Greetings,

We are excited to share this funding opportunity from the Motsepe Foundation. The Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa supports research projects centered on advancing key challenges and opportunities facing Africa. More information about the award can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.

Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa

• Sponsor Deadline: December 7, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
• Award Amount: Up to $150,000 direct costs, for one or two years
  Application budgets should include direct costs only; school assessments should not be included and will be arranged separately with home schools. Indirect costs are permitted only for Africa-based sub-contractors and should not comprise more than 8% of the sub-contractor’s total direct costs.

Program Overview

The Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa is made possible by a generous gift from the Motsepe Foundation. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will administer the Fund together with the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, in collaboration with the Center for African Studies. The primary purpose of the Fund is to support faculty-led and student-driven research projects that focus on advancing key challenges and opportunities facing Africa.

 

Supported activities include, but are not limited to, research, associated travel costs, and the publication and dissemination of findings. Salary support for principal investigators is allowable with approval by academic dean, department chair, or other appropriate institutional officer. Individuals who are principal investigators on an active Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa will not be funded. Faculty may request support for Harvard postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. Costs for student tuition or renovation and capital projects are unallowable. Previous awardees may apply for a new project, provided the prior award cycle has concluded and final reports have been submitted. Grants are non-renewable but may be eligible for a one-time, one-year, no-cost extension (subject to progress provisions).

Priority Areas

• Faculty-led and student-driven research projects that focus on advancing key challenges and opportunities facing Africa, including, but not limited to, the following areas: 
  • Emerging technologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
  • Climate change and its effect on health, livelihoods, agriculture, water, and/or sanitation
  • Renewable energy and its benefit to infrastructure and/or society
  • Health
  • Aging
  • Materials science
  • Governance and policies needed for an entrepreneurial economy 
• Special consideration will be given to projects that propose multidisciplinary collaboration between Harvard faculty across more than one School and/or that include collaboration with Africa-based academics, and proposals that integrate the arts and humanities into STEM projects (STEAM).

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications are invited from individuals who hold a faculty appointment at a Harvard School and who have principal investigator rights at that School.
• Harvard Medical School faculty must hold a faculty appointment with PI rights in an HMS basic or social science department.

Application Materials

• Applications will be submitted via Harvard's online application portal. Applicants are advised to work with local research administrators, as school-level review may be required in advance of application submission, based on school policy. 
  • Contact information for principal investigator and any co-investigators or collaborators.
  • Single paragraph summary of proposal (150 words maximum).
  • Proposal of up to 1,000 words that succinctly describes the proposed research project, its significance and expected impact, and any proposed collaboration with Africa-based academics or researchers.
    • An additional field will be provided for inclusion of no more than two additional pages of supplemental information (citations, images, etc.).
    • Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit proposals demonstrating impact in a manner comprehensible to a highly educated lay audience. 
  • CV of no more than three pages for each PI, co-investigator, and collaborator.
  • Project budget and budget justification, using the provided forms. 
    • It is strongly recommended that, for proposals including work performed in Africa, applicants seek budget advice from knowledgeable representatives at their home School or from Harvard Global Support Services.
  • Attestation by an appropriate representative (e.g., academic dean, department chair, administrative director) of the applicant's department or division, that:
    • their department and/or division supports the application, and agrees to manage the project if awarded (details provided in application portal), and
    • if salary support is requested, this has been approved by the relevant persons. 
  • Other Support form (as provided in the application) for the principal investigator. 
  • Letters of support or collaboration are not permitted.

Selection Criteria

• Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of academic merit, feasibility, and their anticipated advancement of the objectives of the Fund.
• Proposals must meet at least one of the following three criteria, with priority given to those projects that meet more than one criterion: 
  • Focus on Africa
  • Include meaningful collaboration with Africa-based academics
  • Be undertaken in Africa, in whole or in part 

Additional Information and Resources

 

 

 

 

Curated funding opportunity lists are funding search topics of broad interest. The following curated lists can be further refined in Pivot based on your funding needs. To view the results you must be on a Harvard network or logged in to your Pivot account. Information on setting up a Pivot account can be found in our one-page Pivot user guide. 

Arts

Data Science, Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence

Engineering and Technology

Environmental and Climate Science

Humanities

Life Sciences

Neuroscience

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Social Sciences

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