Deadline: 10 November 2019

The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) is inviting proposals under its Capacity Development Programme (CAPaBLE) for funding from September 2020.

The aim of CAPaBLE is to enhance the capacities of scientists, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in Asia and the Pacific to identify and assess global change issues at local, national and regional levels and further identify appropriate solutions to resolve these issues and achieve sustainability. APN supports capacity development activities that enhance existing capacities of developing countries at three levels:

• Individual-based capacity development
• Group, organization, network-based capacity development
• Societies, governance, system level capacity development

The objectives of the capacity development approach in APN-funded activities can be to perform function(s), solve problem(s), and adapt and maintain capacity to address global environmental change and sustainability. APN encourages collaboration with developed countries to enhance the capacities of developing countries, however APN values the ownership of developing countries in such initiatives.

Proposals submitted under CAPaBLE must be relevant to global change and sustainable development and with the below as the main activity at local, national and/or regional levels:

• Capacity Development Activities that promote the following approaches related to one or more of the five thematic areas of APN:
  • Utilizing and strengthening existing capacity
  • Creating opportunities to use/instil capacity
  • Developing new capacity through innovative approaches
• Awareness-Raising and Dissemination activities for policy- and decision-making communities, civil society and/or the general public.
• Science-Policy interfacing in the context of the five thematic areas.
• Capacity Development Partnership Activities that contribute to the capacity development components of the evolving global change arena, including IPCC, IPBES, post-2015 Sustainable Development goals, and ongoing and new global change and sustainability research programmes.

Themes

APN invites trans- and interdisciplinary capacity development proposals focusing on the following themes for South Asia, Southeast Asia, Temperate East Asia and the Pacific as indicated:

• Climate change and climate variability and their related impacts [climate projections/downscaling, extreme events, DRR, monsoon, etc.]
• Ecosystem-based adaptation and disaster risk reduction
• Smart agriculture [resource allocation, livestock, food, technology transfer, innovation, extension, etc.]
• Transboundary issues [pollution, water quality, human health, fisheries and microplastics, invasive species, waste management, etc.]
• Transition towards a sustainable future
• Water, food and energy security

Topics discussed under the above themes included the following (not in priority order):

• Improving the quality of climate change projections to address climate change impacts at national and subregional levels
• Extreme events related to monsoon and climate change
• Climate change and impacts on human health (physical and mental health)
• Coastal erosion and increasing risk to infrastructure
• Climate change adaptation due to increased flood, drought and wildfire events
• Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in the context of international processes such as IPBES, IPCC, NOWPAP, AP-PLAT, etc.
• Increasing the resilience of indigenous and local communities to climate-induced impacts
• Addressing knowledge gaps on social vulnerability due to the impact of a changing climate and unsustainable use of biodiversity
• Technology transfer for smart agriculture and food security
• Policy-relevant research on the implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
• Energy efficiency, GHG emissions reduction, facilitation of adoption of related mitigation policies
• Impacts of microplastics; research on new materials to combat microplastics
• Transboundary air pollution and its impacts on human health

Eligibility Criteria

• Proponent Eligibility
  • Proposals may only be submitted by proponents that fall under the following categories: Researchers or academics from universities, colleges or other academic institutions based in APN member/approved countries, they are: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Singapore Thailand, United States, VietNam.
  • Researchers, practitioners from non-profit, government institutions, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations associated with research, education, policy analysis related to global change or sustainable development activities.
  • Project leaders who have successfully completed or are due to complete a project before the summary proposal deadline are eligible to apply for funding with the caveat that their project reporting is completed in full by the deadline for full proposal stage, and on the quality and impact of their previous APN-project outcomes.
• Collaborators Eligibility
  • A collaborator cannot be involved in more than 2 ongoing APN projects in any fiscal year.
  • Collaborators should be working in an institution that is based in an APN member or approved country.
  • Collaborators from non-APN member or approved countries may be involved in an APN activity as a resource person(s)/expert(s) for the benefit of APN member countries, but strictly cannot seek funds from APN for his/her participation in the project, even though the activity is to be conducted in an APN member or approved country.
  • Collaborators must be affiliated to an institution; i.e. independent researchers are not eligible to participate in an APN-funded activity.
• Basic eligibility for proposal submission
  • In order to understand the physical, biological and human dimensions of global environmental change, the APN has five main scientific themes under its Action Agenda:
    • Climate Change and Climate Variability;
    • Biodiversity and Ecosystems;
    • Changes in the Atmospheric, Terrestrial and Marine Domains;
    • Resources Utilization and Pathways for Sustainable Development; and
    • Risk Reduction and Resilience.
  • Proposals submitted to the CAPaBLE Programme must reflect stronger capacity development needs in developing countries and approaches to fulfil those needs. APN can accept one-country proposals under the CAPaBLE programme, but proposals must demonstrate strong collaboration among national and/or local collaborators.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply via given website.

For more information, please visit https://www.apn-gcr.org/apnis/public/calls/19