Cultivate Africa s Future - Phase 2 (CultiAF-2)

Transcription

1 Cultivate Africa s Future - Phase 2 (CultiAF-2) Call for Concept Notes January 2018 Canada s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) Page 1 of 20

2 Table of contents Background Objectives and Focus of the Fund Eligibility for the Fund... 8 A. Applicant Organisations and Research Location... 8 B. Management... 9 C. Type of Research Budget and Duration Selection Process Selection Criteria Target Timelines Concept Note Format and Requirements Submission Deadline Permission to Share Information IDRC Standard Grant Conditions Country Clearance Requirements Appendix A: CultiAF eligible countries Page 2 of 20

3 Background In 2012, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada announced a four year CAD 15 million Cultivate Africa s Future (CultiAF 1) partnership. The main objective of this competitive research fund (the Fund) was to support applied research in areas vital to achieving long-term food security with a focus on post-harvest losses, nutrition and water use in Eastern and Southern Africa. Following the success of CultiAF the two organisations established a new CAD 20 million Cultivate Africa s Future - Phase 2, in June 2017, with a vision to leverage the strengths and resources of both organisations in order to address food and nutrition insecurity in Africa, promote learning about what works, and engage partners in developing innovations that respond to the needs of smallholder farmers, consumers and local stakeholders. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was established in 1982 with a mission to achieve more productive and sustainable agricultural systems, for the benefit of developing countries and Australia. ACIAR is an integral part of Australia s development assistance program and a part of Australia s agricultural innovation system. Over 35 years, it has directed a program of research and knowledge building which, drawing on Australian and partner country expertise, has lifted agricultural productivity and benefited many farmers in developing countries, improving food security and reducing poverty. ACIAR has a strong international reputation for the results it has achieved, its research partnership model, and its long record of evaluation and assessment. ACIAR s partnership model ensures that its partner countries have input into and ownership of research priorities and the delivery of research programs. This approach helps to maximise the relevance of the research undertaken and the likelihood that research outputs and findings will be utilised and make a difference in the region. The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Crown corporation created in 1970 by the Parliament of Canada that builds capacity for people and institutions in developing countries to undertake the research they identify as most urgent. It works with researchers as they confront contemporary challenges within their own countries and contribute to global advancements in their field. The Agriculture and Food Security program of IDRC supports research that generates new options for more equitable and productive agriculture in order to improve food and income security among poor women and men in developing countries. It works with other Page 3 of 20

4 organisations to develop and test innovations technological improvements and better agrifood policies that promote effective sustainability, for current and future generations. IDRC will be responsible for the management and administration of the CAD 20 million of the Fund and establishing funding agreements with recipients according to IDRC rules, policies, and procedures. In addition, IDRC will monitor and liaise with the funded recipients. Strategic decisions and governance of the partnership will be a collaborative effort between senior managers at ACIAR and IDRC. Rationale of the Fund Agriculture is central to fostering economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving food security in the Southern African region. More than 70 percent of the rural population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, and poor performance in the agriculture sector has led to constrained regional economic growth. Food insecurity is a significant challenge for most developing countries; they are especially vulnerable to economic and climate-related shocks to food production and distribution systems. Food insecurity and malnutrition estimates indicate that Africa still has the highest proportion of undernourished people in the world. Research has the substantial potential to improve the food security situation by identifying ways in which effective interventions can be undertaken. In the last decade, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) helped halve poverty, and the trends are continuing in a positive direction. Yet, 815 million people are still hungry and with an increasing number of micronutrient deficiencies and a growing Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) burden. Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) is about addressing this remaining problem. Amidst these challenges, the pace of economic change, social technological and environmental change is accelerating and this has implications for achieving SDG2 and for global food security beyond The poor, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SS Africa) and the rural poor, are being left behind. Innovations are needed to meet the current challenges to food security and to the changing context of tomorrow. Investing in small-scale agriculture is an especially effective way to meet the food security needs of vulnerable populations especially women and children while building economic livelihoods. Recent studies estimate that over 475 million family farms which constitute 98% of all farms, at least 53% of agricultural land produce at least 53% of the world s food (Graeb et al, 2016). Focus on family farms in agricultural research and development and commitments to agricultural research that support family farms are essential. Page 4 of 20

