New Africa call with BMBF funding for water-energy nexus

The Belmont Forum, an international partnership of funding organizations, science councils and regional consortia, has announced the Africa Regional Call (ARC). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) participates by supporting German partners in selected joint research projects.

The Africa Regional Call aims to support international and transdisciplinary projects that address knowledge gaps and priorities in addressing climate change vulnerability across the African continent. Africa's vulnerability to climate change is complex, with socio-economic, political and environmental factors intertwined. Visible effects include biodiversity loss, increasing water scarcity and reduced food production, as well as negative consequences for human health, the state of ecosystems and national security issues. Important sectors of the African economy are also facing major challenges as the economic impacts of climate change are set to worsen. Research, innovation and capacity building are critical in meeting these pressing challenges.

The ARC 2024 addresses the following topics:
1. Water – Energy – Food – Health Nexus
2. Pollution
3. Disaster Preparedness, Responsiveness, and Recovery

More detailed information can be found in the Call for Proposals. BMBF is only funding projects, where the contribution of the German part is focused on the water and energy nexus under Topic 1. Successful projects are required to be application-oriented and aim for a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 or higher (a similar level is expected for non-technological solutions).

The proposal must be submitted through the electronic proposal system by the application deadline:

Pre-proposal deadline: 2 September 2024, 20:00 UTC
Full-proposal deadline: 31 December 2024

More information on the application process and the project requirements can also be found here.

For information on funding, German applicants should refer to the BMBF´s annex document:

Contact for German applicants:
Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA)
Dr. Sina Hale
E-mail: sina.hale@kit.edu


Source: PTKA