This document summarizes a presentation given by Prof Adipala Ekwamu from the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) at a climate change adaptation grantee convening. RUFORUM is working on a project to facilitate its member universities to access climate change adaptation funds and training opportunities. The project aims to establish existing climate adaptation capacities and activities at member universities and provide access to current and future funding and training opportunities. While progress has been made in accessing some opportunities, there are still challenges around equitable access, climate science capacity, and coordination of research activities. Strengthening regional collaboration and networking is seen as key to addressing these challenges going forward.

1. CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND
AFRICAN AGRICULTURE GRANTEE CONVENING
24-25 February 2011
Project Name: Facilitating RUFORUM Universities to Access
Climate Change Adaptation Funds and Training
Opportunities
Grantee : Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building
in Agriculture
Presenter : Prof Adipala Ekwamu
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2. Brief Background of the Institution
• Regional Universities FORUM for Capacity Building
in Agriculture
• Consortium of 25 Universities in ECSA (15 countries)
• Mandate of Supporting Postgraduate Training in
Agriculture and Related Sciences
– Competitive grants for research and MSc, PhD
Training
– Specialized Innovative Capacity Strengthening for
member Universities
– Advocacy for Agricultural Tertiary Education
– Facilitating University Engagement with development
Processes
• Using Regional Approach 1

3. Your other projects/programs on climate change
adaptation
• Climate change is the defining human development issue of our
generation
• African Universities have been slow to respond to climate change
adaptation challenges despite the many emerging opportunities for
capacity building and funding for climate change related initiatives.
• Weaknesses in universities Strategy for CCA:
– resource mobilization
– networking
– Curricula and curricula delivery
– research agenda setting
– staff capacity for climate change science
– engagement with other development actors
• Weaknesses are exacerbated by inherent limited capacities for
climate change donor intelligences and lack of dynamic knowledge
base of current and emerging funding agencies.
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4. RUFORUM DESIRE
• Facilitate Member Universities to:
– Design multi-year coordinated CCA research
programmes;
– Develop science-policy interfaces;
– Ensure that the products of climate change research
are scientifically credible, salient and legitimate;
– Build lasting human and institutional capacity CCA;
– Train graduate relevant to CCA needs of society;
– Contribute to the global climate change knowledge
– Empower communities to adapt to CC.
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5. Project Objectives and Outputs
• Existing levels of CCA
capacity and activities
in Universities
Objectives • Access to current and
upcoming CCA
funding and training
opportunities
• Awareness,
Knowledge and
Capacity
• Database of
Outputs University CCA
Initiatives
• Database of CCA
training and funding
opportunities
• RUFORUM
Coordi- Secretariat
nation • 25 Member
Universities
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6. Key Activities Related to the Grant
Objective 1: Establish the existing levels of CCA capacity
and activities in member Universities
– Activity 1.1: Desk study for university gaps
– Activity 1.2: Publish and share the output of the university level
gap analysis.
Objective 2: Facilitate RUFORUM member universities to
access current and upcoming CCA funding and training
opportunities
– Activity 2.1: Construct and continuously update a database of
current and emerging opportunities
– Activity 2.2: Use RUFORUM existing network and link with
development partners to facilitate access to the opportunities
– Activity 2.3: Technical support and guidance to University CCA
resource mobilization and leveraging training opportunities
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7. Highlight on the Progress to date
•University Gap Analysis Done, Updating of
1 database On-going
• Hiring of technical Expert to Support
University Resource Mobilization and
2 Link to CCA Opportunities – In process:
End of February 2011
• Donor and Training Opportunities
landscape – ongoing
3 • Already Access for some universities
realized
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8. Early Results
• Access to on-going RUFORUM Competitive Grants for
CCA related research at Universities
• Limited Access to African Climate Adaptation Opportunities
• 12 Proposals sent from Member Universities to the START
programme for CCA research;
• African Climate Change Adaptation Fellowship Programmes –
Active in three universities (Makerere, UNZA, Egerton), Preparation
for Second face of fellowships underway;
• Joint proposals targeting EU; IDRC; AU Research Call
• New Grant from APPEAR – WATERCAP for two universities
(Egerton and Makerere with partner in Austria – BOKU on CCA for
Water Resources – coordinated at RUFORUM Secretariat – EURO
– 400,000 starting April 1st 2011
• UNEP/Sida Funded Nile Basin Project to fund 7 University
researchers (USD, 10,000.00) each to document CCA initiatives on
water systems
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9. Key Challenges
• Delayed Activities due to many externalities
• Inequitable access to opportunities by all member
Universities – few opportunities currently target Southern
African Countries/Universities
• Climate Science Capacity – limited collaboration and
capacity to design competitive proposals from
universities
• Politicization of Climate Change Science
• Overcrowded field where the “fittest” – civil society –
survive by accessing funding and training
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10. Lessons Learnt
• Universities are doing a lot on climate change
adaptation but in a less coordinated manner
• Leading to duplication and less cost-effective
investment in climate change research
• Existing curricular and research agenda out of
tune with collaborative climate change research
• The regional approach and networking delivers
quickly on resource and training opportunity
access
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11. Emerging Opportunities for Collaboration
• Short term (workshops, training of trainers, certificate
course and long term (MSc and PhD) training
opportunities:
1. START - SysTem for Analysis Research and Training
2. Open Society Initiative (OSI)
3. African University Adaptation Training Grant
4. African Capacity Building Programme
5. Advancing Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation
(ACCCA) and other projects
6. UN Initiatives on CCA capacity building
• RUFORUM Network for Joint Actions, Knowledge
Management and Lesson Learning Platforms
• Advocacy among University Management (VCs are
Board members)
• CCA Resource Mobilization strategy 10

12. Next steps
• Exploring opportunities under:
• The UNFCCC adaptation funding facilities including Adaptation
Fund (AF), Adaptation to Climate Change Initiative, African
Development Fund (ADF), etc
• The Inter American Development Bank-Netherlands Water
Partnership Program (INWAP)
• Opportunities from development partners and other donor
organizations including Global Environment Facility (GEF),
IDRC, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, USAID, etc
• Climate Change Adaptation networks for small grants and
capacity building e.g. African Climate Change Knowledge
Network of COMESA, African Climate Change Fellowship
Program of START.
• Opportunities for partnerships and funding from civil society and
private sector CC investment
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13. Thank you