Call for Joint Research Proposals in Agro-Processing (Food & Feed) and Leather Value Chain Development in Kenya and Uganda

The Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) and the National Research Fund (NRF) Kenya have issued a bilateral joint call for collaborative research proposals under the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI). This initiative aims to generate critical knowledge to enhance food security, and the leather value chains, thereby driving socio-economic transformation in both Kenya and Uganda. 

Objective:

• Support research that generates evidence-based solutions to improve food security in Kenya and Uganda.
• Fund research that enhances the competitiveness and sustainability of the leather value chain in both countries.
• Support capacity building of post graduate students (MSc and PhD) in Agro-processing (Food and Feed) and Leather Science and Technology through research projects.

Funding

The total funding available for sub-granting to the four (4) research projects is €450,000, with a budget limit of €112,500 per project. Each joint proposal must allocate equal budget portions to the research teams in Kenya and Uganda.

How to Apply:

• Applications must be submitted using the UNCST Grants Online Submission System at https://grants.uncst.go.ug/
• You must first create an account on the online system to be able to proceed.
• Applications should be submitted in English.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.
• The application system will automatically close by the deadline and no new submissions will be allowed.
• Only one application per PI and co-PI can be submitted, i.e. a PI or Co-PI cannot be a PI or Co-PI in any other submission.
• Only submissions made through the online system will be accepted.
• Only applications approved by PI and Co-PI’s research institutions and supported by all the collaborating partner institutions will be accepted.
• The application package should include: the full proposal, a PI’s cover letter, letters of support from all collaborating institutions, and the CVs of all the research team members.
• All electronic attachments should be in pdf format (proposal, logical framework, CVs, letters of submission and support put together in one pdf document). Budgets to be submitted in both pdf and excel formats.
• All applications will be reviewed based on quality and merit.
• A full proposal template can be downloaded below.

Timeline

• Application Open: 6^th January 2025
• Application Deadline: 9^th March 2025 at 23:59, EAT
• Information Session (webinar): 13^th January 2025 at 10:00 EAT
• Review and Shortlisting: 16^th March 2025 to 15^th April 2025
• Award Date: 2^nd June 2025.Note: NRF-Kenya and UNCST reserves the right to change the above-mentioned dates at any stage