RAIA Call for Proposals: Economics of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (USD 80,000–120,000 Grants)

The Raising Adaptation Impact and Ambition (RAIA) project is inviting proposals for country-level research on the economics of climate change adaptation in Africa.

RAIA is a UK Aid-funded initiative under the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) Programme. The project is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa.

This call seeks to strengthen the economic evidence base for climate adaptation decision-making in African countries. Persistent gaps in economic research, fiscal analysis, and adaptation finance tools continue to limit governments’ ability to integrate climate risk into national planning and budgeting systems. RAIA addresses this gap by funding applied, policy-relevant research that directly supports Ministries of Finance and national decision-makers.

Selected projects will:

• Quantify the economic costs of climate impacts and adaptation responses
• Identify financial, regulatory, and market-based instruments for adaptation
• Support tracking, allocation, and value capture of adaptation finance
• Integrate climate economics into national planning and fiscal frameworks

The focus is strictly on adaptation (not mitigation). Research must address clearly defined economic barriers to adaptation and demonstrate a pathway to influencing national policy, planning, or budgeting systems

All projects must consider distributional impacts, gender equality, and social inclusion.

Funding Details

• Grant Size: USD 80,000 – 120,000 per project
• Number of Grants: 10–12
• Project Duration: 11 months (April 2026 – February 2027) 
• Overhead Cap: Maximum 10% indirect costs
• Co-financing: Not required
• Contracting Authority: Agreement signed with SEI

Expected outputs include:

• A technical report
• A policy brief
• A peer-reviewed publication

All data and outputs must be open access 

Eligible Countries

The call is open to all African countries, with priority given to Sub-Saharan Africa 

Proposals must be country-specific (multi-country proposals are not eligible).

Sub-national work is allowed if it clearly informs national adaptation policy, fiscal systems, or planning frameworks 

Eligible Organisations

The lead applicant must be legally registered and based in an African country and must be one of the following:

• Universities
• Academic institutions
• Think tanks
• Policy or economic research institutes
• Independent non-profit research entities

Government ministries are not eligible to apply, but are expected to be engaged as partners 

Not eligible:

• Private sector / for-profit companies
• Start-ups
• Banks
• UN agencies
• Individual researchers
• Graduate students applying independently

Consortia are permitted, but the lead applicant must meet all eligibility criteria 

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Prior experience in climate risk, economic impact assessment, climate finance, or related fields
• An existing working relationship or partnership with a Ministry of Finance or equivalent authority (e.g., MoU, letter of support, framework agreement)

Only one application per institution is allowed 

Thematic Scope

There are no fixed thematic sectors, but research must focus on adaptation economics. Eligible sectors may include:

• Agriculture and food systems
• Water
• Health
• Nature-based solutions
• Climate finance
• Disaster risk
• Biodiversity and ecosystems

Energy transition is excluded 

Evidence synthesis alone is not allowed — proposals must involve applied, original research.

Key Dates

• Call Opens: 12 February 2026
• Information Session: 18 February 2026
• Submission Deadline: 5 March 2026 (23:59 EAT) 
• Evaluation: 6–20 March 2026
• Notification: 23 March 2026
• Contract Signing: 1 April 2026
• Grantee Orientation: 6 April 2026

Deadline extensions are not permitted 

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