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Carbon Initiative For Development (Ci-Dev)
UK - Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev) aims to increase the flow of international carbon finance, primarily into Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It launched in 2013 and supports climate change mitigation in pursuit of the Paris Agreement’s goals and facilitates access to cleaner energy and other poverty reducing technologies. It guarantees a revenue stream if projects deliver their expected benefits, builds local capacity to develop projects and monitor carbon emissions, and pilots projects that could serve as blueprints to increase LDC access to the international carbon market
Cities4Forests
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
The Cities4Forests programme provides a network, between cities in developing nations, to share lessons learned and baselines on forest restoration and protection programmes. This allows best practice to be identified and adopted across cities’ interventions and facilitates accelerated innovation. Defra’s investment in Cities4Forests will finance specific activities that will help decision makers and officials in cities, in a number of developing countries, access tools, resources and technical assistance that can support them in developing policies and interventions to protect and restore forests. The programme will also seek to deliver a ‘global mayoral declaration’ on the value of trees and forests and their role in combatting climate change. The programme will focus on: strengthening institutional capacity and capability through technical assistance to improve developing country’s city government support for and investment in trees, forests, and green infrastructure; supporting developing country’s city governments to increase investment (political, economic, and social) and implement new and/or improved programs to support the management and conservation of inner and nearby forests; supporting and encouraging developing country mayors to increase political action and support for trees and forests as a solution for combatting climate change, supporting better water management, and improving human health and well-being.
Ocean Country Partnership Programme
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
The Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) supports countries to manage the marine environment more sustainably, including by strengthening marine science expertise, developing science-based policy and management tools and creating educational resources for coastal communities. The programme is funded through official development assistance (ODA) as part of the UK’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund. Through the OCPP, the UK government partners with ODA-eligible countries to deliver positive impacts for coastal communities that depend on healthy marine ecosystems. Bilateral partnerships under the OCPP are primarily delivered by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), agencies of the UK government that possess unique expertise in marine science and management. The OCPP also funds two international initiatives that align with its aims and help to develop global public goods, the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) and the Friends of Ocean Action (FOA). GOAP is a global, multi-stakeholder partnership established to enable countries and other stakeholders to effectively measure and manage progress towards sustainable ocean development. FOA is a platform hosted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the World Resources Institute, which brings together ocean leaders from a wide range of sectors to encourage action and investment into sustainable ocean projects.
UK contribution to the World Bank Group PROBLUE Programme to facilitate sustainable finance for healthy oceans
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
PROBLUE is the World Bank’s leading multilateral mechanism for leveraging and disbursing blue finance towards sustainable ocean sectors and activities. It is a multi-donor trust fund that supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, Life Below Water, and the Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. PROBLUE aims to do this by reducing the existing blue finance gap by creating the necessary enabling environment for public and private sectors to shift from unsustainable to sustainable activities.
Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain Solutions
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
This activity supports a number of different areas of work which aim to accelerate the climate benefits of the Kigali Amendment (KA) to the Montreal Protocol (MP) and encourage uptake of energy efficient and climate friendly solutions. This includes (1) The creation of an African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chains (ACES) in Rwanda. ACES will accelerate deployment of sustainable (environmental, economic and social) cold-chain solutions throughout Africa. (2) The development and deployment of an HFC outlook model to address information gaps on energy use and energy related CO2 emissions from the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pumps (RACHP) market. It will assist in reducing cost of the transition for Article 5 countries to the Montreal Protocol and increase the climate benefit of action under the MP. (3) Increasing countries technical capacity and providing insights on global best practice of EE improvements of cooling products in parallel with HFC phase down, through model regulations and sustainable public procurement in ASEAN and Africa.
Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP)
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
The Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) brings together governments, businesses, and civil society to tackle plastic pollution and increase investment in circular economy approaches in ODA-eligible countries. GPAP’s intended impact is to improve the environment in partner countries by reducing municipal waste while improving the livelihoods of people involved in the waste sector or impacted by plastic pollution. This is achieved principally through (1) the creation of public-private stakeholder collaboration platforms called National Plastic Action Partnerships (NPAPs) and (2) targeted training and assistance for informal waste sector workers. NPAPs are impartial and inclusive stakeholder coordination groups that bring together influential stakeholders across the plastics value chain, including policymakers, consumer goods businesses, non-governmental organisations and waste sector representatives. The partnerships’ work in each country focuses on establishing baselines for pollution, standardising metrics and creating national action plans and roadmaps, all of which inform national waste management policy. GPAP prioritise the inclusivity and impartiality of the partnerships to encourage increased private investment into the solutions created by the partnerships and their members.