5 Women make up the majority of farmers in family farms, and in Eastern and Southern Africa, constitute up to 60% of the agricultural labour force yet women and girls account for most of the world s undernourished. The unequal social, economic, and legal status of women in society limits their access to adequate quantities and quality of food within the household and marketplace which reduces their access to the means of production, such as land, training, credit, and financial services. Women s needs and opportunities for enhancing their participation in decision making processes alongside men are often not adequately considered in agricultural research. Moreover, their potential as agents of innovation is not considered in strategies for scale-up and dissemination of knowledge and technologies. Gender transformative approaches can reduce barriers for women and contribute to the achievement of food and nutritional security. The demographic transition underway in Africa coupled with rapid urbanization poses both a challenge and an opportunity. Agriculture still remains the key sector with potential to bolster youth employment in most African countries but research on the most effective strategies for youth engagement is still needed. Rapid urbanization on the other hand will require improved farm-to-consumer marketing systems. Product loss, quality deterioration, and food safety will increasingly become key research areas as more consumers become geographically separated from food production. CultiAF 1 was a CAD15 million fund to support innovative solutions to improve food and nutrition security in five selected countries in Eastern and Southern Africa from Its objective was to improve food security through applied research in agriculture. The fund had 3 specific objectives; Support innovative and complementary applied research on post-harvest systems, nutrition, and sustainable water use; Identify innovations and mechanisms for scaling-up and use of the most promising research results; Support and underpin national and regional agriculture and food security policies and programmes. The Fund supported the development and testing of 24 innovations across five main projects in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Uganda, five of the targeted 10 countries being in Eastern and Southern Africa. These innovations included technologies, models, and management practices such as solar dryers, salting, improved kilns and a cold chain to reduce fish loss; bean varieties with precooking properties and models for their production and supply; insects as potential soybean and fish meal replacements in poultry and fish feed, including their rearing techniques and substrates; and hermetic technologies (metal silos and super bags) to Page 5 of 20

6 reduce post-harvest losses of grain. These innovations are being used by over 25,000 smallholder farmers, livestock keepers and fisher folk, with 52% of the users being women. CultiAF 2 will build on Phase 1 and focus on four priorities to ensuring food security in Africa: (i) improved productivity and incomes and reduction in post-harvest losses for smallholder farmers (ii) improved gender equity (iii) linking agriculture, nutrition, and human health (iv) climate change and water. These key areas have been identified in policy documents on African Agriculture. They are well aligned to African priorities outlined in the Malabo Declaration. For example, in the declaration, African Heads of State committed to ending hunger by 2025 through increasing productivity, adopting efficient and effective agricultural water management systems through irrigation, halving current levels of post-harvest loss, improving nutritional status, and in particular, the elimination of child undernutrition in Africa with a view to bringing down stunting to 10% and underweight to 5%, and enhancing resilience of livelihoods and production systems to climate variability and other related risks. They also committed to create job opportunities for at least 30% of the youth in agricultural value chains and empower women who form the bulk of smallholder farmers in the continent. Objectives and Focus of the Fund The principle objective of the Fund is to improve food security in Eastern and Southern Africa by funding applied research in agricultural development. The expected outcome is an increase in high-quality scientific research with a focus on the adoption of existing and new research results, as well as testing mechanisms to take proven research innovations to scale in order to tackle persistent problems of food insecurity. CultiAF 2 will focus geographically in 10 countries throughout Eastern and Southern Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi). These countries are ACIAR focal countries and are a subset of IDRC priority countries in the region. This will allow the initiative to achieve a greater impact within the regions while continuing to ensure results can be scaled up to other countries in East and Southern Africa and compliment other initiatives of ACIAR and IDRC. CultiAF 2 will seek to engage the private sector and civil society groups, especially those in developing countries, to apply the research results for maximum development impact. The program will also seek to ensure that food security research implemented under the Fund is coordinated with other food security research projects and programs in targeted regions and countries. The fund will ensure the research is environmentally sustainable and that potential negative impacts of innovations on the environment are reduced while maximizing potential positive benefits. Page 6 of 20

