The Adaptation Research Alliance's (ARA) Grassroots Action Research Micro-grants target action and research entities collaborating to unearth knowledge, ideas, and opportunities for climate change adaptation in the Global South.
The most recent round of grants, launched at the global climate summit COP27, aim to support issues identified by local stakeholders in the Global South, with researchers engaged to collectively explore issues further, says ARA Co-Chair Anand Patwardhan.
“The goal is to connect diverse groups of action and research stakeholders in a process of co-creation, and to catalyse the co-production of relevant knowledge to figure out where and how different communities can adapt," Patwardhan says.
30 Global South awardees
In May 2023, the ARA announced 30 Global South projects as recipients of its 2023 Grassroots Action Research Micro-grants. The projects will receive up to GBP 15,000 to carry out inclusive, locally-led action research for identifying needs and opportunities for building resilience.
“The ARA’s Grassroots Action Research Micro-grants kickstart or strengthen Global South relationships that represent all voices and knowledge types in exploring equitable approaches for adapting to climate change,” says ARA Micro-grant Lead Sydney Church.
The awarded projects are based in 22 countries from the Global South, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Haiti, Kenya, the Philippines, Somalia, India, and Uruguay. They address a variety of climate adaptation issues identified as urgent by local communities including health, costal erosion, drought, urban planning, and food security.
View the full list of Grassroots Action Research Micro-grants awardees here.
First launched at CO26
The ARA's Grassroots Action Research Micro-grants programme seeks to elevate and identify knowledge gaps from the bottom up – from the users themselves – and facilitates a research process where users and academics explore appropriate responses. It is an initaitve that was first launched at COP26 in 2021.
This first round of micro-grants provided an opportunity for 25 grantees from the Global South to explore burning adaptation issues faced by their communities related to the climate crisis, including issues related to water scarcity, coastal areas, informal settlements, health, and knowledge gaps. The 25 micro-grantees - hailing mainly from research institutions, non-governmental organisations and government partners - received GBP 10,000 each.
Related
30 Global South projects awarded
Awardees from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America & the Caribbean will receive micro-grants to carry locally-led action research for identifying needs and opportunities for building resilience.