Jobs & Fellowships

Call for applications: Support to research institutions and organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa

July 24, 2017

The main purpose of this call is to finance high quality research for development, based on local needs within thematic priority areas.

Norad invites research institutions and research organizations based in the Sub-Saharan Africa to submit applications for funding.

Norad provides mainly programme support, but can in some cases consider core support.

Approximately 35 million NOK per year is made available under this call. Norad plans to support a total of 4-6 institutions/organizations for a period of 3-5 years. 

The desired impact of the support scheme is to increase research-based knowledge of high quality on poverty alleviation and sustainable development informing development policies, development programs, private sector investments, the general public and further research.

The main desired outcomes would be:

  • Increased production of high quality research in Sub-Saharan Africa with intended impact on poverty reduction and sustainable development.
  • Increased and effective dissemination of research-based knowledge to policy makers, relevant stakeholders and the public.
  • Strengthened capacity of research institutions and research organizations in Sub Saharan Africa.

Applications must be based on needs and priorities identified by the applicants, and aim at having policy impact at national and/or regional level.

Target group

Types of organizations: Research institutions and research organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa can apply. The term research institutions and organizations includes institutions and organizations which finance or conduct research, or synthesize research and ensure policy uptake and use of research based knowledge to promote development and alleviate poverty, e.g. research institutes, think thanks, research councils and research consortia. The applicant must be registered as a legal person.

Commercial actors, consulting firms, individuals, universities and higher education institutions cannot apply.

Capacity, quality and competence: The applicants must be able to document the competence and capacity to implement agreements of this size. This includes research competence, administrative competence and financial management.

Geographical scope

Research institutions or research organizations based in Sub- Saharan Africa having activities in one or several recipient countries of Norwegian ODA in the region:

Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South-Africa, South-Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, The Central African Republic, The Ivory Coast, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Prioritized thematic areas

For programme support, the supported activities must fall within one or several of the prioritized areas of Norwegian development policy. For core support, the main part of the applicant’s total activities must fall within one or several of these areas.

  • Education
  • Global health
  • Business development and job creation
  • Climate change, renewable energy and environment
  • Humanitarian efforts

Types of support

Norad provides mainly programme support, but can in some cases consider core support. The applicants must specify and justify which type of support they are applying for.

Norad support must predominantly be used in recipient countries of Norwegian ODA in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Amount of funding available

Approximately 35 mill. NOK per year is made available under this call.

Norad plans to support a total of 4-6 institutions/organizations for a period of 3-5 years.

The annual amount applied for to Norad should normally be in the range of NOK 4 – 6 million (approximately USD 0.5 – 0.7 million).  The budget must be specified and justified.

Norad’s financial support must not exceed 50% of the applicant institution’s total budget. Applicants are required to document other financial contributions.

How to apply

Incomplete applications will be rejected. See information about how to apply below.

Application form and attachments

The Norad application form must be used, as no other forms will be accepted. The application form must be completed according to the guidelines given in the template.

Mandatory attachments: 

  • Results Framework (Norad’s template may be used)
  • Budget for the support period.The budget must include specifications of other contributions/sources of income and a specification of how Norad’s contribution will be spent. The budget must be denominated both in NOK and the normal currency used by the applicant. For programme support, Norad can support indirect costs up to a maximum of 7% of direct costs.
  • Implementation /activity plan, including plans for dissemination and communication of results, and for monitoring and evaluation.
  • The applicant’s strategy or business plan.
  • Consolidated financial report and audit report with management letter for the previous two years.
  • List of the most relevant publications for the last five years conducted or supported by the applicant.
  • The organization’s most recent external evaluation/review, if applicable.

Assessment criteria

  • Quality of the research
  • Applicants competence and capacity (scientific merit)
  • The applicant’s long-term strategy/plan
  • Relevance for the thematic priorities of this call
  • Relevance and benefit to society
  • Plan for dissemination and communication of results
  • Administrative competence and capacity
  • Financial and strategic management
  • Cost efficiency
  • Risk assessment and mitigation measures, including an assessment of potential negative impact on the four cross-cutting issues in Norwegian development cooperation: i) human rights, ii) gender equality, iii) climate and environment and iv) anti- corruption)

Application assessment

All applications will be reviewed according to the assessment criteria by an Independent Review Committee (IRC).

Norad will make the final funding decisions based upon the IRC assessments, inputs from relevant embassies, and an overall assessment of the total portfolio composition, subject to thematic areas, geography and organization types.

Earliest agreement start date is 1. December 2017.

Norad aims at announcing the outcome of the decision process by 15. November 2017. Please do not contact Norad about the outcome of the application process before this date.

First Published on the Norad Website on 11th July 2017.

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