The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Study Grant in UK 2023: Great offer! Application for the 2023 Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Study Grant is now available to all exceptional applicants.
The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund was established in 2012 and has received lots of generous support from The ALBORADA Trust Board.
According to Nasims Click, The study grants aim to support researchers at the post-doctoral level and above from the University of Cambridge (or an affiliated institution such as the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, NIAB, and British Antarctic Survey) and sub-Saharan African institutions, across all disciplines, to initiate and/or strengthen research collaborations.
To date, over 260 awards have been made, to enable Cambridge researchers to engage with African colleagues from 31 African countries.
The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Study Grant in UK 2023
Some awardees have been able to use the preliminary results from their seed fund/research collaboration to apply for and win significant funding (e.g. Royal Society/Leverhulme Awards, Global Challenges Research Fund, etc.).
Aim
The purpose of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is to encourage research, training, and engagement activities between Cambridge and sub-Saharan Africa.
Applicants from Cambridge apply jointly with applicants from universities/ institutes in sub- Saharan Africa and co-create the projects. It is important that the funding is not simply used to provide services that will be carried out at one institution on behalf of the other, and that true collaboration is demonstrated in the application.
An important function of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is to act as a seed fund/catalyst to enable the development of new research activity and further joint funding applications. Priority will be given to applications that build new partnerships (or expand existing ones) with the potential for long-term collaboration. Projects should also ideally strengthen the research capacity of the African researcher and/or the African research institution/university.
Application Perks:
The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund competitively awards grants of between £1,000 and £20,000, for:
- research costs (such as reagents, fieldwork and equipment)
- research-related travel between Cambridge and Africa (bearing in mind the feasibility of travel due to COVID restrictions)
- conducting research training activities in Africa (e.g. setting up courses/workshops).
Selection Criteria
- Both applicants must be at the post-doctoral level or above, and by completing an application, it is understood that they are both doing so with support from their Head of Department or equivalent.
- Both applicants should have a formal link to a research group/department/faculty in their home institution
- It is also expected that both applicants remain employed beyond the end date of their ALBORADA awards.
- The awards are not intended to support post- graduate students, however, limited support for students (e.g. as part of a research project or training visit) will be considered when there is a clear demonstration that this will enhance the relationship between the Cambridge and African Principal Investigators (PIs).
- The Cambridge applicant must be either working at the University of Cambridge, or at a Research Institute affiliated with the University.
- The Cambridge applicants will act as the lead applicants, for administrative purposes, as the awards 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 a sub-Saharan African Research Institution or University.
Application Process
- Both applicants must register and complete a saveable online application form, available on the Cambridge- Africa website. Final submissions should include the following documents:
- Case for support and a lay summary
- An itemised budget (template provided)
- A letter of support from the department/faculty of the Cambridge PI. For the Department of Engineering, a letter of support from the Head of Division is needed.
- A letter of support from the department/institution of the African PI
- CVs (maximum 2 pages) for both the Cambridge and Africa PI The details of two suggested referees are also required; these should be individuals who have no conflicts of interest with the project or investigators (e.g. they should not be from the same Department).
- If you are eligible to apply, but are unable to register on the page above, then please contact alboradafund@cambridge-africa.cam.ac.uk.
