The 2022 Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Study Grant in UK
Application deadline: Monday 5 September 2022 .
Great offer! The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Study Grant 2022 application is now open to all exceptional applicants.
The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund was established in 2012 and has received much generous support from the ALBORADA Trust Board.
The study grants aim to support researchers from the postdoc level onwards University of Cambridge (or a connected facility such as the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, NIAB and British Antarctic Survey) and Institutions in sub-Saharan Africa above all disciplines to initiate and/or strengthen research collaborations.
Until today, over 260 awards were made to enable Cambridge researchers to exchange ideas with African colleagues 31 African countries .
Some award winners have been able to use the preliminary results from their seed fund/research collaboration to apply for and win significant grants (e.g. Royal Society/Leverhulme Awards, Global Challenges Research Fund, etc.).
target
The purpose of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is to promote research, training and engagement activities between Cambridge and sub-Saharan Africa.
Applicants from Cambridge apply together with applicants from universities/institutes in sub-Saharan Africa and help shape the projects. It is important that the grant money is not simply used to carry out services performed at one institution on behalf of the other, and that genuine collaboration is demonstrated when the application is submitted.
An important function of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is to act as a seed capital/catalyst to enable the development of new research activities and further collaborative applications for funding. Preference will be given to applications that establish new partnerships (or expand existing ones) and have the potential for long-term collaboration. Projects should ideally also strengthen the research capacity of the African researcher and/or African research institution/university.
Application benefits:
The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is offering competitive grants ranging from £1,000 to £20,000 for:
- Research costs (such as reagents, fieldwork, and equipment)
- research-related travel between Cambridge and Africa (taking into account feasibility of travel due to COVID restrictions)
- Conducting research training activities in Africa (e.g. setting up courses/workshops).
selection criterion
- Both applicants must be postdoctoral students or higher and by completing an application it is assumed that both are doing so with the support of their department head or equivalent.
- Both applicants should have a formal connection to a research group/department/faculty at their home institution
- Both applicants are also expected to remain employed beyond the end date of their ALBORADA award.
- The awards are not intended to support PhD students, however limited support for undergraduates (e.g. as part of a research project or training visit) will be considered where there is clear evidence that doing so will improve the relationship between Cambridge and Africa Principal Investigators (PIs).
- The Cambridge applicant must be working at either the University of Cambridge or at a research institute affiliated with the university.
- The Cambridge applicants act as lead applicants for administrative reasons as the grants have to be paid to their Cambridge departments/faculties/institutes.
Applicable Region
Sub-Saharan African countries (including Sudan)
- The African applicant must be based in an African research institution or university in sub-Saharan Africa.
application process
- Both applicants are required to register and complete a storable online application form available on the Cambridge Africa website. Final submissions should include the following documents:
- Hang for support and an amateur summary
- A detailed budget (template provided)
- A letter of support from the Cambridge PI department/faculty. A letter of support from the head of the department is required for the technical department.
- A letter of support from the department/institution of the African PI
- Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages) for both the Cambridge and Africa PIs. Two proposed reviewers’ details are also required; These should be people who have no conflicts of interest with the project or the researchers (e.g. they should not be from the same department).
- If you are eligible to apply but cannot register on the above page, please contact [email protected].