WCRP 2024 Global South Fellowship: focus on Africa

The WCRP 2024 Fellowship call is now closed. Short-listed applicants will be contacted in due time. Please note that all applications will undergo thorough external review.

Call for proposals

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) announces a research fellowship with a focus on Africa. The fellowship is available through WCRP’s new Global South Fellowship program.

The objective of the Global South Fellowship program is to give early to mid-career researchers* from the Global South the benefit to develop their own WCRP related research activity, thereby boosting climate research activities in their own region. Fellowship topics can address a wide range of scientific questions outlined in the WCRP Science and Implementation Plan as formulated through priorities of WCRP activities (Core Projects and Lighthouse Activities).

For this 2024 call, WCRP is soliciting research proposals from early to mid-career candidates from the African continent. Such proposals must be supported by a host institution guaranteeing that a successful candidate will undertake the fellowship project full-time during the agreed period of the fellowship at the institution. Successful projects should address aspects of critical gaps in WCRP related African climate research, enhance climate action for and in Africa, help build a community of practice, and create the potential for leaving a strong legacy to build upon in the longer-term. As an example, proposals could catalyze development of community of practice for the climate-policy interface. Another example would be thematic idea of climate literacy, or the non-congruence of climate information for policy makers and different stakeholders. Successful projects should propose research that has the clear potential to be transformative and a develop a foundation for African researchers to lead a WCRP (legacy) project. The proposal should include links to relevant WCRP core activities, where appropriate.

Award details

The WCRP leadership has allocated CHF 50K for a Global South Fellowship with focus on Africa. The award is intended to support the salary of one researcher. Each proposal needs to provide a detailed description of the research project, accompanied by a budget explaining how the resources will be utilized and over what duration, as well as whether there are any other resources that may be leveraged. The fellowship is intended to ideally start in late 2024 (subject to negotiations). The proposal should be accompanied by a letter of commitment written and signed by the host institution. Eligible costs can include (1) salary of the candidate comparable to host institution cost of employment; (2) travel support to a relevant WCRP meeting and essential local travel for research purposes; (3) purchase of an approved laptop. If necessary, institutional overhead can be negotiated. However, no equipment can be covered. 

The successful applicant of this open call will be selected by the WCRP fellowship selection committee based on the submitted proposal and an oral/online interview, both of which must be outstanding and be clearly aligned with WCRP strategic objectives. The fellowship selection committee will consist of JSC members and leading members from the African research community.

Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to review WCRP's Science and Implementation Plan and the description of WCRP’s Core Projects and Lighthouse Activities therein and build their project in consultation with the co-chairs of relevant WCRP groups.

The deadline for submitting applications is 30 September 2024.

*Early to mid-career researchers are active researchers up to 12 years after receiving their PhD (excluding parental and care leave).

For more detailed information regarding this call and if you wish to find potential collaborators within WCRP, please contact Hindumathi Palanisamy (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) cc’ing Lian Xue (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Disclaimer: The research proposal must be supported by a host institution guaranteeing that a successful candidate will undertake the fellowship project full-time during the agreed period of the fellowship at the institution. The WCRP Fellowship for Africa agreement will be signed between WMO and the host institution only and not with any individual candidate.

FAQ

Q: Are people with bachelor’s or master’s degrees, or PhD students eligible to apply for the Fellowship?
A: The fellowship is intended for people who have already completed their PhDs. We refer to the definition of “Early to mid-career researchers (EMCR)” which is provided in the call. For this call EMCR’s are defined as active researchers up to 12 years after receiving their PhD (excluding parental and care leave).
Q: Must the host institution and candidate be based in Africa?
A: Yes, both the host institution and the candidate must be based in Africa.
Q: Does WCRP have a list for host institutions based in Africa?
A: We recommend potential candidates to seek out host institutions by themselves in their areas of expertise while developing their proposal.
Q: Can the home institution be the host institution?
A: Yes, provided the institution can provide a letter certifying that the applicant will be on leave of regular salary and duties for the duration of the fellowship, and that the applicant will be working full-time and exclusively on the fellowship project. This letter should be provided in addition to the host institution’s commitment letter which should state that host institution provides logistical support, office space, research facilities for the candidate to support their research. A mentor or supervisor should also be identified who will assist in pursuing the research as needed.
Q: How do we connect with potential WCRP experts for collaboration?
A: Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to review WCRP's Science and Implementation Plan available above and to get familiar with the scientific aims of WCRP’s Core Projects and Lighthouse Activities. Once you have identified linkages between your proposal and the WCRP activity, kindly write to Hindumathi Palanisamy and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your detailed CV and a draft proposal and we will initiate connections as necessary.
Q: How long is the duration of the Fellowship?
A: The duration of the fellowship can be 1 year or as long as the provided resources of 50k CHF last to support the candidate full time.
Q: When should the Fellowship start?
A: Ideally, the Fellowship should commence later in 2024. However, the start date is negotiable, and could be in early 2025, considering individual circumstances.