£3.3 Million African Science Fund Open For Business - The Royal Society

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 31 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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African science received an injection of £3.3 million today with the official launch of the Leverhulme - Royal Society Africa Awards at an event at the Royal Society in London. The scheme which will fund research collaborations between scientists in Ghana, Tanzania and the UK aims to advance research of significance for the well-being of Africa and its people.

The funding is the result of a partnership between the Leverhulme Trust and the Royal Society. Awards of up to £50,000 annually will be provided for bi-lateral collaborations between researchers in the UK and Ghana or Tanzania. Funding will be offered for up to three years at a level of up to £150,000 for research costs, travel and subsistence, as well as procurement and maintenance of equipment.

Applicants are encouraged to apply in five priority areas identified to be relevant for Ghana and Tanzania and indeed for other African nations. These areas are: agriculture (including animal health); water and sanitation; basic human health research (including medicinal chemistry); biodiversity (including medicinal plants and green chemistry); and energy (including renewable).

The Leverhulme - Royal Society Africa Awards build on a capacity building programme devised by the Society which provides small grants for scientists from the UK to meet with researchers in Ghana or Tanzania to discuss opportunities for future collaborations. The Royal Society launched this DIUS funded networking scheme in 2007 with great success.

Professor Lorna Casselton, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, said:

"Advances in science have the potential to make a great impact on the lives of Africans and thanks to this generous funding from the Leverhulme Trust, African and British researchers will now have the chance to put their heads together on some of the most pressing issues on the continent."

Professor Sir Richard Brook, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, added:

"Being able to share scientific knowledge and expertise is a vital attribute of modern societies in Africa as elsewhere in the world. The Leverhulme Trust is delighted to be party to a scheme that will help African researchers build collaborations that can tackle themes of high significance for the well-being of their communities."

The first round of applications opens today. There will be three annual calls, making six awards for each round, totalling the number of awards to 18 under the current Leverhulme grant. For further information on applying for funding please visit http://royalsociety.org/africaaward/.

The Royal Society is an independent academy promoting the natural and applied sciences. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as the UK academy of science, as a learned Society, and as a funding agency. It responds to individual demand with selection by merit, not by field. As we prepare for our 350th anniversary in 2010, we are working to achieve five strategic priorities, to:

- Invest in future scientific leaders and in innovation
- Influence policymaking with the best scientific advice
- Invigorate science and mathematics education
- Increase access to the best science internationally
- Inspire an interest in the joy, wonder and excitement of scientific discovery

The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the Will of the first Lord Leverhulme. It is one of the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK, distributing funds of some £40 million every year. For further information about the schemes that The Leverhulme Trust fund visit their website at http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk .

Source

Nicola Kane
Press and Public Relations
The Royal Society, London
http://www.royalsociety.org