The Africa-Europe Foundation is pleased to announce a call for proposals to establish a collaborative research partnership between African and European organisations with the overall aim of building a body of evidence and identifying policy solutions to strengthen Africa-Europe cooperation in a few key thematic areas.

The Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) is an independent, multi-stakeholder platform engaged in frank dialogue, policy advocacy and strategic analysis on promising issues for the Africa-Europe partnership.

This call for proposals is based on the "State of Africa-Europe 2024 Report" produced by the Africa-Europe Foundation, which provides a unique comparative analysis of the implementation of the Africa-Europe partnership, including an examination of the existing political and financial commitments of the political partnership between the African Union and the European Union.

This call invites organisations research teams to delve into 3 priority chapters of the "State of Africa-Europe 2024 Report", in particular the chapters on :

• Sustainable finance ;
• Climate and development ;
• Science, education and culture.

The call will be used to set up an "Africa-Europe Research Consortium", made up of research organisations from Africa and Europe, including groups from reflectionresearch institutes and universities, as well as CSOs/NGOs and social enterprises with a proven track record in the field. research and politics.

The aim is to implement the AEF research programme through a collaborative process that will generate the evidence needed to identify barriers and opportunities that can strengthen the Africa-Europe partnership. This includes providing evidence that can help to implement existing areas of AU-EU commitments and identifying strategic topics that hold the most promise today for future development. partnerships between Africa and Europe.

Objectives

• SO1 : Fostering strategic vision and foresight: identifying and examining current trends and projecting future scenarios to help anticipate challenges and opportunities on the horizon by looking beyond current development strategies and frameworks (e.g. Agenda 2030), uncovering shared priorities and mutual opportunities that can serve as focal points for strategic alignment and cooperation between the two continents.
• SO2 : Improving transcontinental knowledge: examining global and regional challenges through a single Africa-Europe lens, using the expertise and ideas of research organisations on both continents and providing "hard facts" in crucial areas relevant to the Africa-Europe partnership that lead to tangible policy recommendations.
• SO3 : Supporting the monitoring of the Africa-Europe partnership and its political and financial commitments: contributing to the implementation of political commitments made by the AU and the EU by gathering information on progress towards certain objectives and producing research results that can be used to inform the monitoring of the partnership's commitments.

Priorities

• The priorities of this call for proposals are as follows:
  • Through a holistic exploration, to identify common challenges, shared priorities and mutual opportunities within the Africa-Europe partnership, focusing on the key thematic areas below. (Applicants are encouraged to propose other areas of potential contribution, which could provide new foundations for Africa-Europe collaboration).
  • To encourage cross-continental collaboration between all stakeholders and the sharing of knowledge across conventional boundaries in order to promote greater mutual understanding and cooperation between research bodies on both continents.
  • Focusing on cross-continental data collection, gathering evidence, providing 'hard facts' and producing analysis to assess the implementation of the Africa-Europe partnership, including political and financial commitments between the AU and the EU, ensuring effective accountability and providing crucial information to shape future policy.
  • To ensure that research and analysis activities actively contribute to the achievement of the Africa-Europe Foundation's objectives in terms of policy advocacy and monitoring of the Africa-Europe partnership.

Themes

• Applicants are required to specify in their application the themes on which they wish to engage (by authorising more than one) and are encouraged to include other subjects and sub-themes that they may consider complementary.
• The three priority themes of this call for proposals correspond to the central chapters of the "State of Africa and Europe 2024 Report":
  • "Sustainable finance, covering issues such as :
    • Combating illicit financial flows,
    • Reform of the global financial architecture,
    • Innovative resource mobilisation mechanisms (e.g. hybrid capital mechanism to leverage SDRs), global taxation (e.g. on shipping) and carbon markets
  • "Climate and development", including :
    • Link between climate and health
    • Transformations in agri-food systems,
    • Investing in energy and green transitions
    • The blue economy and ocean governance
    • Link between climate, trade and development
  • "Education, science and culture", covering issues such as :
    • Education and skills development,
    • Scientific and cultural cooperation.
    • Investing in the voice, agentivity and leadership of young people
    • Digital transformation and AI
    • Perceptions and narratives Africa-Europe
• The following sub-themes have been identified through the EFA's multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms:
  • Global Gateway and alignment with African strategies and plans
  • Public perception of political commitments and their implementation
  • Carbon markets and AI
  • Critical raw materials and green industrialisation
  • Intervention strategies for MACF
  • Africa-Europe cooperation and partnerships in the water sector
  • The future of regional planning and agri-food in Africa and Europe