7 The program will continue to direct research towards increasing women s access and control over resources, and increasing their (and their households ) productivity, income, and nutritional status. By engaging women and youth 1 at every stage of the research to development cycle, CultiAF 2 will build women and youth s strategic leadership and influence over broader agricultural and food systems policy at the national, regional, and global level. Gender will be embedded in the program s management systems ensuring the representation of women in program governance structures and gender expertise in program management. IDRC and ACIAR will engage with policy makers (including Global Affairs Canada and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia), to promote the results of the research for further scale up. The specific objectives of Phase 2 of the Fund are to: 1. Increase food and nutrition security in Eastern and Southern Africa by funding applied research to develop sustainable, climate resilient, and gender responsive innovations for smallholder farmers; 2. Develop and implement business models that empower women and youth to scale out innovations that bring equitable benefits to smallholder farmers and consumers; 3. Use research results to inform food security, nutrition, climate change and water policies and programs. The ultimate outcome of CultiAF 2 is improved food and nutrition security, resilience and gender equality for the most food insecure in targeted countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Intermediate outcomes include: production systems that are resilient to climate and related shocks; increased productivity and reduced post-harvest losses of targeted crops, livestock and fish; increased empowerment of and leadership by women and youth in production, processing, marketing, and service provision; policies that support and promote climate resilient, nutritionally enhanced, and gender responsive agricultural, food security and health innovations; and increased use of innovations for improving food and nutrition security, health, and climate resilience. The direct outputs of the funded research will include: new knowledge, skills, and innovations for increasing productivity, incomes, and reducing post-harvest losses for smallholder farmers; tools and improvements to existing practices and policies related to climate resilient agricultural systems and nutrition; tested business models for taking innovations to scale to reach millions of smallholders and consumers; new knowledge and approaches on how to improve gender equality and enhance the meaningful participation and decision-making roles 1 1 CultiAF adopts the Africa Union age limit for youth as those under 35 years Page 7 of 20

8 of women and youth in agricultural development and food security; and efficient and effective partnerships between research, education, policy, private sector and development organizations with smallholder farmers and consumers. Eligibility for the Fund A. Applicant Organisations and Research Location This Call is open to applicant organisations that will work in partnership with others to carry out research in one (or more) of the eligible countries: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Applicant organisations must be developing country organizations (NARS, Universities, NGOs, Southern-led International organizations) with legal corporate registration in an eligible country. They may work in partnership with Canadian or Australian organisations but this is not a requirement. United Nations organisations, CGIAR centres, Canadian and Australian Organizations shall not apply to this Fund as applicant organisations. They may, however, be included in applications by other research teams, as third-party organisations. IDRC will contract directly with successful applicant organisations. Successful applicant organisations will be permitted to develop contracts with third-party organisations for specific services. IDRC will not contract directly with third-party organisations. Applications that involve third-party organisations must clearly justify their involvement and explain their role(s). Note that third-party organisations are not required to be located in the eligible countries. The guideline for total third-party participation in a project is a maximum of 30% of the budget. In case of partnerships between applicant organisations, applications must be prepared and submitted jointly; must clearly demonstrate the value-added to the project by each organisation; must demonstrate that they will be jointly managed; and must clearly identify the overarching coordinator/leader. Effective partnerships are also reflected by equitable sharing of the budget and shared accountability for research processes and results. Applications must include an official letter of endorsement, signed by an authorised officer from each applicant organisation. Applicant organisations and teams will require considerable experience in both research for development and project management. The Fund actively encourages applications from a wide variety of research for development partnerships that are end-user driven, including public-private partnerships. Potential research users include a wide variety of private sector and non-academic entities such as small and medium enterprises, producer groups, and business associations. (See Section B and C for more information). Page 8 of 20

