Past adaptation and resilience research programmes have generated a lot of insightful and useful data, tools, and approaches and there is great potential for these research findings/outputs to be directed towards transformative outcomes. A key part of CLARE’s theory of change is to enable the uptake of this existing wealth of research to inform science-based decision making. CLARE has made resources available to surface and drive the uptake of existing research for impact through an R4I Opportunities Fund.

These funding opportunities will be short term, small-scale interventions that support the needs of decision makers in Africa and Asia to adapt to climate change through the use of existing research and evidence. Opportunities will be scoped directly with in-country stakeholders and draw on local expertise to enable the use of existing research and evidence in new and creative ways.  

Purpose of the R4I Opportunities Fund

The purpose of the Opportunities Fund is to enable the tailoring of existing knowledge towards useful outcomes that support the needs identified by decision-makers and other knowledge users. Towards this purpose, the CLARE R4I Hub will:

• collate the needs expressed by decision-makers and other knowledge users;
• assess for eligibility and, if needed, prioritise the requests based on set criteria; and
• fulfil these established needs through identifying, directing, adapting, and deploying existing research outputs.

The Opportunities Fund is an essential tool for achieving CLARE’s strategic objectives of:

• getting research and evidence into use; and
• strengthening agency in the Global South to do and use research on adaptation.

Types of organisations eligible as beneficiaries

The Opportunities Fund will support the needs of government, quasi-government agencies (such as parastatals, government-backed research institutions, etc.), non-government organisations (NGOs), and civil society organisations (CSOs) able to put evidence into action.

Types of activities supported

Resources from the Opportunities Fund are not available for conducting new primary research. The opportunities fund is designed specifically for identifying, adapting and/or positioning existing research to meet expressed needs, and/or for identifying and addressing other barriers to research uptake.

Criteria

Determining whether the R4I Opportunities Fund can support research uptake activities is assessed on the basis that all relevant contextual factors are considered and addressed in the scoping of the proposed activities, that they are likely to be sustainable, that activities are both responsive to and aligned with gender equity and inclusivity (GEI) considerations, and that they align strongly with CLARE themes.

Key considerations

Funded interventions should range from 15,000 to 60,000 Canadian Dollars, and must be designed to be completed within a 12-month timeframe. The R4I Hub will source and procure the services of researchers, technical experts, and others, to provide services that address the needs expressed by qualifying organisations. Service providers will be drawn from a diverse roster of experts established by the R4I Hub for this purpose. The selection of service providers will promote local expertise and/or the capacitation of local experts in partnership with international experts.

Please contact Grace at grace@southsouthnorth.org to discuss your interest in the R4I Opportunities Fund.

Photo credit: Hamish John Appleby (IWMI). people living around the canals | Pic by Hamish John Appleby… | Flickr