The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition sponsors BCFN YES! (Young Earth Solutions) as an international competition for young researchers on the theme of sustainable food systems. The program offers one-year research grants up to €20 thousand to PhD and postdoc researchers worldwide from any background and nationality. The maximum age is 35. Subject areas include climate change, resilient agriculture, sustainable water management, ecosystem services, food policy, and many others. The competition encourages the participation of teams from different disciplines and countries who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches. The deadline for proposals is 28 June 2017. Link
climate
World Bank — WeMENA Supporting Women Social Entrepreneurs
WeMENA announces a challenge to help women advance solutions across eight cities in the Middle East and North Africa to build resilience to climate change. The cities are Alexandria, Amman, Beirut, Byblos, Cairo, Casablanca, Ramallah, and Tunis. The challenge categories include agriculture and food security; sustainable energy and the environment; water and sanitation; and several others. Participants in the challenge will receive business training, mentoring, and the chance to compete for a share of US$150 thousand in cash awards. The competition is open to women participating as individuals, as teams, or on behalf of a legal entity. The deadline for submissions is 17 January 2017. Link
Parrot Sequoia — Parrot Climate Innovation Grant
The Parrot/Pix4D Climate Innovation Grant consists of hardware and software for field research to foster innovation in understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Proposals should include a geographical/mapping dimension using UAVs and Pix4D photogrammetric software, as well as multi-spectral imagery related to the technical capabilities of the Parrot Sequoia camera. Proposals are invited from anywhere in the world. The deadline to apply is 01 February 2017. Link
World Academy of Sciences — Sustainability Case Studies
In partnership with the Elsevier Foundation, TWAS calls for case studies which present issues and challenges for sustainable development through real-life situations. The contest is open to current TWAS and OWSD PhD Fellowship recipients. The categories are green and sustainable chemistry; energy; agriculture and food security; water and sanitation; science education and the workforce; and climate change and disaster and risk reduction. The winner in each category will be awarded US$1 thousand. The deadline for submissions is 01 February 2017. Link
Indo-US Science and Technology Forum — Research on Monitoring Water and Air Quality
The IUSSTF invites applications for the “Research Initiative for Real-time River Water and Air Quality Monitoring.” This initiative aims to develop technologies for sensing, communication, and analysis of large-scale data collected from autonomous networks of perpetual or long-lived sensor nodes, followed by integration and deployment of this information for water and air quality monitoring in real-time. Indian research groups are encouraged to collaborate with academic counterparts in the USA and/or European Union. The deadline for proposals is 10 March 2017. Link
Climate Strategies Accelerator — Breakthroughs to End the Age of Oil
The Climate Strategies Accelerator (CSA) aims to identify and support leaders with big ideas to address the complex problem of climate change. The 2017 theme is “end the age of oil.” CSA selects prototype projects and program leaders in progressive stages, beginning with a Breakthrough Lab of intensive networking and proposal development. At the end of the Breakthrough Lab, the CSA may choose to invest in one or more candidates, who would then become program leaders, receiving US$1-2 million per year for a three-year grant period to pursue their ideas. The CSA welcomes applications worldwide. The application deadline to participate in the the Breakthrough Lab is 31 January 2017. Link
Cheng-Long Wetlands — International Environmental Art Project 2017
The Cheng-Long Wetlands are located in a rural area on the south-central coast of Taiwan. To call attention to the changing global environment, with a particular focus on conservation of the Cheng-Long Wetlands, artists from all countries are invited to send a proposal for a site-specific outdoor sculpture that will raise public awareness and enlist people to take action. Selected artists will receive NT$60 thousand (about US$2 thousand), airfare, accommodations, food, local transportation, volunteer help, and free local natural and recycled materials. The deadline for proposals is 20 January 2017. Link
MIT Center for Collective Intelligence — Climate CoLab 2017
The MIT Climate CoLab organizes contests to solicit the world’s best ideas to prevent and adapt to climate change. Some contests pose social and political questions, while others focus on issues in science and technology. Each year, the contest winners are invited to a conference at MIT’s campus in the USA, where a pool of prize funding is shared among the best ideas. Current contests include one on managing and reducing carbon contributions, with submission deadline on 20 January 2017. Another contest focuses on anticipating climate hazards, with deadline on 10 February 2017. Link
French Institute for Development Research — Support for International Research Teams 2017
The IRD announces funding to support multidisciplinary international teams (laboratoires mixtes internationaux, LMI) to undertake research that corresponds to IRD’s thematic priorities. These priorities include agronomy and biodiversity; bio-invasions and climate change; sustainable urban development; the ocean-climate interface; micro-biomes in agro-ecosystems; management of water resources; coastal and marine management; and others. Several themes have geographical priorities. IRD will annually provide each LMI with €40 thousand. The deadline for letters of intent is 31 January 2017. Link
U.S. Agency for International Development — Pacific-American Climate Fund
The Pacific-American Climate Fund (PACAM) is a five-year project that provides grants in the developing countries of the Pacific Islands to support measures for climate change adaptation, and that provide additional benefits. The current call for proposals (i.e., Cycle 4) is for projects in Papua New Guinea. Applications are invited from civil society organizations, including those that do not have previous experience with USAID. Grants are up to US$250 thousand for projects of up to 21 months. The application deadline is 20 December 2016. Link