The Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa is made possible by a generous gift from the Motsepe Foundation. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will administer the Fund together with the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, in collaboration with the Center for African Studies.
Funding Priorities
The primary purpose of the Fund is to support faculty-led and student-driven research projects that focus on advancing key challenges and opportunities facing Africa, including, but not limited to, the following areas:
· emerging technologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
· climate change and its effect on health, livelihoods, agriculture, water, and/or sanitation
· renewable energy and its benefit to infrastructure and/or society
· health
· aging
· materials science
· governance and policies needed for an entrepreneurial economy
Activities the Fund may support include, but are not limited to, research, associated travel costs, and the publication and dissemination of findings.
Special consideration will be given to projects that propose multidisciplinary collaboration between Harvard faculty across more than one School and/or that include collaboration with Africa-based academics, and proposals that integrate the arts and humanities into STEM projects (STEAM).
Application Requirements and Instructions
Applicants are advised to work with local research administrators, as school-level review may be required in advance of application submission, based on school policy.
You will be asked to submit the following information and documentation:
· Contact information for principal investigator and any co-investigators or collaborators.
· Single paragraph summary of proposal (150 words maximum)
· Proposal of up to 1,000 words that succinctly describes the proposed research project, its significance and expected impact, and any proposed collaboration with Africa-based academics or researchers. An additional field will be provided for inclusion of no more than two additional pages of supplemental information (citations, images, etc.). The faculty review committee is comprised of members hailing from various disciplines, which may or may not include that of the applicant. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit proposals demonstrating impact in a manner comprehensible to a highly educated lay audience.
· CV of no more than 3 pages for each PI, co-investigator, and collaborator. If funding is requested for postdoctoral scholar(s) or graduate student(s), please also include a CV for each such individual. Biosketches are not permitted.
· Project budget must be provided using the form available in the application. Applicants must also use the budget justification form provided to explain each budget item.
· Attestation by an appropriate representative (e.g., academic dean, department chair, administrative director) of the applicant’s department or division, that:
o their department and/or division supports the application, and agrees to manage the project if awarded (details provided in application portal)
o if salary support is requested, this has been approved by the relevant persons (see below for additional information)
· Letters of support or collaboration are unnecessary, and are not permitted.
Unallowable expenses
Student tuition
Renovation and capital project costs
Other budget considerations
· If the total cost of the proposed project is larger than the award requested from the Fund, please provide brief details of other support in the budget.
· Salary support for principal investigators is allowable; applicants requesting salary support must attest to the approval of their school’s academic dean, department chair, or other appropriate institutional officer. Attestation is also required for any Harvard faculty member serving as a coinvestigator on the project who will receive salary support, but not for others on the project team.
· Applicants should note that any benefits-eligible personnel expenses in the budget must include the appropriate fringe rates for each year of funding. If the application proposes to fund a certain amount of an existing employee’s time, then the budget must also include that percentage of applied fringe.
· Applicants should consult with Human Resources at their home School for applicable rates.
· Include direct costs only. School assessments should not be included in your budget (these will be arranged separately and directly with home Schools).
· Indirect costs are not permitted for U.S.-based subcontractors. Indirect costs for Africa-based sub-contractors should be included in the budget, and should not comprise more than 8% of the sub-contractor’s total direct costs.
· It is strongly recommended that, for proposals including work performed in Africa, applicants seek budget advice from knowledgeable representatives at their home School or from Harvard Global Support Services.
· All applications must adhere to University and School-level guidance on travel.
Other Support
Applicants must use the form provided in the application to summarize active and pending support for the Principal Investigator. “Other Support” includes all financial resources, whether federal, non-federal, commercial, or institutional, available in direct support of an individual’s research endeavors, including but not limited to research grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and/or institutional awards. Please include any Harvard internal grants or major, project-specific support. Please do not include any start-up packages and/or tenure-transfer funding.
Assurance of Compliance
All recipients of an award from the Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa are expected to comply with all University (or local institutional, if awarded through an affiliated entity) policies governing the conduct of research including, but not limited to, the use of animals, human subjects, hazardous materials, and export controls. Awardees will be asked to provide the name and signature of a School or Department administrator who, in addition to the principal investigator, will certify that the project complies with all relevant policies. Funds will not be made available, and invoices from non-Harvard entities will not be reimbursed, without such certification. All applicants are subject to audit.
Applications are invited from individuals who hold a faculty appointment at a Harvard School and who have principal investigator rights at that School. Harvard Medical School faculty must hold a faculty appointment with PI rights in one of HMS’s basic or social science departments. Faculty may request support for Harvard postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates.
Individuals who are principal investigators on an active Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa award will not be funded. Previous awardees are invited to apply for a new project, provided their prior award cycle has concluded.
Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of academic merit, feasibility, and their anticipated advancement of the objectives of the Fund. They must meet at least one of the following three criteria, with priority given to those projects that meet more than one criterion:
· Focus on Africa
· Include meaningful collaboration with Africa-based academics
· Be undertaken in Africa in whole or in part
Review and Funding Timeline:
October 9, 2023 Application portal opens
December 11, 2023 Application portal closes
April 2024 Awardees notified
May 2024 Funds dispersed (upon receipt of signed terms document, and provision of any additional required documentation)