9 B. Management Projects should normally be led by research teams in eligible Eastern and Southern Africa countries, with the potential for collaboration with Canadian and Australian organisations as third party organizations where specific expertise and technology can add value to the research. Each organisation (other than a third party) that will be receiving funds must be listed as an applicant organisation, and each applicant organisation must have a principal investigator (PI). Principal investigators are defined as those responsible for both the intellectual direction and the administration of the project. The percentage of time that each PI dedicates to the project should not be less than 40% for leading a project of this scale. The projects should also ensure that they have the necessary team in place to effectively manage a research project of this size, including, but not limited to project coordination (e.g., project coordinators, thematic leads in each organization, language capabilities, etc.), monitoring and evaluation, gender and social analysis, and communication activities. The Fund values teams that consist of an appropriate range of research experience and encourage active participation and mentoring of young scientists in the projects. Effective partnerships should harness and integrate specific skills as necessary to achieve the research and development objectives without creating overly complex managerial and organizational structures. Project selection will be based on an open competitive call modality where applicants are invited to first submit a concept note, with a select number subsequently invited to submit a full proposal. Projects with a value ranging from CAD 1 3 million will be funded in this call and the grant duration is a maximum of 42 months. Please note: Individual researchers are eligible to be included on a maximum of two concept notes a researcher can apply as a PI on one project and be on the research team of one additional project. Or, a researcher can be on the research team of two projects. Researchers are not eligible to apply to be the PI on two projects. Researchers applying as PIs must demonstrate that they are prepared to dedicate 40% of their time to the research and project management and be committed to seeing the project through to conclusion. C. Type of Research This Call will support cutting edge, applied field and/or laboratory research projects with the potential to generate high impact and innovative results with particular impact on the food insecure and poor in eligible Eastern and Southern Africa countries. All projects require a sound Page 9 of 20

10 environmental impact assessment, the consideration of social and gender issues, and an applicability to smallholder farmers. The projects should address real practical development challenges and research needs of the 10 developing countries. The Fund will focus on issues under four key research areas aligned to regional priorities as stated in the Malabo declaration: 1. Improved productivity and incomes for farmers and communities and decreased postharvest losses While considerable attention has been directed towards increasing food production, one important and complementary factor that remains under-developed is reducing food loss (in quantity and value). Reducing post-harvest losses is a critical element for improving food security. A recent report by the World Bank estimates that Africa loses US$ 4 billion worth of grain through post-harvest loss every year, enough to feed 48 million people. Reducing postharvest losses can help increase food availability and improve access to food, nutritional quality, food safety, and farmers' incomes. IDRC and ACIAR have been investing in innovations to reduce food loss while at the same time reducing women's drudgery in harvesting, storage, and processing. Further research is needed for the generation of new technologies to improve sustainable agricultural productivity and reduce post-harvest losses. Research to identify and test new and effective ways of reducing post-harvest losses while increasing returns to producers is key for food security. Potential areas of focus include: Developing and scaling up innovations for increasing productivity especially of secondary /orphan crops and for reducing post-harvest loss; Value chain wide assessment of hotspots, causes of losses, identifying constraints (including systemic constraints) and how they can be addressed (infrastructure, technologies, changes of organization in the food chain/system, capacity building, policies and institutions) and their implementation; Agricultural mechanization to increase efficiency of agriculture and reduce drudgery especially for women, and attract youth into agriculture; Inclusive value chain and market development and agri-businesses development that generates employment for youth and women. 2. Improved gender equity Women make up the majority of farmers in these family farms; in Eastern and Southern Africa, they constitute up to 60% of the agricultural labour force and in Asian countries, 40% 50%. Page 10 of 20

