A major challenge for advancing climate science in Africa is the lack of a critical mass of capacitated African researchers with the skill sets, research and publishing networks, and resources to conduct 'big science.'

This project was commissioned to inform the Future Climate for Africa programme (FCFA) on how it could best design potential scientific capacity development interventions. The focus was on understanding which competencies and skills climate scientists value at different points in their career development, how they go about acquiring these skills as part of their career trajectory, and how best specific capacity development support interventions can be structured to assist them. The project also sought to learn from a small set of past and present capacity development programmes to understand how best to design interventions that deliver persistent and growing impact, and better understand how to measure such impact. The work also contributed to the academic literature on scientific capacity development in Africa, particularly in the field of climate science, climate impact assessment, and climate change adaptation research.

Work was lead by the African Climate and Development Initiative at the University of Cape Town.

Read the FCFA Policy Brief on capacity building

About FCFA: Future Climate For Africa is a  £20million 5-year programme jointly funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). It aims to support world-leading research to enhance scientific understanding and prediction of extreme weather and climate in sub-Saharan Africa, and working with African stakeholders, bring this science into use in informing adaptation to climate change. For more information, visit the FCFA website.

Funding:  £40,000

Time Frame: December 2014 - June 2015 (7 months)