Funding opportunity Announcements 1. MRC/DFID African research leader scheme Medical Research Council, GB and other funders The Medical Research Council and the Department for International Development invite applications for their African research leader scheme. This aims to strengthen research leadership and capacity across sub-Saharan Africa by attracting and retaining researchers of high ability and build on existing strong research partnerships between African and UK research organisations. The scheme is offered to candidates employed by African government institutions and wellestablished non-profit institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, such as universities, medical or dental schools, and academic institutes. South African institutions are excluded from this call. The MRC units in the Gambia and Uganda are eligible to apply. Awards are only available to African-UK institutional partnerships, and the application should be submitted by the UK institution. The UK partner institution may be any UK institution eligible for MRC funding. Researchers from sub-Saharan African countries, as well as African researchers working overseas who wish to return to the region, are eligible under this scheme. The candidate should hold an academic position in an African research institution, or make arrangements to obtain a tenured academic position in such an institution. They are expected to hold a PhD and have between one and five years' relevant postdoctoral research experience. The scheme is open to applicants working in all biomedical and health research areas, and priority will be given to applications that address key health problems relevant to the region. Applications from women are especially encouraged. Awards are worth up to £750,000 for a period of up to five years. The majority of funding will go to the African institution, which will receive funding at 100 per cent of full economic costing. Any costs specifically for the UK institution will be provided on the basis of 80 per cent FEC. Awards provide salary for the candidate and eligible research costs. The scheme offers the African research leader an opportunity to spend three months in a UK institution for further development and training. Application due dates: Activity Call open for applications in Je-S Application deadline Peer review (external) Shortlisting Panel meeting Interviews (2 days) Decision to applicants Date 18 September 2014 27 November 2014 January – February 2015 Mid-March 2015 Mid-May 2015 Late May 2015 For details, please visit: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/funding/browse/mrc-dfid-african-research-leader-scheme-2014-15/ 2. Developing excellence in leadership, training and science initiative Wellcome Trust, GB The Wellcome Trust invites applications for its developing excellence in leadership, training and science initiative. This aims to support the African-led development of world-class researchers and research leaders in Africa. The objectives of this programme are to: •produce world-class scientific research that addresses African health and research priorities through scientific discourse and collaborative supervision; •strengthen scientific research training and build career pathways for scientific researchers; •foster mentorship, leadership and equitable collaboration in science, and engagement with public and policy stakeholders; •cultivate professional environments to manage and support scientific research. Universities and research institutions, or consortia of these institutions, are eligible to apply. The lead institution of each successful DELTAS Africa programme must be based in subSaharan Africa. Strong collaborations between institutional partners within sub-Saharan Africa are encouraged, as are collaborations with institutional partners outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Funding is available to support costs associated with the programme including programme secretariat, grants and awards, training, meeting and travel, research management and support costs, monitoring and evaluation activities, research infrastructure and equipment. Funding may be requested for a period of five years. Application due date: 9th October 2014 For details, visit: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Biomedical-science/Funding-schemes/Strategic-awardsand-initiatives/wtp057105.htm 3. Kwame Nkrumah continental scientific award African Union, ET The African Union invites applications for its continental scientific award under the Kwame Nkrumah scientific awards programme. This award recognises outstanding African scientists in the fields of life and earth sciences and basic science, technology and innovation, that contribute to Africa’s sustainable development, poverty alleviation and integration efforts. Only nationals of African Union member states are eligible to participate in this award. Applicants should have at least 20 SCI publications. Two prizes of US$100,000 each are available, one in the life and earth sciences sector and one in the basic science, technology and innovation sector. Country of applicant institution Angola; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Benin; Botswana; Congo, the Democratic Republic of the; Central African Republic; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Djibouti; Algeria; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Ghana; Gambia; Guinea; Equatorial Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Comoros; Liberia; Lesotho; Libya; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Seychelles; Sudan; Sierra Leone; Senegal; Somalia; Sao Tome and Principe; Swaziland; Chad; Togo; Tunisia; Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda; South Africa; Zambia; Zimbabwe; South Sudan Application due date: 15th November 2014. For details, visit: http://hrst.au.int/en/content/2014-edition-african-union-kwame-nkrumah-scientific-awards 4. Grants for scientific meetings held in developing countries TWAS, IT The World Academy of Sciences invites applications for its grants for scientific meetings held in developing countries. These support the organisation of high-level international and regional scientific activities in developing countries by offering financial assistance to the organisers of conferences, workshops, symposia and special meetings. Grants are offered for meetings in the agricultural, biological, chemical, engineering, geological and medical sciences. Applications are open to organisers of international and regional scientific meetings in developing countries. Up to US$5,000 is available for travel grants for principal speakers from abroad or participants from developing countries. Country of applicant institution should be Lower-Middle-Income countries; Low Income countries; Upper-Middle-Income countries Application due date: 1st December 2014 For details, visit: http://www.twas.org/opportunity/twas-grants-scientific-meetings-held-developing-countries 5. Systems science and health in the behavioral and social sciences (R01): Aids-related NIH: Office of the Director, US and other funders A total of 12 participating institutes of the National Institutes for Health invite applications for their Aids-related systems science and health in the behavioral and social sciences (R01) grants. This Aids-related R01 funding opportunity announcement seeks proposals to develop basic and applied projects utilizing systems science methodologies relevant to human behavioral and social sciences and health. This FOA is intended to encourage a broader scope of topics to be addressed with systems science methodologies. Research projects applicable to this FOA are either applied or basic in nature, have a human behavioral and/or social science focus and feature systems science methodologies. This funding opportunity announcement will utilize the NIH research project R01 grant mechanism and runs in parallel with an FOA of identical scientific scope, PAR-11-315 that solicits applications under the exploratory/developmental research grant award (R21) mechanism. Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is five years. Domestic and foreign for-profit and non-profit organizations and public or private institutions are eligible to apply. PAR-11-314. Application due dates: every January 7, May 7 and September 7 until January 8, 2015. For details, visit: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-11-314.html Disclaimer : As much as we endeavour to ensure that we get the information from reliable and official sources, we are not liable for any inappropriate information and misuse of the above calls. You are therefore advised to double-check and ensure credibility of the sources before proceeding with applications.