About the Program:

The British Academy, in partnership with the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has launched the Innovation Fellowships scheme. This scheme aims to support early-career and mid-career researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences to collaborate with organizations and businesses in various sectors to address challenges requiring innovative solutions.

Through the Innovation Fellowships, our researchers in the SHAPE community will be supported to create new and deeper links beyond academia, so enabling knowledge mobilisation and translation, as well as individual skills development.

Routes and Partnerships:

The Innovation Fellowships scheme offers two routes: Route A, which is Researcher-led, and Route B, which is Policy-led. The current call is for Route B, in collaboration with the FCDO, which has specific research needs and operates in a context where timely access to evidence-based analysis is crucial for success.

Areas of Focus:

The Academy and FCDO are inviting applications for Fellowships in the following areas:

1. India
2. The politics of energy transition and climate change in Africa
3. The role of technology in shaping citizen-state relations in Africa

Application Details:

• Application Deadline: 27 November 2024– 17:00 GMT

• Starting period of award: Between 1 January 2025 and 31 March 2025
• Duration of award: 12 months
• Level of award: Up to £120,000 for 12 months (with Full Economic Costing at 80%)

Read more and apply.

About the event:

Join us on day 2 of the World Without Hunger Conference for our investment forum, themed “Mobilizing Investments for Sustainable Food Security Initiatives”. This event aims to connect project owners with investors to bridge the gap in sustainable food security initiatives. The investment forum provides a platform for governments, SMEs, and startups to pitch innovative projects related to food security and sustainable agricultural practices to potential investors.

The goal is to generate investment leads and facilitate immediate post-forum follow-up. The investment forum will feature four key sessions focusing on different aspects of agribusiness and sustainable development:

• including agribusiness infrastructure parks,
• digital technology for agribusiness productivity,
• energy efficiency, and renewable energy,
• and sustainable agricultural opportunities.

Call for Proposals

We are inviting proposals for innovative projects in:

• sustainable agricultural practices,
• agro-processing,
• and food security.

Selected projects will have the opportunity to present their ideas to a diverse group of investors at the forum and gain visibility on the Invest in ACP platform for extended digital promotion.

Benefits

Presenting at the investment forum offers:

• increased visibility,
• targeted networking opportunities,
• instant feedback from industry experts,
• potential funding for projects,
• and the ability to contribute to global sustainable development goals.

Proposals not selected for presentation will still be showcased on the Invest in ACP platform for continued online promotion.

Who Can Apply?

Applications are open to:

• large-scale greenfield projects,
• medium-range enterprises,
• start-ups, and entrepreneurs in the field of sustainable agriculture.

Different types of projects will attract different types of investors, ranging from development finance institutions to venture capital and angel investors.

Who Can Apply?

Innovators from any geography globally can apply, provided their solutions have relevance and applicability in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Eligible applicants include startups, universities, non-profit organizations, or for-profit companies.

The Challenge

Globally, one-third of all food produced is lost or wasted before reaching consumers, causing significant economic and environmental impacts. Smallholder farmers, particularly in emerging markets, face severe consequences due to post-harvest losses, which reduce their incomes and exacerbate food insecurity. These farmers often lack access to reliable energy for critical processes like storage, preservation, and transportation, highlighting the need for affordable and scalable innovations.

The Opportunity

The Post-Harvest Loss Innovation Prize offers more than just a financial reward. Finalists will gain access to a network of experienced industry leaders, receive media exposure, and benefit from post-investment support. The goal is to identify scalable and cost-effective solutions that not only reduce post-harvest losses but also increase farmer incomes, yields, and climate resilience.

About the Shell Foundation and Factor E Ventures

The Shell Foundation, a UK-registered charity, partners with FCDO to enhance energy access for smallholder farmers and SMEs in emerging markets. Factor E Ventures invests in innovative solutions addressing global climate and development challenges.

About the Prize

The prize seeks innovative technologies, business models, hardware, or software solutions that can reduce post-harvest losses for smallholder farmers. Solutions must demonstrate a clear path to scalability, minimal behavioral changes required for adoption, and potential for substantial impact.

Key Evaluation Criteria:

• Innovation: Novel approaches tailored to smallholder farmers.
• Solution Validation: Proven success in testing environments.
• Global Applicability: Relevance to South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, with potential scalability.
• Gender Impact: Positive effects on female farmers.
• Scalability and Reach: Potential to empower over 1 million farmers.
• Farm-Level Implementation: Direct usability by farmers.
• Financial Traction: Evidence of financial sustainability.
• Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Preferably beyond validation stage.

Eligibility: Open to startups, universities, non-profits, and for-profit companies globally.

