CFPs: West Africa Research Ecosystem Assessment Scorecard Program

Project Scope

• The research should cover all key constraints to Research and Development (R&D). For example, the research should look at effectiveness of the following to enhance R&D:
  • import and export processes for R&D
  • ethical approval processes for R&D
  • R&D financing, such as domestic Science Granting Council
  • Local researcher capacity for R&D
  • Local institutional capacity for R&D
  • Infrastructure and requirements for R&D
  • Policy environment for R&D
  • All other major constraints to R&D

Funding Information

• The total budget for the study should not exceed £300,000.00 excluding taxes.
  • Output 1: Signing of the accountable grant – Mobilization payment
    • Grant amount: Up to £100,000.00
  • Output 2: Inception report and desk review (scoping, systematic review and meta-analysis) and approved research design submitted
    • Grant amount: Up to £50,000.00
  • Output 3: Report on all research projects commissioned and delivered till delivery timeline date
    • Grant amount: Up to £100,000.00
  • Output: Full report presented to relevant stakeholders, FCDO and other evidence uptake activities concluded
    • Grant amount: Up to £50,000.00

Eligibility Criteria

• Organisations should be able to demonstrate skills and expertise in the following areas:
  • Legal entity:
    • the supplier should be a legally registered not-for-profit, think-tank, or multilateral development organisation. Research or academic associations are also welcome. Such organisation should be registered in Nigeria or Ghana or have institutional members in these countries if an association
    • the organisation should have been in existence for at least 7 years
  • Regional research capacity:
    • research capacity should be readily available across West Africa (Francophone and Anglophone)
    • successfully implemented public policy and thematic area research projects in the last 5 years across West Africa as a region and specifically in Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, and Senegal
    • evidence of research-based engagements across different strata of stakeholders and research output communication across a wide spectrum of up-takers in West Africa
    • evidence of research to policy uptake and impact in West Africa (particularly in the selected countries) across several thematic areas within the last 5 years
  • Personnel specification:
    • the team lead or Principal Investigator (PI) must have a mix of research expertise Senior Lecturer equivalent and above if in the academia or equivalent from the industry with strong research methodology, education, public policy and evidence uptake technical expertise and training
    • the team lead or PI should have strong relationships with strategic partners, institutions, and stakeholders in the science, technology and research communities within West Africa
    • it is desirable for the team lead or PI to be bilingual (English and French). There must be strong capacity for bilingual policy and thematic area research within the organisation
    • research personnel should cut across academia, multiple thematic professional areas, and management consulting. Senior level personnel should have at least 10 years’ experience while junior level at least 5 years’ experience
    • project/grant management, as well as monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) personnel should have at least 5 years of experience in research and international development sectors
    • senior level personnel should have at least Master’s degrees while junior level personnel should have at least Bachelor’s degrees across both research, project management and MERL responsibilities. These should be complemented with relevant professional certifications on research management, research quality assessment, project/grant management, finance and administration, and MERL
    • the supplier must have research methodologists as part of the team implementing this grant. This should cut across both senior and junior levels
    • thematic research areas of deep dive should have junior and senior level expertise on the research teams domiciled in the selected countries of study.

For more information, visit GOV.UK.