Apply to the AREF grants writing skills programme

The Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) works to strengthen the health research capacity of scientists in Africa who are engaged in tackling the sub-region’s significant health challenges. AREF is calling for applications from scientists who are active, emerging biomedical/health researchers in African countries to participate in its Essential Grant Writing Skills Programme.
This programme will be held over eight 3-hour sessions during the weeks of 17th March 2025 and 5th May 2025. There will be a six-week break in between the two-part programme, where you will be expected to write a mini proposal and participate in an activity to review the proposals of your colleagues. This is an intensive programme that is designed to produce tangible progress towards a grant proposal by the end of the programme series. Your commitment to the entire series and to the additional work outside of sessions will be necessary to achieve these outcomes.
To fully benefit from this programme series, you will be at a stage in your research career where you are actively seeking independent funding, and perhaps have won smaller grants, but have yet to secure that big grant necessary to support your research independence.
The Programme series
Programme aim
The Programme aim is to enable talented early-career health- and health-related researchers from countries in Africa to build skills to develop their own research and fellowship proposals of the quality required to win competitive international, regional and national funding.
What the Programme will cover
Developing and expressing your unique research niche
Formulating your compelling research question
Understanding funders’ requirements
Writing in plain English
Writing the different sections of a proposal
Key parts of a typical Case for Support / Project Description
Planning your proposal project plan and budget
Principles of managing your collaboration and team
Understanding and practicing peer review
Preparing for a Fellowship interview.
What the Programme will not cover
The programme will not cover the following: how to get research ethics approval; how to complete individual funders’ application forms; the details of intellectual property management; practice in research communication.
The facilitators will use examples of real funding applications. However, they will not be assisting participants directly with the participants’ own specific proposals.

Link: https://africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/funding-calls/the-africa-research-excellence-fund-aref-essential-grant-writing-skills-programme-march-may-2025/