NL: Submission open for applied research on Food & Business

NWO-WOTRO Science for global development, together with the Food & Business Knowledge Platform, has launched the last round of the third call for proposals for the Food & Business Applied Research Fund (ARF), one of the two funding instruments within Food & Business Research. ARF provides grants for demand-driven applied research that contributes to food security in the fifteen partner countries of Dutch development cooperation. The deadline for applying is 6 December 2016.

The focus of the third call relates to the new Dutch food security policy and proposals should relate to one or more of its pillars:

Eradicating existing hunger and malnutrition. (‘people’)
Promoting inclusive and sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. (‘profit’)
Creating ecologically sustainable food systems. (‘planet’)

Research proposals also need to invest in the enabling business and policy environment at least at the local level. Bottlenecks at the more systemic level often hamper scaling, application and/or innovation potential. This call asks to identify these bottlenecks and to reflect on possible solutions.

Next to the fifteen countries, it will be possible to apply for a grant more specifically related to the food security of Bangladesh and Kenya.

Consortia of practitioner and research or higher education organisations may apply. The budget per application may be 50,000 - 300,000 euros for projects with a duration of 0,5 – 3 years. Requirements are to a large extent similar to the previous call. Higher rates for salary costs and overhead will be allowed. A maximum budget of 4 million euros is available.

Proposals can be submitted to NWO-WOTRO continuously until the final deadline of 6 December 2016. Please use the forms and instructions of the second round, available on the Food & Business Research website.