Alliance for African Partnership

Faculty Global Engagement Fund

Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) is pleased to announce that the Faculty Global Engagement Fund is now available to Michigan State University (MSU) faculty members who are doing research in Africa. This fund is designed to support:

1. Collaborative research travel: Support for travel to African partner institutions to initiate or deepen collaborative research projects.
2. Conference/workshop travel: Travel funding for faculty members to present research, participate in workshops, or attend conferences that promote partnerships and collaborations with African universities and research institutions.
3. Capacity-building and training travel: Funding to support travel for professional development, capacity-building activities, or training initiatives that enhance academic partnerships and institutional strengthening.

Eligibility

AAP recognizes that international research funding has faced many recent challenges, resulting in limited opportunities for faculty to conduct international research and limited access to funds for conference travel to disseminate their research results. To address this issue, AAP has established the Faculty Global Engagement Fund.

This fund supports MSU faculty members to strengthen and develop collaborative partnerships with African institutions through strategic travel. AAP seeks to help faculty maintain momentum in their research endeavors and international collaborations by providing travel support to engage with African partner institutions and/or to present their research at conferences or other public forums.

Proposals should address at least one of AAP’s priority areas: agri-food systems; water, energy and environment; culture and society; youth empowerment; education; health and nutrition; and science, technology, and innovation. 

These funds can support:

1. MSU faculty travel to any African country for research, data collection, etc.
2. MSU faculty travel in the US or globally to present their research on Africa at an academic conference or event.
3. MSU faculty to host African research partners at MSU

Eligibility requirements for this opportunity are as follows: 

• Applicants must be MSU faculty members conducting research in or about Africa and/or collaborating with African peers at an African partner institution. We especially encourage those who are partnering with one of AAP’s ten African university consortium members (in good standing) to apply.
• All applicants using the funds to carry out research must have successfully completed university requirements related to doing research (e.g., approved research plans, ethical conduct of research or IRB, training and approvals, etc.).
• All fellowship recipients must submit a report on the outputs and outcomes of their trip within one month of their return from the research trip or conference travel.

Review criteria 

• Alignment of proposed activities to AAP’s 3 pillars and 7 priority areas. 
• For those traveling for partnership activities (research or capacity building): Evidence of a collaborative and equitable partnership that strengthens personal, professional, and/or institutional networks in a mutually beneficial and sustainable way. 
• Quality of short-term outputs/outcomes of proposed activities
• Potential for a sustained, productive partnership; quality of long-term impacts of proposed activities
• Priority will be given to MSU faculty members who are engaged in or have established partnerships with African institutions within the AAP consortium.
• Faculty who have had a disruption in funding due to recent change in US government funding and/or global funding priority shifts are encouraged to apply
• Past recipients of AAP funding are given lower priority for additional funding. 

Funding

• For travel and/or fieldwork expenses, faculty members may receive up to  $5,000. For conference travel, faculty members may receive up to $5,000 for international travel or up to $1,000 for domestic travel.
• Applicants for research and conference travel awards should specify all additional funding sources, if applicable. 
• Funding can be used for airfare, accommodation, transportation, and/or per diem, as well as conference registration and related costs.
• Travel must be completed within 12 months of the award date.
• There is no required matching funding, but co-funding from other sources will be considered positively during the review process.

Timeline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through May 31, 2025, subject to funding availability. The application process may close early if all funds are awarded before May 31, 2025. All funding must be transferred to recipients by June 13, 2025.

Application Process

Applicants must complete an online application that includes the following documents.

Click the following link to access the application: 
https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1X4CH1wJSoknKKy

• Completion of the application form that covers the following:
• Describe the research topic and its significance
• Indicate any disruptions to previous funding and its impact on your research (optional)
• Outline the activities and dates proposed for this trip
• Identify the expected outputs from these activities and this trip and how they contribute to your field of research
• Describe future plans and potential for partnership activities, including publications and external funding 
• A 2-page Curriculum Vitae
• A Budget

Indirect costs are not allowed. This is because AAP is an entity directly funded by Michigan State University. Projects funded by AAP do not allow for indirect, administrative, or contingent costs. AAP policy allows funding only for those activities that can be directly attributed to the funded project. Applicants are responsible for communicating with and receiving approvals from appropriate administrative, research, or finance offices at their institutions and to verify that they understand that indirect costs are not allowed under this grant program.

• A Letter of support from department chair
• A letter of support from host institution or conference invitation