In 2018, SARIMA partnered with nine other institutions to implement the BRECcIA project. The project is funded by the Research Councils of United Kingdom (RCUK), through its Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) programme call for Growing research capability to meet the challenges faced by developing countries (GROW). Project partners, including regional and international academic institutions as well as Non Government Organisations, span across four African countries (UK, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi).
The project’s objectives are:
- To enable partner institutions to understand the barriers and enablers to high quality scientific research, and to co-develop a pipeline of capacity-building activities to strengthen research technical and management skills, professional skills, and professional development.
- To develop research networks across African institutions around water and food security, and to leverage these to co-design pertinent research questions on key global challenges.
- To engage in collaborative research programmes that advance knowledge of food and water security in partner countries, identifies solutions to water and food security challenges, and produce a new cohort of trained researchers in this field that are capable of leading and shaping the direction of future research.
- To ensure impactful research that influences policy/practice through engagement with regional climate, hydrological and agricultural information providers, and with stakeholders and policy makers at national and local levels to empower local communities.
SARIMA will implement capacity-building interventions by delivering research management training, implementing exchange visits and supporting the professional recognition of research managers.
