6th Call for Africa-UniNet Research Cooperation Projects

• Only researchers (PhD holders) who are affiliated to an Austrian member institution are eligible to apply for, submit and coordinate a project. The project coordinator that submits the project proposal will also assume overall responsibility for coordinating the project and for reporting. The funds are to be handled via a bank account of the institution.
   
• Researchers from at least one Austrian and one African member institution must be involved in each project. All participating institutions must be active Africa-UniNet members, i.e. they must have paid the membership fee 2025.
   
• Only one application may be submitted per project coordinator. There are no restrictions as to how many applications per institution can be submitted.
   
• The project coordinator must hold at least a PhD. All participating researchers must either be PhD students or PhD holders. Master students are not eligible to participate.
   
• Applications have to be submitted via the StipOnline portal before the deadline.
   
• Deadline: 30 November 2025, 13:00 pm CET

• Project duration: 24 months
• Maximum funding amount: EUR 40,000 per project
• Earliest possible start of the projects: July 2026. Latest possible start of the projects: December 2026.
   

Please note: Africa-UniNet project funding is only intended as a grant and is not designed to cover the entire costs of the project. As stipulated in the Special Guideline on the “Maßnahmen zur Internationalisierung/Measures for Internationalisation” (GZ: BMBWF-2024-0.205.097) the grant recipient must ensure the implementation of the project through the use of appropriate own funds. This must be clearly presented in the financing plan. If no own funds are indicated in the financing plan, the application will be considered incomplete and will not meet the formal eligibility criteria.

Only the following expenses can be requested for funding by Africa-UniNet: 

Incoming mobility | travel from the partner country in Africa to Austria: 

1. Travel costs to Austria. The cheapest reasonable means of transport must be chosen. The financing only covers the journey to the partner institution in Austria and back home. No further travel financing is provided. A maximum of EUR 2,000 per person per return trip can be reimbursed. This includes only the following:

• Flight costs including airport taxes: cheapest option, economy class only. Fees for the reservation of certain seats cannot be reimbursed. CO2 compensation cannot be reimbursed. Costs for visa, travel insurance and vaccination cannot be reimbursed.
• Travel costs to and from the airport: In Austria only public transport.

2. Allowance for the stay: Daily allowance of no more than EUR 180 per day spent actively working on the project during the stay in Austria. However, the maximum monthly allowance is capped at EUR 2,160 per month (1 month = 30 days). Thus, the maximum amount is EUR 2,160 per month. The maximum duration per person per stay is three months (i.e. three times EUR 2,160 = EUR 6,480 total allowance). No further costs related to the stay can be reimbursed.

Outgoing mobility | travel from Austria to the partner country in Africa

1. Travel costs to the partner country in Africa. The cheapest reasonable means of transport must be chosen. The financing only covers the journey to the partner institution in Africa and back home. No further travel financing is provided. A maximum of EUR 2,000 per person per trip can be reimbursed. This includes only the following:

• Flight costs including airport taxes: cheapest option, economy class only. Fees for the reservation of certain seats cannot be reimbursed. CO2 compensation cannot be reimbursed.Costs for visa, travel insurance and vaccination cannot be reimbursed.
• Travel costs to and from the airport: In Austria only public transport.

2. Allowance for the stay: Daily allowance of no more than EUR 180 per day spent actively working on the project during the stay in Africa. However, the maximum monthly allowance is capped at EUR 2,160 per month (1 month = 30 days). Thus, the maximum amount is EUR 2,160 per month. The maximum duration per person per stay is three months (i.e. three times EUR 2,160 = EUR 6,480 total allowance). No further costs related to the stay can be reimbursed.
 

Material costs
Material (consumables), only if they are essential and specifically relevant for the project, can be covered up to a maximum amount of EUR 5,000 for the entire project duration. Only consumables can be reimbursed, e.g.: test kits, chemicals, research permit, data acquisition, vehicle rent for field research, publication costs. No infrastructure or basic equipment can be reimbursed, e.g.: no laptops, no telephone or internet costs, no staff costs, no honoraria for participants. Overheads are not acceptable and must not be included.

• Applications have to be submitted via the StipOnline portal before the deadline.
• Deadline: 30 November 2025, 13:00 pm CET.
• Please note that the application must be submitted in English.

The project is applied for via the StipOnline portal. The basic data for the project and all project participants (including their birth dates) must be entered in this portal and the application documents uploaded. The documents to be uploaded are:

• Project Proposal (pdf)
• Abstract (pdf)
• Financing Plan (excel file)
• CV of the Project Coordinator (pdf)
• Letters of Endorsement of ALL participating institutions (as one pdf)

Application documents can be downloaded from the Africa-UniNet website. The templates for the project proposal and the financing plan, which can be found on the Africa-UniNet website, must be used. Please copy the abstract from the project proposal and upload it as a separate pdf document. You may use or adapt the templates for the CV of the project coordinator and the letters of endorsement to suit the needs of the respective project coordinator/institution. However, ensure that all relevant content is included as stated in the respective template. 
 

The Africa-UniNet Office at OeAD will check whether the formal requirements of the project applications have been met.

Formally correct proposals will be evaluated by independent reviewers between January and April 2026. In accordance with the Ministry's regulations, two expert reviews will be obtained to form the basis for the ranking list.

The reviews will consist of a scoring matrix (max. 100 points) and narrative assessments. Evaluation criteria will be:

• Project Design and Scientific Quality, Cooperation and Partnership (max. 50 points)
• Contribution to the SDGs and Added Values (max. 20 points)
• Results and Sustainability (max. 20 points)
• Risk Management and Cost-Effectiveness (max. 10 points)

Ranking on the basis of the average score of the reviews (maximum score 100).

The list of selected projects will be discussed by the Africa-UniNet Board in May 2026. The list subsequently has to be approved by the General Assembly and the BMFWF. This is envisaged to take place in June 2026.

Earliest possible start of the projects: July 2026. Latest possible start of the projects: December 2026.

The project duration is 24 months.

Earliest possible start of the projects: July 2026. Latest possible start of the projects: December 2026.
 

Disbursement of funding to the institutional account (no disbursement to private accounts).

A disbursement of 50 per cent of the funding per project is made to an account of the coordinating institution after the contract has been signed. Further 25 per cent are disbursed after approval of the mid-term report. The remaining max. 25 per cent of the project budget will be transferred after approval of the final report. If the budget is not used in full by the end of the project, the remaining amount must be refunded to Africa-UniNet Office/OeAD-GmbH.

The mid-term as well as the final report must include a scientific and a financial report. The reports have to be in English and have to be submitted by the project coordinator within 2 months after the end of the reporting period. Failure to report will automatically result in the termination of the Africa-UniNet project and the requirement to return undocumented funds to OeAD.

Presence at the research location is mandatory for all projects; failure to comply may result in the termination of the project and reclaiming of funds.