Submission: Submit your application by August 14, 2024

Timeline

• Request for Applications: June 26, 2024
• Application Deadline: August 14, 2024
• Application Review: August 1, 2024 – September 13, 2024
• Notification to Applicants: September 16, 2024
• Finalists Announced: September 17, 2024
• Award Announcement: September 25, 2024

Application Deadline: August 14, 2024

Apply here

Who Can Apply?

This competition is open to youth aged between 18 and 29 who are nationals of any of the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries. These include nations from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Europe, and North America.

About the Competition

Objective: The primary goal of the competition is to challenge young minds to explore the interplay between trade and climate change and to propose innovative trade policy solutions that can mitigate aspects of the climate crisis.

Essay Topic: Participants are invited to submit essays addressing the question: In what ways do you think trade and trade policy can help to address an aspect of the climate crisis in your country? Essays should identify a specific problem, explain its connection to the climate crisis, and propose how trade or trade policy could be utilized to resolve it.

Submission Requirements:

• Maximum of 2,000 words (including in-text references and footnotes, excluding reference list)
• Full referencing in any style
• Single PDF or Word file, 1.5 spacing, Times New Roman font
• Include Name, Age, Nationality, Contact Information (email, address, telephone), and CV or short bio

Important Dates:

• Start Date: 15 July 2024
• Submission Deadline: 21 August 2024
• Winners Informed: 2 September 2024

How to Submit: Send your completed essay and details to tcs@commonwealth.int by 21 August 2024. For inquiries, contact the same email address.

Judging Criteria: Essays will be judged on originality, relevance, quality of writing, and alignment with international trade policy frameworks. Entries will be blind peer-reviewed and assessed by a distinguished panel.

Prizes:

• First Prize: £1,000
• Second and Third Prizes: £500 each
• Top essays will be featured in the Trade Competitiveness Briefing Series and launched at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October.

Terms and Conditions: The Commonwealth Secretariat reserves the right to publish the material produced by the authors and will adhere to data protection laws.

About the Commonwealth Year of Youth

With over 60% of its 2.7 billion population aged between 15 and 29, the Commonwealth prioritizes youth empowerment. The Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP), in partnership with the Trade Competitiveness Section, invites young people to participate in this competition, reinforcing their role in climate action and policy.

Join us in this exciting opportunity to shape a sustainable future through innovative trade and climate solutions!

Apply now, apply here

About the Program:

The British Academy’s Global Professorships are prestigious awards aimed at attracting established scholars from around the world to work in the United Kingdom on innovative research projects. These awards provide an opportunity for researchers to undertake ambitious, cutting-edge research that breaks new ground in the humanities and social sciences.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for a Global Professorship, applicants must meet certain criteria:

• Hold a doctoral degree or have equivalent research experience
• Be employed outside the United Kingdom on a permanent contract
• Have a strong track record in their field or demonstrate exceptional promise
• Be willing to take up an unpaid leave of absence or long-term secondment at an eligible UK institution
• Have the support of a senior member of their proposed UK host institution

Aims:

• Fund high-quality original research
• Attract international researchers to the UK
• Contribute to the research goals of UK host institutions
• Encourage collaborations and innovation within the research community

Funding and Duration

• Each award is expected to run for four years, with a starting date to be agreed upon with the British Academy.
• The Academy will provide up to £900,000 per award to support the research project.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted online through the British Academy’s Grant Management System, Flexi-Grant®. The deadline for submitting applications and securing approval from a UK host institution is Wednesday 23 October 2024 at 17:00 BST. Read for details.

About the Program:

The British Academy offers Mid-Career Fellowships to support outstanding researchers in the humanities and social sciences. These fellowships aim to provide researchers with the opportunity to focus on completing major research projects and promote public engagement with their work. The primary goal of the Mid-Career Fellowships is to support individual researchers with excellent research proposals and promote public understanding and engagement with the humanities and social sciences.

Eligibility:

• Researchers at various career stages: including early-career, established, mid-career, and postdoctoral researchers

• Applicants must be employed at a UK-based university, Higher Education institution, or Independent Research Organisation.

• The Academy is particularly interested in supporting mid-career scholars who have already made significant contributions to their field.

• Eligibility is not based on age but on the applicant’s academic achievements and communication skills.

Timeline:

Successful applicants will have the opportunity to dedicate six to 12 months to their research projects, free from their normal academic and administrative commitments.

Scope of the Award:

Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate how their research will contribute to advances in understanding within their field and engage a broad audience.

Funding:

The Mid-Career Fellowships are funded under the Full Economic Costing (FEC) framework, with the Academy contributing 80% of the total cost. The salary for Mid-Career Fellows is capped at £80,000, and the total award value is not expected to exceed £152,000. Fellowships can be held for a minimum of six months up to a maximum of twelve months.

