The Platform for African-European Partnership on Agricultural Research for Development (PAEPARD) has been actively supporting the establishment of innovative partnerships of African and European stakeholders that engage in agricultural innovation and collaborative research to address shared challenges and opportunities of the partners involved.
Aspiring partnerships are invited to apply for support to establish their partnership and formulate collaborative agricultural research for development (ARD) proposals targeted at identified funding opportunities without the later being an end. The proposals should emphasize more on the indicators of impact on livelihoods of small farmers in Africa with the aim of contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The partnerships that PAEPARD supports aim to conduct joint innovation processes that address shared challenges or opportunities. More specifically, within the context of their innovation process, these partnerships wish to formulate and seek funding for joint ARD activities that support their innovation process. While these research activities will be led by a research partner, the leadership of an innovation process goes beyond the mandate and competence of a research organisation and thus requires that another actor assumes this role.
Selection Criteria
Composition of the partnership: Partnerships should comprise both “non-research partners” (producer organisation, private sector organisation and/or NGO) and “research partners” (research organisations, universities), and both African and European partners. A partnership should have at least one European partner, one African non-research partner and one African research partner. All partners should have an interest in addressing the shared innovation challenge or opportunity.
Role of the research and non-research partners: Partners should jointly conduct an innovation process, preferably initiated and led by a non-research partner; the research activities undertaken as part of this innovation process will be led by a competent research partner.
Openness to empowerment of non-research partners: Partners should be willing to work with PAEPARD to enable non-research partners to play their expected role.
Prospect of obtaining research funding: Partnerships should aim to develop ARD proposals targeting published or expected calls or existing other funding opportunities offered by identified donors.
Support offered
Depending on needs, the successful applicants will benefit from the following support from PAEPARD:
1. Support for participation in a facilitated “partnership inception workshop”.
2. Support for capacity strengthening, including training of an innovation-facilitator proposed by the partnership.
3. Support for facilitation and coordination of partnerships.
Last date for submitting the proposal is July 15, 2011
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