Royal Academy of Engineering Core - Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation aims to stimulate and reward engineering entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. The Africa Prize encourages ambitious and talented sub-Saharan African engineering innovators from all disciplines to apply their skills to develop scalable solutions to local challenges, highlighting the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development. Crucial commercialisation support is awarded to a shortlist of innovative applicants, through an eight-month period of training and mentoring.
Royal Academy of Engineering Innovation & Commercialisation - Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation Alumni
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
By focusing on building engineering capacity in Sub Saharan Africa, this programme will have a primary focus on some of the poorest countries in the developing world and will help strengthen their resilience and response to crisis and help promote global prosperity. COVID-19
Royal Academy of Engineering Innovation & Commercialisation - Africa Prize CARE
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Project CARE aims to support African Engineering entrepreneurs to make and supply PPE which is effectively used in hospitals and clinics in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to respond to other COVID-19 related challenges in their communities. COVID-19
Capacity Building for the ARUA's COE on Post Conflict Societies
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
In line with the goals and objectives of CoE of ARUA, this project seeks to contribute to sustainable peace and development goals of the United Nations agenda 2030 by focusing on the sub-theme of violence. With this purpose, the project attempts to understand why effective accountable and inclusive institutions have not been built in the conflict affected or post-conflict societies. Addtionally, it tries to understand the dynamics of the blockages of peacebuilding, with a primary focus on factors, actors, internal and external dynamics, which have undermined the implementation of peace deals as suggested by the UN's Sustaining Peace Agenda (2016). It comparatively examines factors that hinder peace at the local, national and global levels: What these obstacles are, where they come from and how they can be overcome? Hence, the research aims to contrast the local and narratives of the factors that foster direct and structural violence. By doing this it establishes a post-conflict, conflict-affected studies network comprised of African universities in the network.
Africa Research Universities Alliance, Centre of Excellence for Non-Communicable Diseases
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Context. The rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) threatens to roll back the progress that has been made in health and development of Africa. Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that in 2008, there were 36 million deaths from NCDs, projected to rise to 50 million by 2050. In 2008, these deaths were mainly from cardiovascular diseases (48%), cancers (21%), chronic respiratory diseases (12%) and diabetes (3.5%), with 80% of all the deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, WHO estimates that 23% of all deaths are from NCDs, and projected to grow to 27% by 2020. What is however not clear, due to lack of data from the continent, is the distribution of among the key NCDs. The rise in NCDs in Africa places a tremendous social and economic burden on communities through increased absenteeism, job loss, unaffordable medical costs, increased responsibilities from family members for care-giving, or complete loss of income from death of the breadwinner. The loss of income (partial or complete) pushes low income households further into the poverty trap. On a broader scale, the combined effect of decreased labour outputs, lower return on human capital investments, increased healthcare costs, and loss of economic activity, leads to increasing inequalities not only within populations, but between countries. The four common NCDs - cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes - have four shared behavioural risk factors: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use. These are in conjunction with other conditions including mental disorders, disabilities (including blindness and deafness), violence and injuries. To achieve a reduction in the levels of NCDs, there must be a concerted effort to bring about behaviour change through evidence-based approaches by conducting localised research and training. Aims and Objectives. The ARUA Centre of Excellence on NCDs (ACE-NCDs) provides a platform for the creation of a long-term strategic network of researchers in African Universities through a hub and spoke model to strengthen intra-African collaboration, and collaboration between the network and the rest of the world. The ACE-NCD will build on the strengths of the core university members, University of Nairobi (Kenya and the Hub), University of Ghana, University of Ibadan (Nigeria), Makerere University (Uganda) and the University of the Witwatersrand (S. Africa). At its inception, the ACE-NCD has also partnered with the University of Leicester and University of Glasgow who shall support its development. In addition, the ACE-NCD will bring on board relevant stakeholders involved in prevention, control and management of NCDs within their regions including medical research institutions, relevant professionals, policy-makers, civil society to ensure co-design and co-production of high impact research output that shall be support policy-making, interventions, and commercialisable intellectual property. Continental and regional teams will be supported to develop grant proposals around the ACE-NCD thematic areas, thus ensuring sustainability and growth of ACE-NCD beyond the current grant. Potential Application and Benefits. ACE-NCDs seeks to build capacity in holistic NCD research through training of Masters and PhD students (while ensuring co-supervision across member universities), targetted short courses in need-identified areas, staff and student exchanges, among other interventions. Dissemination of research output will be through journal and conference articles and book chapters targeting researchers and practitioners, policy-briefs, workshops and seminars aimed at policy-makers, stakeholders and civil society. The envisioned outcome as a result of this capacity building funding is a vibrant, sustainable ACE-NCD at the forefront of NCD research, capacity-building and policymaking support in Africa.
