Research proposal writing courses

Many African farmers, especially in marginal areas, rely on neglected and underutilized species (NUS) for their livelihoods. But the commercialization of NUS is constrained by a weak knowledge base, poorly developed value chains and inadequate capacity and policies. Often, bottlenecks require biophysical and socio-economic research to generate new knowledge that value chain actors can apply to increase sales and profits.

The project ‘Strengthening capacities and informing policies for developing value chains of neglected and underutilized crops in Africa’,  through a grant from the EU-ACP Science & Technology programme, is seeking to develop such research capacity.

Bioversity International, the International Foundation for Science (IFS) and our partners now offer young African scientists training in the art of developing research project proposalsthat solve problems related to the value chains of Bambara groundnut and amaranth in particular, and NUS in general.

This Call for Research Applications is focused on the value chains of priority NUS plants in three sub-regions: Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa, respectively. We are interested in applications that focus on:

1. The value chains of two target crops:  Bambara groundnut and amaranth (grain or vegetable). Preference will be given to applicants working on these crops.
2. Priority species of NUS plants, as identified at two regional workshops in 2010 (please refer to the call).
3. Other NUS plants of national/regional importance.

Three regional courses will be held, targeting scientists in eligible countries only (see table below).

Download the Call for Research Applications and the Application Form on this page. Please read both carefully and follow the instructions and guidelines for submitting an application and writing the research note on your proposed project.

Deadline for application is 24 August, 2014.

Submit your complete application to the relevant email indicated in the Call and Application form. Late applications will not be considered. Only the selected participants will be notified by 10 September 2014.

Date	Venue	Eligible countries	Organizer
27-31 Oct 2014	Zimbabwe	Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique,  South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe	Africa University, Zimbabwe
3-7 Nov 2014	Kenya	Burundi, Kenya,  Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda	University of Nairobi, Kenya
17-21 Nov 2014	Benin	Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast,  Mali, Niger, The Gambia, Togo	Laboratory of Agricultural Biodiversity and Tropical Plant Breeding (LAAPT), Benin, in collaboration with University of Lomé, Togo

Course documents

• Full course announcement
  
• Application form