• Partially Funded

The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund was established in 2012, with generous support from The ALBORADA Trust. The Fund supports pairs of researchers (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, more than 260 awards have been made, to enable Cambridge researchers to engage with African colleagues from 31 African countries. 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.).

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Should you be successful in receiving a Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund award, then the types of award letters that would need to be signed by the Cambridge and African PI are shown here

Particularly note that the ALBORADA Research Fund cannot pay for overheads, PI salaries, administration costs, bench fees or for researchers to attend conferences.

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.

Benefits

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).

Eligibilities

  • 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.
  • The African applicant must be based in a sub-Saharan African Research Institution or University.
Eligible Regions: Sub-Saharan African Countries (Including Sudan)

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)

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Application Deadline: September 5, 2022

Application ClosedOfficial link

For Further Queries

Any queries should be sent to [email protected].
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