Who can apply
- Public research organisations in participating SGCI countries
- Public universities in participating SGCI countries
- Private universities in participating SGCI countries
- Governmental research organisations in participating SGCI countries
- Consortia comprising one lead applicant institution and two to four co-applicant institutions
- Consortia involving institutions from at least three different participating SGCI countries
- Institutions capable of receiving and administering substantial research funding
- Institutions able to nominate a full-time Principal Investigator
Focus areas
- Agriculture and food security
- Climate-smart and agroecological agriculture
- Precision agriculture and value addition
- Health systems resilience
- One Health preparedness and disease surveillance
- Traditional medicine and biomedical innovation
- Artificial intelligence applications
- Digital technologies and scientific research
- AI skills development and entrepreneurship
- Renewable and diversified energy systems
- Energy storage and efficiency
- Local energy technology manufacturing
- Water security
- Biodiversity and natural-resource governance
- Climate resilience and adaptation
- Circular economy and waste-to-resource solutions
Requirements
- Form a consortium with one lead institution and two to four co-applicant institutions
- Ensure each funded consortium institution comes from a different participating SGCI country
- Nominate a full-time Principal Investigator from each applicant institution
- Ensure all applicant institutions have independent legal status and can receive and administer research funding
- Select one primary thematic stream and at least one relevant research avenue
- Develop a project lasting no more than 36 months
- Demonstrate alignment with national, regional and STISA-2034 priorities
- Integrate gender, equity and inclusion throughout the research design and implementation
- Prepare two-page CVs for each Principal Investigator
- Prepare one-page CVs for up to three additional key team members
- Obtain a signed institutional Letter of Commitment from every lead and co-applicant institution
- Disclose any use of generative AI in preparing the application
- Submit the Expression of Interest through the official IDRC SurveyMonkey Apply portal
Application steps
- Read the full STISA-2034 call, FAQs and country-specific funding requirements
- Identify eligible research institutions in at least three participating SGCI countries
- Form the consortium and agree on the lead institution, Principal Investigators and primary thematic stream
- Prepare the research concept, methodology, institutional roles, estimated budget, CVs and signed commitment letters
- Create or sign in to the IDRC SurveyMonkey Apply portal and complete the Expression of Interest
- Submit the complete application before 25 September 2026 at 23:59 EDT
This is a large institutional research opportunity, not a normal NGO project grant. The strongest applicants will be established universities or research institutions with experienced researchers, strong financial systems and credible partners in at least two other eligible African countries. Uganda is eligible for all five thematic areas, with up to UGX 500 million available to the Ugandan consortium member. Ugandan NGOs and CBOs should not assume they can lead the application. Under the general rules, they are better positioned as implementation, community-engagement or end-user partners under an eligible research institution. Start consortium building early. A strong proposal must show genuine cross-country research value, policy relevance, gender and inclusion considerations and clear institutional roles rather than simply combining organisations to satisfy the three-country requirement.