11 Rural women assume critical roles in household and community food and nutritional security. Their contribution spans the whole agricultural value chain, from production on the family plot to food preparation and distribution. Yet, their role is generally undervalued and constrained by limitations on their access to resources, services, and labor market opportunities. Women and girls account for most of the world s undernourished. The unequal social, economic, and legal status of women in society limits their access to adequate quantities and quality of food within the household and marketplace, and reduces their access to the means of production, such as land, training, credit, and financial services. Evidence shows that gender equality is important as an end in itself but also for other development outcomes such as productivity, food and nutrition security. Women s decision making in households and their engagement is critical to sustainable development. Despite this, women s needs, and opportunities for enhancing their participation in decision-making alongside men often are not adequately considered in agricultural research. Women can be potential agents of innovation if we address the gender based barriers and unequal social relations that limit their engagement in and benefits form research and development interventions. And while the focus has been on the roles women play and can play in transforming food systems, research on what works to ensure that food systems are gender responsive and serve the needs of women, men, boys and girls is needed. Potential areas of focus include: Testing gender transformative approaches to reduce barriers (including lack of resources, gender and social norms) for women and contribute to the achievement of food and nutritional security and gender equality; Supporting youth and women entrepreneurship and employment and targeting value chains with potential for benefiting women and youth; Building youth and women s leadership in decision making processes in agriculture and agribusiness. 3. Nutrition and Human Health Sustainable Development Goal 2 commits Member States to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. Unifying the aspirations of the nutrition and sustainable agriculture communities into one goal presents a unique opportunity to align the goals of these sectors in a common and even more ambitious cause. Research on agriculture has not always integrated nutrition and health outcomes nor has the health sector always focused on the role of agriculture in improving health and nutrition outcomes. Linking these areas provides IDRC and ACIAR with an entry point for innovative research, especially in countries within Africa where the number of people suffering from malnutrition is not declining Page 11 of 20

12 and where agriculture can play a critical role in improving health and nutrition outcomes through a combination of approaches: increasing dietary diversity, food fortification, raising incomes, providing nutrition education and improving the empowerment of women. Many of these countries are also facing the triple burden of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity as economic development, changing diet patterns, sedentary lifestyles and urban migration have outpaced efforts to develop and maintain healthy and affordable urban agrifood systems. More than ever, integrative solutions are needed that are able to combat malnutrition on multiple fronts, across the spectrum from deficiencies of energy and micronutrients to overconsumption, obesity and related diseases. Another critical area of research is food safety including the transmission of diseases from animals to humans. Potential areas of focus include: Testing and scaling up of integrated approaches that combine on-farm diversity (incorporating minor commodities and foods), dietary diversity, raising incomes, women s empowerment and nutrition education to improve the health status of populations in target countries; Test public- private sector models for nutrition sensitive value chains that deliver high quality and nutritious foods to consumers; Addressing challenges and opportunities to operationalize potential solutions or delivery of innovations (policy, extension services, local barriers, women s empowerment); Focus on vulnerable age groups or segments of population such as children under 24 months, women during pregnancy and lactation or adolescent girls. 4. Climate change and sustainable water management Climate change is changing our assumptions about sustainable management of agricultural water resources. As climate change warms the atmosphere, altering the hydrologic cycle, changes to the amount, timing, form, and intensity of precipitation will continue. Other expected changes include the flow of water in watersheds, as well as the quality of aquatic and marine environments. And as climate change affects whole regions, competition for resources are leading to conflicts in many regions of the world. These impacts are likely to affect the programs designed to protect water quality, public health, and safety. Efficient and sustainable management of agricultural water in the face of climate change will require innovations to enhance agricultural water supply through investment in energy-water technologies, improve water use efficiency in agriculture, promote innovative financing structures to incentivize investment in infrastructure projects to enhance agricultural water supply and quality, advance innovation in the use of agricultural water markets to increase cost effectiveness of agricultural water use and strengthen institutions for agricultural water governance. A critical area of Page 12 of 20