ARUA Centre of Excellence in Energy: UKRI GCRF Partnership Programme for Capacity Building
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Africa is a continent blessed with immense human potential, but it faces a lot of complex and stubborn developmental challenges. Home-grown solutions to these challenges are slow to emerge as there is a drastic shortage of researchers on the continent, which means that there are not enough academics to do the research required nor are there enough academics to train the next generation of young researchers who need to do this research in future. On top of these constraints, tackling problems dealing with development is a complex and nuanced issue which needs the input from a lot of different scientific disciplines, but getting different disciplines to work together effectively on a common goal is a problem in itself. The project sets out to tackle the shortage in research capacity in Africa by developing a set of training and research activities aimed at bringing young researchers on board, and by creating the opportunity for experienced researchers to also participate in research groups that span different scientific disciplines. The training of researchers will happen in two ways, (i) by a set of very targeted courses aimed at developing the skills required to plan and do good research, and to make the results useful to other groups of people who may want to use the results, and (ii) through setting up research groups around a particular problem, where the research groups will contain a mixture of young and experienced researchers, and researchers that look at the problem from different perspectives e.g. from engineering, agricultural or human and social perspectives. In this way, the development of young researchers will be accelerated so that more people are trained to take up and deal with the rigours of an academic career, while the opportunity for young researchers to learn from more experienced ones is invaluable to make sure that they receive good training. The project will further focus specifically on topics of how renewable and sustainable energy can be applied in different African settings in an way that ensures that benefits are shared equally, and that different groups and specifically women get the opportunity to benefit. In particular, methods will be sought to employ renewable energy to benefit African small farmers and the entire food chain from farmer to market. Small farms and the distribution of products from these farmers is extremely important in Africa, as these small farmers collectively produce up to 70% of the continent's food, and any improvement that they can gain through using renewable energy in their farming and households is likely to make an important impact on their lives. However, in order to develop solutions that are successful and useful to them, one needs to approach the question form many different angles, including the type of technology, where and how to incorporate it into the farming or food chain activities, who are the people who will benefit, how they will benefit and whether the solution can be improved to make sure that a larger number of people will benefit. A further specific topic area will be on how renewable energy can be applied in large informal settlements to address scarcity to energy, and how to ensure that particularly women are empowered through renewable energy solutions. Through taking a broad approach to renewable and sustainable energy issues in Africa, and combining dedicated training and research activities, the project hopes to make an important contribution to training the top class African researchers of tomorrow, and to broaden their knowledge on how to tackle some of the most pressing developmental concerns on the African continent by working together with researchers who may not be in the same field as themselves.
Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa)
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
The Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa) will strengthen food systems research and its translation into implementable interventions in support of interrelated Sustainable Development Goals related to food systems in Africa (focusing on SDG2 - Zero Hunger). The network partners - University of Pretoria (UP) (ARUA-CoE in Food Security host), University of Leeds (UoL) (GCRF-AFRICAP host) and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) (GCRF-AFRICAP partner) have been selected based on their track record of working together, strengths in food systems research and existing partnerships with food systems stakeholders. The major contribution of FSNet-Africa to addressing the challenge of SDG2 will be its focus on developing a new understanding of the African food systems through developing the FSNet-Africa Food Systems Framework and utilising systems-based methodologies to conduct research that enhances understanding of the components of the framework, the interactions between these components, and ultimately the leverage points for food system transformation. The latter will be implemented by an interdisciplinary cohort of early career research fellows (ECRF) who are supported in their research to identify (in dialogue with food systems stakeholders) and evaluate climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, poverty-reducing interventions. FSNet-Africa will collaboratively produce context-relevant, interdisciplinary research through creating 2-year long structured opportunities for up to 30 ECRF, majority female, who obtained their PhD's less than 10 years ago to (i) conduct impact-focused, gender sensitive, interdisciplinary research related to African food systems, (ii) build lasting research networks, and (iii) develop their skills to translate their research impactfully. ECRF will be selected from 10 academic partner institutions in six countries - Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. The three formal components of the fellowships (science, mentorship and leadership development) will ensure that the ECRF are positioned in the necessary enabling environment and are provided with the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to produce excellent research, achieve the project objectives and significantly advance their academic careers. During the fellowship, each fellow will be assigned at least two mentors - one from an African university and the other from the UK. These research-triads will be carefully matched to ensure that the triad is an interdisciplinary team, enabling the ECRF to receive the support they need to develop and implement quality interdisciplinary research projects. The Science Component of the fellowship will be comprised of a fellowship orientation workshop, funding for research, participation in a split-site winter/summer school and a write-shop. After attending an Orientation Workshop with their mentors, ECRF will be expected to develop their research proposals that focus on climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive and poverty-reducing food systems solutions. Six months later, a 10-week split-site winter/summer school (at UP's Future Africa Campus and at the University of Leeds) will provide the ECRF with the opportunity to finalise their research proposals for implementation and to participate in various capacity development workshops. The Leadership Component will give ECRF the opportunity to develop skills the skills they need to be future food systems science leaders - such as managing research teams and leadership in science-policy communication. As a mechanism to facilitate research uptake and impact, every project undertaken by the ECRF will be co-designed and implemented in partnership with relevant policymakers, private sector role players or grassroots level organisations who will engage directly with the research teams at the Orientation Workshop, during the Winter School and in-country to implement the research.
