Call for EOIs: International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (Africa)

The IGCP mission includes promoting sustainable use of natural resources, advancing new initiatives related to geo-diversity and geo-heritage and geohazards risk mitigation.

Themes

• The IGCP promotes collaborative projects with a special emphasis on the benefit to society, capacity-building, and the advancement and sharing of knowledge between scientists with an emphasis on North-South and South-South cooperation. IGCP operates by providing seed funding grants donated by UNESCO, IUGS, and extra-budgetary sources. IGCP projects primarily deal with geosciences on global issues within its five themes:
  • Earth resources
    • Sustaining their society: Knowledge on natural resources – including minerals, hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, and water – and their management is at the frontline of the struggle for more sustainable and equitable development. The environmentally responsible exploitation of these resources is a challenge for geoscience research. The progress of technological development is equally bound to this premise.
  • Global change and the evolution of life
    • Evidence from the Geological record: Changes in the Earth’s climate and of life on Earth are preserved in the geologic record. Ice and dust records, terrestrial and ocean sediments, and sequences of fossil plant and animal assemblages all tell the story of our Planet which holds important lessons about present-day environmental challenges and the ways to mitigate and manage environmental damage.
  • Geohazards
    • Mitigating risks: Geohazards include earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, tsunamis, floods, meteorite impacts and the health hazards of geologic materials, and can range from local events such as a rock slide or coastal erosion to events that threaten humankind such as a supervolcano or meteorite impact. Earth scientists undertake research to better understand these hazards and contribute to risk management policies related to social and technical issues associated with geohazards as well as disaster mitigation.
  • Hydrogeology
    • Geoscience of the water cycle: Life on Earth depends on water, and its sustainable use is crucial for continued human activities. Earth’s water cycle involves studying, understanding, and managing groundwater systems, hydrogeology, as well as sources, contamination and vulnerability of water systems.
  • Geodynamics
    • Control their Environment: Their habitable environment at the Earth’s surface is linked and controlled by processes occurring deep within the Earth. Earth scientists use, inter alia, geophysical techniques to study deep Earth processes ranging from changes in the Earth’s magnetic field to plate tectonics to understand better the Earth as a dynamic planet. Those processes are also relevant to natural resource exploration, distribution and management of groundwater resources and the study and mitigation of natural hazards such as earthquakes.

Funding Information

• Successful projects may receive up to 50,000 USD for an initial one-year period, with the possibility of renewal for up to four years.

Uses of the Funds

• Funds may be used for:
  • Fieldwork expenses
  • Laboratory analyses
  • Travel expenses for scientific meetings, including for graduate students working on their thesis under the research project
• Funds may not be used for:
  • Stipends or salaries
  • Purchase of computer hardware, software, or laboratory equipment
  • Publication fees

Eligibility Criteria

• Project leaders must:
  • Hold a PhD or equivalent degree
  • Be currently employed at a relevant African institution (e.g. university, research centre, geological survey)

Selection Criteria

• Projects should meet the following criteria:
  • Demonstrate ability to achieve project goals within the planned project period and with the requested funding
  • Connection to UNESCO and IUGS priorities for Africa
  • Inclusion of capacity-building activities such as workshops, field trips, and/or the training of at least one graduate student (Master’s or Doctoral) and/or supporting postdoctoral researchers, early career professionals, local communities, etc.
  • Provide details of existing funding and potential funding sources, if applicable

Application Requirements

• The submission must include:
  • Project title
  • List of main project leader and co-leaders, including their countries and affiliations
  • Project description (500 words), covering:
    • Statement of the research problem
    • Objectives and goals
    • Methodologies
    • Deliverables
    • Timeline
    • Funding amount sought from IGCP
  • Description of how IGCP funding will be used (300 words)
  • Description of how the project relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s development agenda, such as Agenda 2063 (200 words)
  • A list of possible partner institutions not already indicated in point 2 (e.g. relevant research institutes, NGOs, private sector etc.) that the project would hope to involve, along with their potential contributions, including financial support
  • Up to five relevant publications authored or co-authored by the project leader(s)
  • A maximum five-page CV of the project leader(s), including:
    • A list of any previous research grants
    • A complete list of publications
    • Completed and current Master’s and Doctoral students with thesis titles.

For more information, visit UNESCO.