Research Grants For Researchers Studying Environmental Economics Issues In Africa

DEADLINE 31 July 2009

Call for Proposals: Second call for 2008 (CEEPA)

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$15,000.00 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. Collaboration between academics and people currently employed in relevant government departments is also strongly encouraged.

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 July 2009 will be considered for presentation at the Sixth Biannual CEEPA Research Workshop to be held in early November 2009. Applicants will be informed by October 2009 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 biannual workshop. Proposals submitted after this date will normally be considered only for the next Biannual Workshop. Before submitting a proposal, please, consult the Research proposal Guidelines below. Note too, that there is a specific form for you to fill in, in order to submit your proposal. This is available at the CEEPA website at www.ceepa.co.za

Send all proposals, electronically to:

Dalene du Plessis: dalene.duplesis@up.ac.za

Research Proposal Guidelines
General
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,) the following components.

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.

1. Introduction. This should give a background to and motivate the importance of the proposed work, and a clear definition of the research problem to be studied. Provide an overview of the literature related to this research, showing clearly what research has been carried out so far and what remains to be done in the field that the proposed work intends to contribute to. Also include a description as well as basic relevant statistics of the important issues that your proposal addresses.
2. Research methods. This should cover the theoretical foundations, analytical framework and empirical methods to be used. Should give an indication of the type of data needed and how it will be collected (if it is an empirical study) and what methods will be used to conduct the intended empirical analyses. If you are going to use a questionnaire, it should be attached with the proposal. If you intend to use secondary data, it should be very clear from the proposal that secondary data to be used is available and permission to use the data has been obtained.
3. Expected Results and dissemination. This section should discuss the expected key findings of the intended research with respect to new knowledge, policy formulation and implementation, and methodological development. Discussion of a dissemination strategy through presentations at workshops, publications or policy briefs will have added value.
4. References used in the text should be included in the reference list, and effort should be made to use published literature.
5. Institutions and personnel - include prior training of research team and roles and responsibility of each member as well as each member's CV.
6. Time frame for implementing the project. This should include a schedule of activities for the duration of the project and the time allocation for each of the project components. Note that projects will be expected to complete within 12 months.

Budget for funding the various activities to be undertaken must clearly show how much the project will cost and in which components.

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR WORK IS EDITED BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT TO US

Program Director, CMAAE
Tel: +254 20 273 4150 / 57 / 63
Fax: +254 20 273 4170 / 73
Email: cmaae@aercafrica.org

c/o AERC, 4th Floor, MEBANK Towers, Milimani Rd,
P.O. Box 62882-00200,
Nairobi, Kenya

Source: http://www.agriculturaleconomics.net/announcements/description.asp?00=29