TWAS – Elsevier Foundation Project Grants for Gender Equity and Climate Action

The TWAS – Elsevier Foundation Project Grants for Gender Equity (SDG #5) and Climate Action (SDG #13) is a new programme established in response to the dual need to support women’s well-being through capacity-building of female scientists and respond to the causes and consequences of climate change with concrete action-based projects, under the umbrella of the “climate action” SDG.

The programme is community-focused: a competitive, open call for applications will consider projects that respond to the needs of, and to the development requirements, of the applicants’ community and/or national or regional context in one of the 66 scientifically and technologically lagging country (STLCs).

The TWAS – Elsevier Foundation Project Grants Programme for Gender Equity and Climate Action aims to:

• Promote gender equality by creating opportunities for women in climate action projects that take them outside the lab, enabling them to deepen their scientific skills, while acquiring, through training, soft skills such as project management and leadership.

• Respond to and tackle communities’ needs in ways that are in line with the principles of sustainable development, focusing on the brunt of climatic changes.

• Effectively transfer knowledge from scientific research to real-life scenarios for practical and tangible change under the umbrella of the “climate action” SDG.

Eligibility criteria

1. Submission of an action-based project with a direct impact on the community of a scientifically and technologically lagging country (https://twas.org/66-countries), with a primary focus on climate action (SDG 13) and secondary focus on gender equality (SDG 5).

2. The principal applicant and project leader must be a woman scientist, holding a PhD, living and working in a scientifically and technologically lagging country (https://twas.org/66-countries), employed at a university or research institute. The programme does not require a direct involvement of the university or of the research institute in the project. Proof of current employment will be asked to shortlisted candidates.

3. There is no age limitation for this programme.

4. The principal applicant will work in group with up to four (4) additional secondary applicants, also women, who are either scientists or technical experts in a field relevant to the project, from any developing country. The technical expertise would complement the work of the scientist(s) and thus enhance the potential of the team. The team must not include more than five (5) members in total.

5. Projects in any area with enough relevance to climate change and gender equality are eligible.

6. Interdisciplinary approaches are welcome.

What does the programme fund?

The programme will award three (3) grants to Collaborative Teams composed of 2–5 members. These members will be either scientists or technical experts, or a mixture of both: the mix of competencies is meant to ensure that the project is backed by strong expertise.

The team leaders from the three (3) awarded groups will be invited to an initial training workshop. In case travel restrictions due to the global COVID-19 pandemic allow it, the training will be held face to face in Europe: the programme will cover the costs for flights, accommodation and food. This cost does not need to be included in your application’s project budget.

The project grant is designed to be flexible and modular, with a total value in the USD 24,000- 25,000 range. It will allow for a variety of expenses within a three-year timescale, as long as these are clearly justified by the work tasks.

Evaluation

The selection committee will look for evidence of significant impact on climate action and gender equity. They will look for evidence of the project’s likelihood of success in supporting women involved in concrete science-based projects. You must clearly demonstrate how you aim to improve, through the promotion of women’s well-being, the livelihood of their entire community with specific reference to climate change.

The selection committee will look for applications with evidence of support, use, and/or delivery of science knowledge at community level, promoting tangible change related to climate action. They will look for women scientists able to lead impactful projects in climate action that takes them outside the lab, and that support the capacity-building of other women and women scientists.

Your application will be assessed primarily based on the quality and feasibility of your project proposal, the evidence of your proposed impact on gender and climate change, and the nature of your collaborations with others. It will also be assessed based on evidence of your scientific merit.

Evidence of prior community work, outreach, civic engagement, or local leadership is not required, yet would be an added advantage.

Women working in particularly challenging circumstances are particularly invited to apply.

Upon application, candidates are required to share the following mandatory documents:

• A full budget in USD covering the whole duration of the project in Excel to be attached to the application form.
• Necessary documentation to prove eligibility for the programme needs to be uploaded as an attachment to the application form:
  • Passport or National Identity Document (of Principal Applicant and all co-applicants)
  • PhD Certificate (for Principal Applicant only)
  • Proof of employment at the university or research institution (for Principal Applicant only)
  • A partnership declaration signed by all team members

If a candidate is not able to provide such information, she will lose her eligibility to the programme.

How to apply

• The application must be submitted via the online form at this link: https://tally.so/r/nr14Mw
• A scientist may only submit one application at a time and for only one kind of grant (i.e. individual, research unit, IsDB-TWAS Research Grant or OWSD Early Career Women Scientists (ECWS) Fellowship) for consideration by TWAS.
• When submitting the application via the online form the principal applicant needs to upload all required documentation as attachments to the form.

The omission of the documents above-mentioned will make the application ineligible. In case you have questions about this programme, please contact climatewomen@twas.org

When to apply

• The call for application will open on February 21, 2022.
• The deadline for receiving applications is May 19, 2022.

Notification of results

Candidates who are selected for this programme should expect to be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of 2022.

Please refer to the complete application guidelines downloadable below.

They include full details and explanatory tables of:

• How the project team should be composed of;
• Examples of responsive project grants;
• Summary of justified resources to be funded;
• What the programme does not fund.