Deadline: May 2, 2025
Applications are open for the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant 2025. The grant aims to continue Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer’s contribution to and passion for Africa, the environment, and pioneering science. The purpose of the grant is to support early-career scientists that are conducting impactful research that will provide solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing problems.
Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer’s love for the African continent began in the mid-90s when she moved to Zimbabwe with Jonathan Oppenheimer. In 1999 they moved to South Africa and she embraced it as her home. Her philanthropic interests first started with health and education, however, as she began to understand the challenges that South Africa, Africa and the world faced, the environment took centre stage and became a significant part of her focus and passion.
Sustainable ecology became a central theme in her efforts to understand how a sustainable environment can be created where man and the environment can exist and live for generations.
Grant
- A grant of $150,000 will be awarded to one successful applicant. The grant will support a research project or programme for up to three years (previously funded research not eligible).
Eligibility
The lead applicant should be:
- An early career scientist
- Applicant must already hold a PhD degree and should have no more than seven years of work and/or research experience post-degree (excluding time taken for family responsibilities).
- Have strong links to a credible African institution
- The institution should have a proven ability to manage to fund and subscribes to good financial grant practice and can be any of the following: academic institution, research institution, government institution, NGO, for-profit organisation
- Furthermore, the proposed research should be focused on or in Africa
- Applicants’ proposals must demonstrate a strong link to biodiversity and conservation
Judging Criteria
They are looking for project that:
- Advances the frontiers of knowledge within the chosen field
- Facilitates solutions to African challenges: The research should try and solve an African challenge that occurs in more than one geography and is scalable to other areas. The research should include multiple research sites
- Demonstrates innovative methodologies and approaches
- Exhibits scientific rigour and excellence
- Contributes to human capital development (e.g. mentorship, support, and professional development opportunities) for the next generation of researchers.
- Incorporates a holistic perspective and involves inter-and multi-disciplinary collaboration with partners (preference intra-African) to leverage time, expertise, skills, materials, and resources and reduce duplication
- Articulates the potential to create impact both during and beyond the grant period
- Displays knowledge of associated recent or ongoing work on the continent.
- Defines a clear plan for disseminating research outcomes both inside and outside the scientific community
- Endeavours to open access publications (popular and scientific
- Does not present unacceptable ethical or safety risk
Application
The application deadline is May 2, 2025 at 00:00 (SAST). Ensure to submit the form before the deadline.
Click here to download the application form
For more information, visit Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant.