13 research is the interphase between climate change and conflict and how this is affecting young people. Potential areas of focus include: Testing and scaling up technical, social, economic and political incentives for smallholder farmers and rural communities to adopt sustainable, agricultural water efficient and climate smart innovations including local irrigation systems; Landscape management approaches for agricultural water monitoring and management to save and reduce conflict over agricultural water; Building women and youth networks to support capacity building and entrepreneurship and decision making on climate and agricultural water related issues; Developing and testing decision-support systems to save agricultural water based on simulation models of crops and cropping systems, expert systems and weather forecasting. Recognizing that women and girls are the most food insecure, despite being the main food producers in developing countries, projects will apply best practices for transforming gender and other food insecure and vulnerable groups. Projects should harness the meaningful participation and influence of women and youth in a variety of roles: as researchers, trainees, policy makers, development practitioners, farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers. Research should be designed to be completed within 42 months. Longer-term research (e.g., animal and crop breeding, farming systems, etc.), weather-dependant research, and intensive participatory research will need to be clearly justified to ensure that work can be completed and results demonstrated within 36 months. Pure theoretical and pure policy research will not be considered. However, activities that support or develop policy implications from the research are encouraged. The Fund is especially interested in supporting innovative research with the potential for breakthrough results that could be effectively scaled-up and easily adopted by smallholder farmers, food processors, post-harvest handlers, and other value chain actors to improve food security in eligible Eastern and Southern Africa countries. Concept notes must demonstrate that research will have clear impact pathways and be user driven, with potential research-users identified and engaged in project development and implementation. Potential research-users include a wide variety of private sector and nonacademic entities (e.g., large and small businesses, producer groups, business associations, country governments, international organisations, private foundations and institutes, non- Page 13 of 20

14 government organisations, and scientific professional bodies, etc.), all of whom can adopt, adapt, and bring to scale the research results or innovations. 3. Budget and Duration Project budgets under this call must be in the range of CAD 1,000,000-3,000,000 (please refer to the budget details page of the application). Project duration must not exceed 42 months, including all research activities and final reporting. It is anticipated that projects selected in this call will begin in January, Please plan activities accordingly. 4. Selection Process This Call will consist of a two-stage selection process to fund research projects. The first stage review will commence with an initial screening of concept notes conducted by the Fund staff in collaboration with other senior staff from IDRC and ACIAR. This screening will eliminate incomplete and/or low-quality submissions. Following this review, IDRC and ACIAR will do a technical review based on agreed criteria to select the top proposals. These top ranked proposals will be reviewed, in detail, by the Scientific Advisory Committee which will recommend to the Governance Committee a short-list of concept notes for the development of full proposals. The Governance Committee will make the decision on which concept notes will be invited for development into full proposals. Applicants who are invited to submit full proposals will be eligible to receive a small travel grant (must be fully justified) of up to CAD 5,000 to permit representatives from the applicant organisations and other stakeholders to meet and develop the full proposal. Proposal development meetings will allow applicants to engage a diversity of stakeholders in the development of the proposal and ensure appropriate levels of buy-in and collaboration with local and regional actors. Note that provision of such a travel grant does not guarantee funding of any future full proposal, but if such a grant is awarded, a proposal must be submitted and attendance at the meeting between applicant organisations is considered a prerequisite for submission of a full proposal. The second stage review will follow a similar process. The review of full proposals will begin with an initial screening by the Fund staff and the two Donor organisations for basic eligibility, followed by a detailed review by the Scientific Advisory Committee. Technical reviews will also be completed by IDRC and ACIAR program staff and institutional assessments conducted by the IDRC Grant Administration Division. Reviews and assessments will be shared with the Scientific Advisory Committee, which will make recommendations to the Governance Committee, based on all information received. The Governance Committee will then make a final decision on successful proposals. Page 14 of 20