Migration, Urbanisation and Conflict in Africa (MUCA)
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Africa, the world's least urbanised region, is experiencing the fastest rates of urban growth on the globe. Although partly a consequence of natural population increase and reclassification of previously rural areas as urban, in many cities in-migration constitutes the dominant source of urbanisation. While this trend has potential to contribute to economic growth and dynamism, rapid urban population growth can leave already overstretched municipal authorities unable to catch up, leading to massive failures in infrastructure and service provision, proper tenure documentation, and regulated settlement patterns. Africa's urban dwellers are increasingly vulnerable to risks relating to demographic pressure, impacts of climate and environmental change, and social, economic and political hazards. A significant proportion of Africa's urbanites are likely to settle in slums, with uncertain property rights and public services, and will struggle to secure a decent life in contexts of few employment opportunities. All too often these processes also produce increasing social tension, conflict and violence. These dynamics have direct and wide-ranging ramifications for the delivery of SDGs, most notably in terms of keeping up with service delivery demands and providing decent, well-paid jobs to a rapidly increasing urban population (SDG 8). This potentially translates into increasing vertical inequality (SDG 10), as well as difficulties in building sustainable cities (SDG 11) and ensuring peace, justice and the rule of law (SDG 16). Yet despite the widespread consensus that urban sustainability and inclusion are now crucial for future stability and wellbeing in most African countries, the ways in which migration feeds into current urban challenges is poorly understood. Urban in-migration has complex and contradictory consequences in contemporary Africa, and is all too often associated with 'crisis narratives' and disorder in the absence of an adequate knowledge base on when and how migration leads to conflict. Some existing research has explored changing rural-urban migration dynamics, while other research examines the rise in different forms of urban violence - but very little research has explored the crucial inter-relationships between all three phenomena (urbanisation, migration and violent conflict) in a sustained and comparative way. These relationships are however only like to rise in importance in the context of population growth, increased pressure on land, and displacement related to climate change. MUCA will address this gap, providing an evidence base to facilitate a better understanding of the conditions under which migration combines with other factors to worsen urban conflict - or indeed to alleviate it. This will be pursued through a structured comparative research design that involves nine cities covering three very different kinds of migration-affected cities spread across the three research countries of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda. These countries are chosen to offer a spread of Eastern and Western African cases and different legacies of conflict and population movement. The three city types are i) large 'primate' cities affected by competition over high value land, high ethnic diversity and conflict over lucrative resources in the informal economy; ii) secondary cities affected by major industrial investments (historically or more recently) that are seeing new forms of in-migration and conflict relating to tensions around employment, land, and service delivery; and iii) cities experiencing a major influx of people displaced by regional or international conflicts. Through an exploration of the migration-conflict-urbanisation nexus in these cities, guided by the aims and objectives set out in the section on 'objectives', MUCA will provide evidence for development agencies, urban planners, and policy makers to build a more peaceful urban Africa in the years to come.