Information on funding

• The indicative total amount made available under this call for proposals is €300,000.00.
• The awarding authority reserves the right not to award all available funds. Similarly, this amount may be revised during the implementation phase if more funds become available.
• The AEF plans to reward between 3 and 8 research projects that will implement the entire research programme.
• Within the overall budget envelope, the AEF plans to provide funding for selected research projects of between €20,000.00 and €150,000.00.
• Duration
  • The initial planned duration of a project may not be less than 2 months or more than 15 months.

Eligible activities

• The AEF aims to take advantage of the Research Consortium to undertake :
  • Data collection and compilation (primary and secondary sources) ;
  • Research and analysis (for evidence gathering and policy development) ;
  • Evaluation of results (initiatives and projects implemented as part of the implementation of the AU-EU commitment) ;
  • Scientific publications and guidance documents ;
  • Dissemination and communication: contributing to the dissemination of research results;
  • Sharing knowledge and skills: sharing experiences, visions and ideas with the AEF and Research Consortium partners.

Eligible projects

• Projects must consist of a set of innovative, autonomous and coherent research and dissemination activities, with clearly defined objectives, target groups and tangible results, in line with the general objective and specific objectives and priorities.
• Research projects must be innovative, have an impact and build on work or evidence already available, where possible, with the potential for transcontinental scale. They should include measures to ensure policy implementation through concrete policy recommendations.
• In order to increase impact and sustainability, all projects must include an element of capacity building and a favourable environment for research in the field of Africa-Europe cooperation.
• Projects must be designed and prepared in consultation and close coordination with all members of the partnership in order to create synergies and strengthen common approaches.

Ineligible projects

• The following types of projects are not eligible:
  • Projects that discriminate against individuals or groups of people because of their gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or lack thereof, or ethnic origin;
  • Projects providing direct financial support to specific political parties/leaders;
  • Projects to support proselytism and violence ;
  • Equipment acquisition projects.

Target groups and beneficiaries

• The programme's direct target groups are as follows:
  • Policy-makers, institutions and other committed stakeholders in Africa and Europe who will benefit from the knowledge and recommendations generated by the programme.
  • Research institutions, NGOs and civil society players working towards stronger African and European cooperation based on shared values and common interests.
• The beneficiaries of the programme are :
  • African and European citizens, who could benefit from enhanced cooperation between the two continents thanks to policies informed by the research carried out as part of the programme.

Eligibility criteria

• Main applicant :
  • To be eligible for a grant, the principal applicant must :
    • be a legal entity; and
    • be non-profit-making; and
    • be a non-governmental civil society organisation, more specifically a research institution and/or a think tank and/or an organisation qualified to undertake research in the context of Africa-Europe cooperation; and
    • Be directly responsible for preparing and managing the project with the co-applicant, without acting as an intermediary; and
    • Have proven experience of having implemented at least 1 project with a budget equal to or greater than the value of the financial allocation awarded by this call for proposals or at least 4 projects with a budget of at least €50,000.00 each; and
    • Proven capacity, experience and access to expertise to address the priority themes of this call for proposals.
• Co-applicant :
  • The co-applicant is involved in the design and implementation of the project, and the costs it incurs are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the principal applicant.
  • The co-applicant must meet the eligibility criteria that apply to the principal applicant.

For more information, visit the Africa Europe Foundation website.