring people together across sectors and disciplines or travel for preparation of proposals for larger grant applications. This also includes network development, communications among research groups or networks (e.g. digital innovations and digital forums), dissemination of knowledge through online journals and/or sharing of best practices among partners Transforming institutions: Promoting sustainable and effective partnerships among institutions, enhancing resources, and increasing institutional capacity. Illustrative activities under this objective include: institutional capacity development at universities, NGOs, or in the public sector such as building financial management capacity, improving teaching and learning at universities, and/or increasing proposal development skills, among others. Transforming lives: Supporting research with real-world impact that improves African lives and livelihoods. Illustrative activities under this objective include: putting research into action through evidence-based outreach and engagement, conducting early-stage research that has obvious potential to impact lives and livelihoods, improving dissemination of research outputs to practitioners and policy-makers, and/or designing innovative research-into-practice methodologies.  Submitted proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Evidence of a collaborative and equitable partnership that strengthens personal, professional, and/or institutional networks in a mutually beneficial and sustainable way. Other AAP principles that need to be demonstrated in the proposal and later in the implementation are mutual trust and respect, sustainability, innovativeness, co-creation, accountability, transparency, flexibility as well as multi-disciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity. Alignment of proposed activities and program goal(s) to AAP’s 3 strategic objectives and 7 priority areas. Potential for program deliverables to significantly contribute to their respective academic, technical, or technological fields. Potential to create innovative models of community engagement and development that positively impact people’s lives. Potential for principal investigators to attract and or leverage additional external funding to sustain program’s impact. A thorough monitoring, evaluating, and learning plan that links program activities to their intended outputs and outcomes and includes a clear description of the MEL tools that will be used, what indicators will be measured, and a timeline for evaluation and reporting. Gender equality, equity and inclusion are core values of AAP and are thus central to this call. All projects funded must demonstrate how they follow principles of gender and inclusion and should explain how applicants will integrate gender, equity, and inclusion issues in all stages of the project, including rationale, design, intended results, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and knowledge mobilization processes. BUDGET PIRA BUDGET TEMPLATE [.XLSX] Using the template provided, applicants must submit a line-item budget and budget narrative for the life of the program that details each institution’s requested budget as well as an overall budget summary. Suggested line items are provided as guidelines but are not comprehensive or required. Proposed budgets should be co-created by the partnership teams and reflect an equitable distribution of funds, with each institution completing a separate tab within the budget template to show the anticipated disbursement of resources and cost sharing broken down by yearly expenditures. The budget narrative should clearly explain how the line items are calculated and for what purpose they will be used in achieving the program’s objectives. Please note that the MSU PI and their home department will be responsible for the financial administration of the award. As such, it is required that the MSU PI involve their department’s fiscal officer in the development of the proposed budget to ensure all financial guidelines and reporting requirements are met. Please submit budgets as an Excel file or similar formatted version that allows the reviewers to view the formulas used in the calculations. Communications and Engagement10% of the total requested funds must be earmarked for communication and engagement efforts. For example, if a team is requesting a scaling grant for $100,000, at least $10,000 of that must be budgeted for communication and engagement efforts, such as developing creative projects that translate the research, engagement workshops and developing and utilizing dissemination tools such as video production, creation of digital resources, community engagement activities, etc. Cost Share 10% of the total requested funds must be matched with contributions (monetary and/or in-kind) from all partners. The Co-PIs’ colleges, faculties. and/or departments will be expected to contribute to the costs of the proposed activities to ensure that the commitment to long-term partnering is shared by these units.  Ineligible Expenses While funding may be used for a variety of activities, the following expenses are not eligible to be covered with the PIRA grants: Regular salary of MSU faculty (summer salary is allowable) Indirect costs (IDC) Equipment exceeding $5,000 Construction-related costs  Total project salary & fringe cannot exceed 30% of total combined project budget. SELECTION PROCESS Proposals will initially be reviewed by the AAP management team according to the guidelines and criteria above. Short-listed applications will be assessed by external peer reviewers for quality of technical content. Final selections will be made by the AAP management team in consultation with its internal partners and consortium members. SUBMISSION AND AWARD TIMELINE APPLICATION PORTAL Full proposal packages are due on Wednesday, August 14 at 11:59 PM EST and awards will be announced by early October. AAP management will work with awardees to finalize the plan and budget by November 20, 2024. Programs may begin according to their timeline but not before a final work plan and budget has been approved by AAP management. Programs must begin no later than January 22, 2025 and all program activities must be completed within 18 months of the start date. Progress will be due to AAP management at regular intervals throughout implementation. In addition, AAP will be conducting intermittent surveys of the awardees to evaluate the PIRA grant-making process and how successfully it embodies the AAP’s values of equity, transparency, and accountability. Read more