AgMIP, the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (www.agmip.org) is pleased to announce the 2012 AgMIP Request for Proposals (RFP) for interdisciplinary teams in Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia to conduct collaborative research on climate impacts in the agricultural sector.  Selected Research Project Teams (Teams) will assemble data and run model simulations in their regions, utilizing a consistent set of climate, crop, and economic scenarios; help build scientific and technical capacity for the agricultural sector; and establish key linkages with local and national institutions so as to engage policy and decision makers. Teams will utilize established AgMIP Protocols and will regularly engage with established AgMIP Climate, Crop Modeling, Economics, and Information Technology Teams.

AgMIP is establishing an integrated, transdisciplinary framework for assessing climate impacts on the agricultural sector while building capacity for continuing agricultural assessment and management in developing countries.  The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of risk of hunger and food security due to climate variability and change, and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries.

The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, acting through their Department for International Development (DFID), is supporting AgMIPactivities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia through this RFP process.  This is being administered by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York (CU), in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS), and with expert guidance by an international team of climate scientists, crop modelers, economists, and information technology specialists.

Eligibility and Requirements.  

To be eligible for consideration of support, the Proposed Project (Proposal) must directly address issues related to climate change, agriculture, economics, and the use of information technology to enable the interdisciplinary and multi-institutional work of AgMIP.  The Proposal should address the goalsand objectives of AgMIP in the context of needs in the regions and proposed methods of study.  Proposals will demonstrate how the project creates a legacy – for example through institution building, attracting additional funds to further research, and/or publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals – and how experience gained over the duration of the project will advance capabilities of the region and/or lead to new opportunities.

The Lead Principal Investigator (Lead PI) must have a full-time appointment at a Lead Institution located in a targeted region, and may only appear as Lead PI on one proposal.  There may be up to 7 Co-PIs on each Proposal from institutions in the targeted region(s) to enable the required interdisciplinarity and multiple institution approach; Co-PIs may appear on more than one Proposal but must disclose and justify their interest in other Proposals fully (section 6.g.).  Multi-national Teams are strongly encouraged.  There is no limit to the number of Team members, nor are all Team members required to be from Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.  However, the benefit to the targeted region(s) must be evident in the Proposal, and significant funding directed to individuals or institutions outside of the targeted region(s) requires special justification.  Teams are ideally a mix of senior and junior scientists and students. Owing to required quarterly project monitoring and reporting (see also below), Teams may include a project coordinator.  Awarded Projects are required to provide content for use in AgMIP products, including web pages.

Timeline:

December 05, 2011      :  RFP Released.

January 31, 2012   :  Sub-Saharan Africa Proposals Due Midnight EST CU/CCSR (NY) office; email pdf file to:  agmip@columbia.edu

February 29, 2012    :  South Asia Proposals Due Midnight EST CU/CCSR (NY) office; email pdf file to:  agmip@columbia.edu

March 2012                 :  Award decisions made and start dates confirmed.

April 2012                    : Sub-Contracts issued.

Source and More Information:

http://www.agmip.org/?page_id=1064