New Zealand Fund for Global Partnerships in Livestock Emissions Research seeks Expressions of Interests for Funding

The New Zealand Fund for Global Partnerships in Livestock Emissions Research is now seeking expressions of interest for the international research fund set up by New Zealand in support of the objectives of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and its Livestock Research Group.

PURPOSE

The Fund is aimed at accelerating global research in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral livestock farming by seeking solutions to four grand Research Challenges viz:

Manipulating rumen function

Research that leads to the development of practical and safe ways to manipulate rumen microbial communities and/or ruminant physiology in grazing ruminants such that methane per unit of feed intake is sustainably reduced, animal health and nutrition is maintained and animal productivity maintained or increased.

Reducing nitrous oxide emissions from soils in predominantly grazing livestock systems

Research that will further develop and extend practical and cost effective methods of manipulating nitrification and de-nitrification processes in soils to consistently reduce nitrous oxide emissions and nitrogen losses to the environment from soils under grazing livestock and within a broad range of geographic and climatic conditions.

Manipulating the rates of soil carbon change in predominantly grazing livestock systems

Research which identifies and quantifies management practices that can increase long-term soil carbon storage in grazing livestock systems under varying (and changing) climatic conditions, different soil conditions and management histories while maintaining or increasing pasture and animal productivity.

Improved tools for farmer decision making in predominantly grazing livestock systems

The creation of scientifically proven, well quantified and practically relevant decision support tools that will allow farmers to implement farm management practices (e.g. improved feeding, improved genetics, improved animal health, greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, enhanced soil carbon storage etc), individually and collectively, that would demonstrably reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output in grazing livestock systems. These tools need to be underpinned by research that addresses gaps in our current knowledge and considers the full range of physical, economic, social and environmental drivers and constraints on farm operations, as well as supply-chain impacts.

FUND SIZE

The Fund is worth NZ$25 million over four years (ending 30 June 2016). The portfolio of projects that the Fund will support will balance innovative science with the achievement of cost-effective, practical and sustainable solutions for pastoral livestock farmers

ELIGIBILITY

The fund is open to international scientists, and it is hoped that multi-stakeholder/country consortia bids will be put forward. International co-funding is a requirement. Projects can be led by a New Zealand participant or one from an Alliance member country but must include a New Zealand partner.

Last date for submission of EOI is November 7, 2011. For more information, visit this link.

US Department of State Funding Opportunity to combat trafficking in persons

US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has announced an open competition for fiscal year 2012 funding of projects to combat trafficking in persons.

In this context, in the first stage of competition eligible organizations are invited to submit two-page Statements of Interest (SOI).  The proposals for projects must address recommendations identified in the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

Funding Priorities and Countries

Thirty-two countries and three regions have been identified as priorities for this solicitation. The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is most interested in SOIs for projects that are in the priority countries and regions listed below, and that are responsive to the country-specific recommendations listed in the 2011 TIP Report. Under limited circumstances, the Office may fund projects in countries that are not listed below.

The 32 countries and regions selected for priority funding consideration in this solicitation are listed below.

Africa Region (AF): Botswana, Burundi, DRC, ROC, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Africa Region

East Asia and the Pacific Region (EAP): Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Vietnam

EAP Region: Pacific Islands, including Kiribati, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia

Europe and Eurasia Region (EUR):  Albania,  Azerbaijan

Near East Region (NEA:  Egypt,  Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia

South and Central Asia Region (SCA): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka

Western Hemisphere Region (WHA: Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Regional Caribbean, including Barbados, St. Lucia, and The Bahamas.

Types of Projects Eligible for Funding

The following serve as examples of the types of projects that are sought for funding through this competitive grant process. This is not an exhaustive list.

• Technical support and training of law enforcement, including designated TIP units, prosecutors, and the judiciary in victim-centered investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases;
• Building cooperative efforts between NGOs and government agencies;
• Improving policies and practices for law enforcement, immigration, and other agencies to proactively identify and assist victims of trafficking;
• Development or enhancement of aftercare services for trafficking victims, especially those that provide alternatives to detention or deportation-based responses;
• Expert consultation to draft or improve anti-trafficking legislation and promote its implementation;
• Prevention activities that are designed to meet specific local or national needs or that reduce the demand for commercial sex or slavery-tainted goods; and
• Research and evaluation activities that enable policy makers and practitioners to focus limited anti-TIP resources most effectively.