15 5. Selection Criteria The Fund is seeking good quality applied science that is well targeted. Applications must include a budget estimate, which should be commensurate with the proposed work. Value for money is inherent in the overall assessment. Concept notes will be assessed on the following five criteria: 1. Validity of the concept / scientific idea (25%) Demonstrate relevance of the research to food security and development challenges and in particular to the most food insecure in eligible Eastern and Southern Africa countries. The project should demonstrate a clear and specific alignment with national and/or regional development plans and strategies (e.g., Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Plan, National poverty reduction plans, National agricultural development strategies, etc.). It should explain if there is good absorptive capacity by national and regional African agricultural research systems, a favourable policy environment, and expressed need. A clear demonstration of how the research is new and innovative and will add value to existing knowledge, identifying past and on-going work done on the theme and in the country/region both by the applicant organisations and by other researchers (solid research base). The scope and scale of the research and potential for uptake should be in line with the proposed budget. 2. Quality of proposal (research and methods) and strength of project team (20%) Show evidence of innovation, clarity of research questions, objectives and expected outputs and outcomes, conceptual soundness, robustness of methodology and research design (including performance measurement and statistical analysis). The methods should be valid and well elaborated including methods for gender analysis and gender integration. The Fund promotes joint working relationships between developing country organizations. Effective relationships require a clear description of roles and responsibilities; roles and responsibilities of each of the partners should therefore be identified including the value-addition of knowledge, technology, and ideas of the different research partners. The team should demonstrate that it has the expertise required to manage effectively a research project of the size indicated, including, but not limited to project, gender expertise, monitoring and evaluation, and communication activities. Effective partnerships should harness and integrate specific skills as necessary to achieve the research and development objectives without creating overly complex managerial and organizational structures. Please describe briefly the expertise, trackrecord and planned contribution of natural and social scientists including gender experts, the involvement of strategic research-users who will use and/or distribute the innovations resulting from the research, and the level of collaboration in project Page 15 of 20

16 implementation to ensure effective partnerships. The role, contribution, and activities of the third parties (including their level of collaborations), if applicable, should also be briefly described. There should be a clear articulation of how the research is aligned to the unique assets and strengths of the research team. Effective partnerships should also be reflected by equitable sharing of the budget and shared accountability for research process and results. 3. Alignment with the Fund priority objectives and identified gaps in research (15%) Research should address at least one of the priority objectives and be consistent with the areas of research as identified in the types of research above: improved productivity and incomes and reduced post-harvest losses; improved gender equity; nutrition and human health; and climate change and sustainable agricultural water management. Proposal should articular how gendered impacts of the research on the Fund priority theme will be addressed. 4. Potential contribution to food security solutions in Eastern and Southern Africa (20%) Projects should demonstrate the impact pathway to household income, food availability, nutrition and gender equality with a high potential for being scaled up. Impact-oriented research is more likely when it involves the private sector or cooperative sectors, farm producers and their associations, as well as appropriate local and national authorities. The Fund is especially interested in supporting innovative research with the potential for breakthrough results that could be effectively scaled-up and easily adopted by smallholder farmers, food processors, post-harvest handlers, and other value chain actors to improve food security. Integration of gender into research objectives, methodology, and implementation should be clearly articulated. 5. Environmental, economic and social sustainability (20%) Research should assess the economic, social, gender and environmental implications of technological or social innovations. Environmental impacts have an important role in determining the long-term success and sustainability of the research. Applicants should carefully consider the environmental risks and benefits (both positive and negative), and be clear about how environmental impacts will be measured and reported on. Applicants should also consider the potential impact of their research on the social cohesion of local Page 16 of 20

17 communities and risk of creating new conflicts on use of resources and suggest measures for mitigating or managing them. Gender equity is a fundamental component of social sustainability and concept notes should integrate gender analysis throughout the document, explicitly outlining how gender considerations will be incorporated into the research objectives, methodology, and implementation. 6. Target Timelines January 15, 2018: Launch of Call March 1st, 2018: Deadline for submission of concept notes May 25, 2018: Successful applicants invited to develop full proposals July 20, 2018: Deadline for submission of full proposals September 28, 2018: Applicants informed of full proposals recommended for funding January 2019: Projects begin Please note, due to the large number of concept notes anticipated in this Call, only those applicants that are selected (in the first stage of the process) to develop full proposals will be contacted by the Fund. IDRC reserves the right to cancel the process at any time without prior notice and/or at its discretion to grant all or none of the awards under this process. 7. Concept Note Format and Requirements In order to be considered, concept notes must: a) Be completed using the online application system on the link provided b) Be submitted in either English or French c) Provide summaries of the proposed research project, applicant organisations and principal investigators, team composition, and third-party organisations (if applicable); d) Contain a description of the research project, plus references e) Provide an overview of project activities f) Include a tentative consolidated budget, indicating expected and reasonable expenses for the duration of the project g) Include a CV of the principal investigator h) Include a signed official letter of endorsement from each applicant organisation. Page 17 of 20