Strengthening Capacity for Research and Policy Engagement in Shifting Notions of Motherhood and Fatherhood for Improved Children's Wellbeing in Africa
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
In this proposal, Makerere University (hub) intends to work with the University of Witwatersrand, University of Ibadan, Moi University, University of Rwanda and University of Western Cape (spokes) and their partners to enhance the capacity of Gender and Social Work Departments to research changing notions of motherhood and fatherhood, and to use the results to advocate for improved family and child welfare policies and interventions. The preference for Sciences in Africa led to a reduction in research funding for the Humanities and Social Sciences, negatively affecting the interest and capacity to research contemporary social challenges affecting the continent, including identities, motherhood and fatherhood. The notions of Motherhood and Fatherhood are at the core of the debate on gender identities, socialisation, perceptions, status, realities and imaginations. These identities are created, (re)negotiated, contested, affirmed and (re)born at different levels; at family/ household level, community, cultural traditional, national and global levels. Yet motherhood and fatherhood as identities also change and transform. Symbolic representations of motherhood and fatherhood become political especially when informed by ideologies surrounding nationalisms-whether national or tribal, subsequently informing ideals about manhood, womanhood; or masculinity and femininity. Research on motherhood and fatherhood globally points to various forms of fathers and mothers. What do these forms mean or how important are these forms to fathers, mothers and subsequent proof of masculinity and femininity? Different developments, such as colonialism, urbanisation, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict, structural adjustments and technology have reshaped and transformed the material and cultural foundations of parenting, and with it the gendered identities of motherhood and fatherhood. Nonetheless, there is a tendency to treat them as temporary and or deviant from the norm. As a result, there is a dearth of research in family studies. With a few exceptions, research in motherhood and fatherhood in Africa is undertaken as a socio-demographic variable explaining certain economic trends and as a predictor of reproductive health and child wellbeing and outcomes. Limited research has been undertaken to focus on parenting and what the identities of motherhood and fatherhood imply for those who perform them, and how they perform them. Consequently, there is limited evidence for legislators and policy makers in family relations and children's welfare to work with. With the exception of South Africa, we continue to see Family and Children's policies and laws which assume that all mothers are married and will have the support of a spouse or at least extended family. Key questions to be examined will include the following: (1) What are the changes in motherhood and fatherhood in Africa and how does it relate to changes in femininity and masculinity? (2) What are the major drivers of these changes? (3) How best can these changes be conceptualised, studied and researched about? (4) How can researchers engage policy makers for child friendly parenting policies in view of these changes? In this multi-disciplinary proposal, Makerere University and her six collaborators seek to explore ways to enhance the capacity of researchers to research motherhood and fatherhood, and to engage policy makers for better family and child friendly policy making and interventions. This theme is trans-disciplinary, bringing together expertise from Gender Studies, Social Work, African Studies and Ethics to generate new knowledge and build researcher's capacity through research and ethics training, doctoral and post-doctoral research support, conference presentations, workshops and publications to mention a few.
Global Health Clinical Trials Initiative
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
A joint funder initiative to support clinical trials on interventions that aim to improve health in developing countries
Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme supports small and medium-sized (SME) agribusinesses with smallholder supply chains to grow and attract investment for high development impact. CASA is 100% International Climate Finance (ICF) funded, building inclusive, climate-resilient agri-food systems that increase smallholder farmer incomes and strengthen food production, food security and nutrition outcomes.
HiFi - Harnessing Innovation for Financial Inclusion
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To provide access to poor people to a broad range of financial services such as payments, savings, loans, and insurance by continuing to support piloting new ideas and approaches, and to support technical assistance regulators and commercial players for enhancing industry knowledge and practice about business models, pricing and design of financial products. Access to these services enables consumers to acquire productive assets, invest in health and education and make other purchases that enrich their lives.
M4D - Mobile for Development Strategic Partnership
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To work jointly with the industry group representing mobile phone operators worldwide, the GSMA, and its subsidiary Mobile for Development, to identify and support the development and use of new, innovative ways in which mobile phone technologies and mobile network infrastructure can be used to improve the reach, delivery and affordability of life-enhancing services to poor people in Africa and Asia. As a result of this work some 14 million poor people are expected to benefit from improved access to life enhancing services by 2020.
Manufacturing Africa - Foreign Direct Investment
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
Manufacturing Africa helps drive the inclusive economic transformation needed to create jobs for the future and set countries on a trajectory out of poverty. It is expected to generate £1.2 billion of new Foreign Direct Investment in manufacturing sectors in Africa. It will do this by working with African Governments and international companies to facilitate new investments, such as by developing the business case for firms to undertake investment, or by supporting their negotiations with Government, and by addressing sector specific barriers preventing those particular investments from taking place. MA also aims to reduce carbon emissions from manufacturing through thought leadership as well as delivering technical assistance and supporting investments that facilitate climate change mitigation and or adaptation.