Organization: Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF)

Location: Online

Application Deadline: October 3rd, 2025

ABOUT

The Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) invites applications for its Essential Grant-Writing Skills Programme, designed to support emerging health and biomedical researchers across Africa in building the skills necessary to secure competitive research funding. This fully online training programme is tailored to researchers who are ready to take the next step towards becoming independent investigators.

Programme Overview

• Eight live online sessions (3 hours each)
• A six-week break for proposal development and peer review
• Delivery in English via Zoom
• Provision of all learning materials and exercises

Schedule

• Part 1: Monday 19 January – Friday 23 January 2026 (daily 08:30–11:30 GMT)
• Part 2: Tuesday 24 March – Thursday 26 March 2026 (daily 08:30–11:30 GMT)

Time Zones:

• WAT: 09:30–12:30
• CAT: 10:30–13:30
• EAT: 11:30–14:30
• Cape Verde: 07:30–10:30

Programme Aim

• Conceptualize and communicate compelling research proposals
• Understand funder expectations
• Improve their competitiveness for national, regional, and international grant funding

Key Topics Covered

• Defining a unique research niche
• Formulating compelling research questions
• Writing in plain English
• Understanding funders’ requirements
• Crafting key sections of a Case for Support
• Budgeting and project planning
• Collaborating effectively within research teams
• Preparing for peer review and fellowship interviews

Note: The programme does not cover ethics approvals, specific application form completion, intellectual property rights, or science communication training.

Participant Expectations

Inputs

• Attend all online sessions in full
• Commit to interactive participation in all activities
• Dedicate at least one hour daily to preparatory work during training weeks
• Write a mini grant proposal during the inter-session period
• Participate in peer review exercises

Outputs

• Develop a draft research concept note
• Engage in monitoring and evaluation activities
• Demonstrate how they will share learning with colleagues (“cascade” effect)

Eligibility

• Be a citizen of an African country
• Be early-career health researchers, having completed relevant academic qualifications:
  • A PhD/MD/DPhil awarded on or after 1 January 2020
  • OR a medical degree plus a relevant Master’s degree (awarded on or after 1 January 2020)
• Be employed in Africa by a recognised university or specialist research institution
• Not yet have received international research funding exceeding £250,000
• Be currently active in health-related research
• Not have previously participated in equivalent grant-writing programmes

Selection Criteria

• Research experience and achievements
• Capacity to benefit from the training and apply it effectively
• Commitment to career development as a leading African health researcher
• Willingness and plan to share knowledge gained
• Proficiency in English

Eligible Research Disciplines

• Biomedical sciences
• Clinical sciences
• Public health
• Epidemiology
• Environmental and One Health
• Data science and health policy
• Mental and behavioural health
• Social and economic sciences related to health

How to Appy:

Visit the AREF application portal on the link below, register an account and complete the application form: 

AREF- Grant Application System

For more information:

Visit AREF official website on the link below:

Home – Africa Research Excellence Fund