18 8. Submission Deadline All applications must be submitted through the online application system by Thursday March 01, 2018 (17:00 East African Time). Please visit https: to access the online application system and the documents related to this Call (including the FAQ document). Concept notes received by the deadline and deemed by the Fund to be compliant with the requirements set out in this Call will be evaluated in accordance with the process outlined herein. Concept notes received after the deadline WILL NOT be considered. Any enquiries should be directed to on or before 17:00, East African Time on Monday February 26, 2018 in order to receive a response prior to the deadline date. Any enquiries which affect all applicants received on or before the above-mentioned deadline will be posted as FAQs on the online application system with the Fund s responses to those enquiries, without revealing the sources of the enquiries. Applicants are, therefore, strongly encouraged to monitor the FAQs for any information updates regarding this Call. 9. Permission to Share Information By way of submitting an application under this Call, the applicant consents to the disclosure of the documents submitted by the applicant to the reviewers within IDRC, ACIAR, and external personalities who are involved in the selection process of both concept notes and full proposals. If selected for funding, the applicant further consents to the disclosure of the name of the applicant, the name of the principal investigator and the title of the proposed project in any announcement of selected projects. Unsuccessful concept notes will be destroyed within 180 days after the close of the application period. 10. IDRC Standard Grant Conditions Each applicant organisation selected for funding shall be required to sign IDRC's standard grant agreement, as amended by IDRC from time to time. A sample of IDRC s standard grant agreement terms and conditions is available here: Page 18 of 20

19 IDRC s obligations herein are subject to sufficient funds being made available to IDRC by the Parliament of Canada and under the donor partnership agreement with ACIAR. IDRC will conclude a separate grant agreement with each applicant organisation. There may be intellectual property rights considerations that flow from a patentable invention created in the course of a project funded by CultiAF. The intellectual property guidelines followed by CultiAF recognise rights to patents and copyright. Specific guidelines on intellectual property rights will be made available to research teams selected to develop full proposals. 11. Country Clearance Requirements IDRC has conducted general agreements for scientific and technical cooperation with a number of governments. These agreements establish the framework for IDRC cooperation with that country by defining the rights and obligations of both IDRC and the government. As such, any applicant institution selected to receive funding may be required to obtain country approval in accordance with these agreements prior to receiving funding from IDRC. Please note that each concept note and/or proposal will be subject to a risk management process which assesses the ability of CultiAF to support programming in proposed countries or territories according to Canadian law, knowledge of the research setting, and ability to monitor research activities. The risk management process at IDRC draws on the Government of Canada s Travel Advice and Advisories website and identifies countries (or areas within countries) where travel is unacceptably dangerous, or requires case-by-case approval. Even if travel is approved, certain conditions may be attached to it (see Appendix A for more information). IDRC reserves the right to update this information as needed and reject applications proposing research in the eligible countries, if the research location is deemed by IDRC and/or ACIAR to pose an unacceptable risk. Applicants are encouraged to visit the CultiAF website, or for more information and for any updates. Page 19 of 20

20 Appendix A: CultiAF eligible countries Any applicant organisation must be based in one of the following eligible countries. The research work carried out must also take place in one (or more) of these countries. Burundi* Ethiopia Kenya Malawi Mozambique Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe *Currently both Canada and Australia have a travel ban for this country Due to local security conditions, at the time of this CultiAF Call, IDRC and ACIAR have partial travel bans for staff in these countries which would limit the ability to effectively monitor projects and may negatively influence funding decisions. Please note that it is acceptable to propose research in these countries with elevated risks in specific regions, but it is highly recommended that high-risk regions be voided. Please monitor the Government of Canada s and Australia s Country Travel Advice and Advisories site ( and for more information about risks in countries or specific regions of countries Page 20 of 20