The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM; www.ruforum.org), on behalf of the Research and Innovation Network for Responsible Artificial Intelligence for Climate Action in Africa [RESEN-RAICAIA], in partnership with West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL: www.wascal.org) and AKADEMIYA2063 (https://akademiya2063.org/), invites applications for innovation research proposals from eligible researchers universities and academic research institutions in Africa.
The general objective of the Network is to advance climate action in Africa through the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence innovations. Specifically, the Hub aims to; i) deepen understanding of how to develop and scale responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations for climate action in sub-Saharan Africa; ii) build the capacity of eight (8) groups of African innovators and researchers to develop, deploy and scale responsible AI applications in climate action; and iii) facilitate the contribution of African research to international AI policy and practice conversations.
Funding for this Call for Proposals comes from the Artificial Intelligence for Development-Africa (AI4D) programme, a joint initiative funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).
This specific Call seeks to extend university activities to work more closely with rural communities through multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional partnerships involving key stakeholders such as research, extension and development agencies, policy-makers and the private sector. This call will support proposals focusing on any of the following areas:
- Emission of greenhouse gases
- Climate Hazards and disaster risks assessment (Climate related Hazards and/or Hazards which affect climate)
- Better climate prediction (Improving prediction of extreme rainfall events by atmospheric models. And/or improving climate change projection over Africa).
- Assessment of impacts of climate change and adaptation practices using AI
- Climate smart agriculture
- Climate smart cities development
- Climate change, landscapes and renewable energy
- Climate change and water resources
- Climate change and biodiversity
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate hazards and risk mitigation
A maximum of eight projects will be funded under this call, each with a maximum budget of US$60,000 for a period of two years.
Potential applicants are invited to review the detailed guidelines for the Call which may be downloaded here
For more information, please email Professor Majaliwa Mwanjalolo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Mr. Yamungu Alongo Boniface at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.