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Research grants for African Environmental Economics researchers [01 August 2007]
The Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (CEEPA) is mandated to enhance the capacity of African researchers to conduct environmental economics and policy inquiry of relevance to African problems and increase the awareness of environmental and economic managers and policy makers of the role of environmental economics in sustainable development. With funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and International Development Research Centre (IDRC), CEEPA will be implementing the first phase of a regional program to strengthen research capacity in environmental economics and policy in Africa over the next three years. Under this program, Research Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to research projects annually to increase capacity in research in environmental economics in the region. Eligible candidates include all researchers working in the field of environmental economics in Africa.The Research Grant will fund research projects for up to a maximum amount of US$12,500.00 per project. Members of the research team of funded projects will also enjoy additional support through technical and scientific mentorship arrangements and participation in CEEPA research workshops and other activities. CEEPA encourages research proposals that focus mainly on broader issues in environmental economics and policy in African countries. Proposals that seek to suggest alternative strategies, policies and programs to reduce present and future environmental burdens in African countries, as well as proposals whose potential output could lead to improvement in monitoring and measurement of changes in environmental phenomenon are also encouraged. CEEPA also particularly welcomes proposals contributing to development of new methods and extensions of the theories of natural resource and environmental economics. Of particular interest to CEEPA are research projects that deal with managing natural resource use and environmental externalities, open access and public good situations, and forms of capital other than manufactured assets, such as natural and social capital, for which limited funding is currently available from alternative traditional research funding sources. Collaborative arrangements for joint studies with members of sister departments are strongly encouraged, in which case additional funding will be considered.
The Research Committee, in consultation with the Secretariat and resource persons will apply the criteria below in evaluating new proposals:
a. Policy relevance - Whether the question(s) being proposed is/are potentially useful to policymakers, academic community and/or civil society
b. Academic merit – Whether the research objectives are clearly set out? Is the proposed methodology the right one and is it feasible? Is the relevant literature cited and correctly used? What are the novel features in the proposal?
c. Collaborative arrangements for joint studies with members of sister departments – In this case the Research Committee may consider additional funding for more than the above grant
Proposals submitted before 31 August 2007 will be considered for presentation at the Fourth Biannual CEEPA Research Workshop to be held in November 2007. Applicants will be informed by October 2007 of the result of the selection and the approval process and consequently whether or not they will be invited to present their proposals at the third biannual workshop. Proposals submitted after this date will normally be considered only for the fifth Biannual Workshop planned for May 2008. Before submitting a proposal, please, consult the Guidelines for submitting a proposal below.
Send all proposals, including all cvs of researchers to:
Dalène du Plessis
CEEPA
Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
University of Pretoria
PRETORIA 0002, Republic of South Africa
Send all electronic submissions to: duplessisd@postino.up.ac.za
RESEARCH PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
General
We would expect an ideal research proposal report to be around 10-15 typewritten single spaced A4 pages, including figures and tables. You may exceed the page limit by including any additional relevant information in the appendix of the proposal. In addition to the typesetting requirements, we encourage you to make your proposal very clear and easy to read so that your work could be appreciated. You must however avoid spending resources on explaining the basics for readers with no or little knowledge of environmental and resource economics. Furthermore, cite references only when it is absolutely necessary: if the terminology is ambiguous, or if you really wish us to read the publication in question.
Contents
The final proposal should have (typically,) of the following components.
0. Title page: To include name, address, other contact details and affiliation of researcher(s), (clearly indicate the leader of the team if the research is to be carried out by more than one researcher), an abstract (not exceeding 250 words) and the date of submission.