Application Process:

The British Academy uses a two-stage application process for the Mid-Career Fellowships. In the first Outline Stage, applicants provide information about their research proposal, publications, and academic commitments. Detailed costing information is not required at this stage. Employing institutions must approve applications by the deadline, after which successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application in January.

Apply by: 21 Aug 2024 – 17:00 BST.

About the Program:

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is currently accepting applications for its Fellowship program aimed at supporting outstanding scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. The program provides funding for research and writing projects for scholars at various career stages.

Application Deadline:

Applications must be submitted online through the ACLS online application system by 9:00 PM EDT on September 25, 2024. Read more information about the Fellowship.

Fellowship Details:

• Maximum award: $60,000
• Tenure: six to twelve months for full-time research and/or writing between July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026, with completion by December 31, 2026.
• Fellowship open to scholars at all postdoctoral career stages with a PhD in humanities or interpretive social sciences by the deadline.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be US citizens, permanent residents, Indigenous individuals, DACA recipients, asylees, or refugees.
• Foreign nationals residing in the US for three or more years before the application deadline are also eligible.
• Applicants must have a PhD in humanities or interpretive social sciences by the application deadline or demonstrate equivalent scholarly expertise.

Application Guidelines:

• Completed application form.
• Proposal (no more than five pages, double-spaced).
• Work plan, bibliography, publications list, and personal statement.
• Writing sample (no more than five pages, single-spaced).
• No reference letters required for the 2024-25 competition cycle.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Potential to advance the field of study.
• Quality and innovativeness of the proposal.
• Feasibility of the project.
• Scholarly record and career trajectory.
• Contribution to inclusive excellence in scholarship.

ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships

ACLS may award residential fellowships in conjunction with The New York Public Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. This opportunity does require a separate application, due by 5 pm Eastern Daylight Time, Friday, September 27, 2024. ACLS/NYPL fellowships are subfellowships within the ACLS Fellowship program; they have the same eligibility requirements, application form, and schedule. The only additional proviso is that these residential fellowships will be granted to scholars whose projects will benefit from research in the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

Please Note: Because this is a joint fellowship, applicants for ACLS/NYPL residential fellowships must also apply to the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the NYPL. The application for the NYPL competition is available here. The deadline for application and three letters of recommendation is 5 pm Eastern Daylight Time, Friday, September 27, 2024.

• Partnership with The New York Public Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.
• Tenure from September 2025 to May 2026.
• Stipend of $85,000 for residential fellowships within the ACLS Fellowship program.

Supporting Documents and Resources

• “Writing Proposals for ACLS Fellowship Competitions” by Christina M. Gillis
• Learn more about the awardees of the 2023-24 competition here.

About the Fellowship:

The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Fellowship aims to support investigative reporting projects that explore the impacts, ethical concerns, and regulatory issues surrounding AI systems. The Center is seeking to recruit eight to ten journalists, especially from underrepresented communities, to report on the effects of algorithmic and automated systems in their regions. Projects focusing on transparency, governance, and financial accountability in relation to AI are particularly encouraged.

Who can apply?

• Journalists worldwide, especially from underrepresented communities
• This year we are seeking to support at least one project on transparency and governance in relation to AI.

Duration and Benefits:

• Ten-month Fellowship will commence in September 2024.
• Selected journalists will be provided with up to $20,000 in financial support to conduct their reporting projects.
• Fellows will have access to mentorship, training, and a community of peers to enhance their investigative work.

Requirements:

• Selected journalists are expected to participate in monthly meetings, engage with other Fellows, and share methodologies and lessons learned
• Collaboration and active participation in training sessions are mandatory components.

*Journalists unable to fulfill these requirements can apply for AI Reporting Grants instead.

Read more information about the Program

Apply by 10 August 2024, 11:59pm EST.

About the Program:

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) HBCU Faculty Fellowship and Grant Program aims to support faculty at Historically Black College or University. (Please consult this list to determine whether your institution is eligible.) in their research endeavors by providing grants and fellowships tailored to the needs of these institutions.

There are two types of awards available through the program:

1. Grants of up to $10,000 for research project development, with a grant term of 12 to 15 months.
2. Fellowships of up to $50,000 to support sustained time and engagement with a significant research project, with an award term of 15 to 27 months.

Details:

• ACLS will award up to 12 grants and up to eight fellowships.
• Applicants are encouraged to choose the award type that best aligns with their research goals and professional commitments.
• The funds can be used for anything necessary to advance the project.
• In addition to the stipend, awardees will have access to networking and mentorship opportunities that support their scholarly goals.
• Each award also includes an institutional grant of $2,500 to the recipient’s home institution to enhance humanities programming or infrastructure.
• ACLS offers support for applicants through informational webinars, office hours, and feedback on draft applications.

ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowship Program:

• Stipend: $30,000 to $50,000 fellowships to be used for semester or year-long research leaves, summer salary, or course releases, and any other activities that advance the proposed project, including (but not limited to) travel to collections or conferences, research and editorial support, and child- or eldercare costs.
• The award term runs from June 1, 2025, to August 31, 2027
• The deadline for submitting through the ACLS online fellowship administration system (ofa.acls.org) is no later than 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, November 6, 2024.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be employed primarily as instructors at an institution designated as an Historically Black College or University. Applicants do not need to be appointed full-time and do not need to be on the tenure-track. Part-time and adjunct instructors are welcome to apply. All awardees must remain employed at an accredited HBCU for the duration of the award term.
• Have an MA or PhD in the humanities or related social sciences that was conferred by the application deadline.
• Projects should focus on humanities or social science topics in higher education settings and incorporate original research.
• We especially welcome applications from faculty whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented in the academy, including (but not limited to) Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous scholars from around the world; people with disabilities; queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people; and people of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
• We encourage applications from all types of institutions represented among HBCUs, including both two-year and four-year degree-granting institutions.

Application should include:

• Completed application form (this includes basic biographical information, as well as short-answer questions describing your project, teaching and service responsibilities, and institutional context).
• A brief personal statement describing your journey as a scholar and how personal experience, scholarly influences, and broader research interests inform your proposed project (one page, double spaced).
• Proposal detailing project context and goals, work already undertaken, and resources needed to complete project (no more than five pages, double spaced, including any footnotes or endnotes, and any images).
• A bibliography of up to two pages (single spaced, with separate sections detailing primary sources – if applicable – and secondary literature).
• A one-page workplan detailing work to be conducted during award tenure. (Please review the suggested guidelines for this application component.)
• A basic budget. (ACLS provides a sample template for reference.)

Apply and read more information about the FELLOWSHIP Program

ACLS Project Grants for HBCU Faculty:

• Up to $10,000 stipend for project activities
• 12-15 months tenure starting June 1, 2025
• Additional $2,500 grant to home institution
• $500 grant for finalists
• Applications due November 6, 2024
• Notifications in late March 2025

Use of Grant Funds:

• Research, teaching, and professional development support
• Course releases, travel, publications, collaborations, community engagement

Eligibility:

• Instructors at Historically Black College or University with MA or PhD in humanities or related social sciences
• Must participate in networking events
• Projects must address humanities or social sciences topics in higher education

Evaluation Criteria:

• Engaging with field of study
• Quality of proposal
• Feasibility of project
• Appropriateness for funding type
• Contribution to inclusive excellence

Application should include:

• Completed application form (this includes basic biographical information, as well as short-answer questions regarding your journey as a scholar, research interests, teaching responsibilities, and institutional context).
• Proposal detailing the project’s research base and goals; work already undertaken (if any); and resources needed to complete the project (no more than two pages double spaced including any footnotes or endnotes).
• Optional: Up to one page of images or figures, if needed.
• A brief personal statement describing your journey as a scholar and how personal experience, scholarly influences, and broader research interests inform your proposed project (one page, double spaced).
• A bibliography (one page, single spaced, with separate sections detailing primary sources – if applicable – and secondary literature).
• A one-page workplan detailing work to be conducted during award tenure. (Review the suggested guidelines for this application component.)
• A basic budget. (ACLS provides a sample template for reference.)

Apply and read more information about the GRANT Program

About the Program: The Youth Voice on Energy Transition Program consists of two main components: the Global Competition of Youth Voice on Energy Transition and the Youth Dialogue. The competition invites young people to present their innovative ideas, technologies, products, projects, and solutions aimed at advancing the energy transition. Winners will be invited to participate in the Youth Dialogue at ESCAP headquarters, engaging directly with policymakers and attending official UN energy events.

Eligibility:

• Open to youth aged 18-30 from all UN Member States (covering all continents)
• Submissions must be in English

Types of Entries: Participants can submit a variety of entries, including but not limited to:

• New models or frameworks for sustainable energy systems
• Innovative action plans or solutions
• Technological innovations and new products
• Software applications supporting energy transition goals
• Educational and awareness campaigns
• Research studies and analyses
• Pilot projects or case studies
• Artistic and creative expressions

Submission Guidelines:

• Participation is free
• Entries must be submitted as a single PDF file using the provided template
• Teams can consist of up to four members

Key Dates:

• Registration Opens: 30 April 2024
• Registration Deadline: 31 July 2024
• Video Submission Deadline: 15 September 2024
• Division Results Announcement: 15 October 2024
• Global Competition Presentations: 2-3 November 2024
• Youth Dialogue: 2-4 December 2024

Why Participate? This program provides a unique opportunity for young people to contribute to the global energy transition, gain international recognition, and engage with influential policymakers. It aims to empower youth to become active participants in shaping a sustainable future.

For more information, click here