Funding Size

Pending fiscal year 2012 appropriations, the Office anticipates awarding grants of up to $750,000 per project.

Eligibility Criteria

U.S.-based and foreign NGOs, PIOs, institutions of higher education, and for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Some projects may be accomplished by USG implementers through Interagency Agreements. For-profit organizations, including small and disadvantaged businesses, may apply, but such organizations may not generate a profit from activities funded by the Office.

Note. Only those applicants, whose Statements of Interest are reviewed favorably, will be invited to submit proposals in the second stage.

Last date for submission of SOIs is November 18, 2011

For more information, visit this link and search by Funding Opportunity Number for: “AT-ATC-12-002″

Austrian Development Cooperation seeks Grant Proposals for Master’s and PhD programs in Austria

Austrian Development Cooperation has issued a 3rd and final call under the Austrian Partnership Program in Higher Education & Research for Development (APPEAR) inviting proposals for strengthening academic partnerships between institutions in eligible countries and Austria, and providing grants for Master’s and PhD programs in Austria for students and professionals from eligible countries.

APPEAR is targeted at researchers, professionals and academic institutions in eligible countries and in Austria to share their knowledge and experiences, to design innovative projects targeting the general objective described above and to improve the overall standards in higher education, research and management.

Funding Themes
The activities that are eligible for grant must be related to the thematic focus of APPEAR, which are:

·         Higher education and research for development

·         Water supply and sanitation, rural development, energy, private sector development, governance and human rights

·         Poverty reduction, environment and natural resources, peace building and conflict prevention, gender equality

·         Strengthening of skills in social sciences as an instrument to systematically analyze the reasons of poverty and to empower capacities in social science research

Eligible countries
Partner institutions in the South, and participants of Master’s and PhD programs at Austrian universities, come from the following countries:

·         Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya,

·         Mozambique

·         Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Senegal

·         Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala

·         Bhutan, Nepal

·         Palestinian Territories

Program Components

APPEAR is made up of two components focusing on the academic partnerships. However, this is closely related to Master’s and PhD programs that mainly support students and academics from already existing partnerships to implement long lasting and sustainable cooperation. Both components share the overall objective to strengthen the institutional capacity of the partners in the South.

Component 1 consists of a) academic partnerships in higher education, research and management to strengthen the institutional capacities of academic partner institutions in the South and b) preparatory funding to support researchers and institutions that do not yet have well established links and to plan and jointly write a project proposal.

In component 2, grants are made available for Master’s and PhD programs in Austria for students and professionals from eligible countries.

Last date for submission of proposals is December 31, 2011
For more information, visit this link.

British Ecological Society seeks proposals for Early Career Project Grants

British Ecological Society (BES) is currently seeking proposals from eligible BES members under the Early Career Project Grants program providing an award of up to £20,000.

The program is targeted at supporting outstanding ecologists who are in the early stage of their careers and are intending to carry out innovative or important research of a pure or applied nature by providing them an opportunity to establish themselves. Exceptionally, the awards may be used to employ the investigator him/herself under circumstances where the applicant is not currently employed.

There are two rounds of applications. Round one consists of a short application and only those successful applications from round one will be invited to submit a longer round 2 application

Eligibility and Conditions

• This grant is only open to current BES members.
• Applicants must have a Ph.D. or D.Phil., or have submitted a thesis that will have been examined by the time the application is submitted.
• Successful applicants will be expected to submit a brief report within 15 months of receipt of the award.
• A signed letter of support from the host institute needs to be received by the BES before the grant deadline for the round 2 online application.

Selection Criteria

The selection process involves assessment by a panel of experts drawn from within and outside BES Council, which reviews the scientific excellence of the project and the performance and potential of the applicant. Applications from individuals based in regions outside of the UK which do not have a rich resource base for their own scientific communities will be looked upon favorably.

Last date for submission of round 1 applications is January 31, 2012
For more information, visit this link.