Call summary :

Purpose

This call aims to enable scaling-up of soil moisture retention practices among smallholder farmers in rainfed agri-food systems* and as such helps to mitigate negative effects from increased severity of dry spells on agricultural production.

The specific objectives are:
- Gain insights in the socio-economic barriers and opportunities in the enabling environment for scaling of water retention practices with a changing climate;
- Gain insights in and provide options for governance functions and governance attributes that support scaling-up of moisture retention practices;
- To strengthen cooperation among CGIAR researchers, Dutch researchers and local partners.

Consortia can choose whether to focus on either the first or the second objective, always in combination with the third objective, or to focus on all three objectives at the same time.

*rainfed agri-food systems include: cropping systems, mixed farming systems (e.g. with food-fodder-livestock) and pastoralist systems.

Who can apply

Pre-proposals and full proposals are to be submitted by the main applicant on behalf of the consortium.

There are four categories of participants within a consortium: 1. Main applicant; 2. Co-applicant(s); 3. Cooperation partner(s); 4. Co-funder(s) (optional).

A consortium should consist of at least a
- a member of the research staff of a CGIAR research centre – as main or co-applicant;
- a researcher from a Dutch knowledge institute – as main or co-applicant;
- a researcher from a knowledge institute from the country where the research takes place – as co-applicant;
- a stakeholder from a governmental organisation from the country where the research takes place – as cooperation partner.

The conditions for each type of participant are explained in more detail in Section 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 of the Call for proposals.

What to apply For

For an application in this Call for proposals, a maximum of €1,400,000 can be applied for in total. The maximum duration of the proposed project is four years. The budget modules (including the maximum amount) available for this Call for proposals are listed in Section 3.2 of the Call for Proposals.

Personnel from CGIAR centres/Alliances use the budget module ‘Personnel at CGIAR centres’.

Personnel from research organisations outside the Netherlands which are not CGIAR use the budget module ‘Money follows Cooperation’.

When to apply

- The deadline for submitting pre-proposals is 15 October 2024, before 14:00:00 CEST.
- The deadline for submitting full proposals is 13 May 2025, before 14:00:00 CEST.

Criteria

The pre-proposals submitted within this Call for proposals will be substantially assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
1/ Societal relevance of the proposed project (50% weighting)
2/ Scientific importance of the proposed project (25% weighting)
3/ Quality of the collaboration (25% weighting)

The full proposals submitted within this Call for proposals will be substantially assessed on the basis of the following criteria (carrying equal weight):
1/ Societal relevance of the proposed project
2/ Scientific quality of the proposed project
3/ Quality of the collaboration, capacity strengthening and value for money More information on the assessment criteria and the sub-criteria can be found in section 4.3 of the call for proposals.

Procedure

The application procedure consists of the following steps:
- submission of the pre-proposal; ? admissibility of the pre-proposal;
- pre-assessment by assessment committee;
- rebuttal;
- assessment committee meeting;
- decision-making;
- proposal development workshop;
- submission of the proposal;
- admissibility of the proposal;
- pre-assessment by assessment committee;
- rebuttal; ? assessment committee meeting;
- decision-making.

An external, independent international assessment committee will be assigned for this Call for proposals, consisting of representatives from science and practice with knowledge of the field.