1.0       BACKGROUND

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of the Republic of Zambia, the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) of the Republic of Malawi and the Fundo Nacional de Investigação (FNI) of the Republic of Mozambique are Science Granting Councils (SGCs) participating in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) for Sub Saharan Africa.

The SGCI seeks to strengthen the capacities of the participating SGCs in supporting research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to socio-economic development of the countries. The Initiative is jointly funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF), and the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA).

In contributing to their national research systems, the SGCs (in the three countries) secured a Grant from the International Development Research Centre under the auspices of the SGCI. The said Grant which aims at supporting research projects in Renewable Energy is based on a co-funding arrangement between the IDRC on one hand and the NSTC, NCST and FNI on the other.

2.0 RATIONALE AND SCOPE OF THE JOINT CALL

The demand for energy in the region has been rising due to economic activities in the countries, particularly in the mining, manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Energy generation in the region relies almost entirely on hydropower, however, the recent droughts experienced in the region have caused serious electricity supply deficits. Governments are now actively seeking to enhance the renewable energy sector which has abundant renewable energy resources yet to be fully exploited. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) through itsRenewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan recommends that member states must achieve energy security by closing the current supply/demand deficit in the power sector and enable future economic growth and industrialization through transitioning to and/or increasing the use of renewable energy sources and developing innovative ways of using energy to drive sustainable development. Renewable Energy is one of the identified National Research Priority Areas in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. To contribute towards efforts to enhance the renewable energy sector in the three countries, NSTC, NCST and FNI will fund collaborative research projects in renewable energy. The objective of this Trilateral Joint Call is to generate critical knowledge that will help in strategic development and utilization of energy sources to diversify the energy mix and accelerate achievement of the countries’ energy generation targets, increase industry competitiveness, improve service delivery and reduce poverty.

For more information, download the call below: