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Decolonising Peace Education in Africa

Decolonising Education for Peace in Africa

FAQs

What is DEPA?

Decolonising Education for Peace in Africa (DEPA) is an Arts and Humanities Research Council Funded project (UK Research and Innovation) which will address the question:

‘What are the different knowledges and values underpinning peace and how can these practices be connected and compared across countries to create curriculum content and mode of delivery in informal and formal, Secondary and Higher Education (HE), in order to decolonise peace education?’

Originally operating across 5 countries in the first phase – Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the UK– the project has now expanded through the commissioning of 4 additional projects, to Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sierra Leone (Phase II projects).  The project will, for the first time, provide new data based on arts and humanities methodologies on how peace is understood within displaced and marginalised communities. Researchers, community workers and communities that have experienced conflict will connect to produce state of the art knowledge. The project will enable peace educators by developing context sensitive pedagogic content and design of delivery for use among people aged 16-35.

This network aims to respond to the pressing need for alternative knowledges and values in peace education curricula, which go beyond the Eurocentric dominated approaches of past decades, as a way of addressing problems of conflict and violence in Africa. It will produce quality Open Educational Resource (OER) materials for peace education using a comprehensive framework for peace informed by local, contextualised, gendered knowledges and values underpinning peace. It will connect academics and community organisations across the DEPA Network, compare findings obtained through use of arts and humanities methodologies and create teaching materials for peace education in a range of African countries.

The project has been designed to create impact at four levels:

  1. Local Communities
  2. Educational Institutions
  3. NGOs
  4. Policy Makers
What is DEPA Phase III Devolved Funding?

In Phase III, we are commissioning further projects to enhance and expand on activities and findings from the Proof of Concept and Phase II projects. 

We will fund projects between 3 and 6 months duration and the following levels of funding will be available:

  • Up to 5 Individual Researcher Grants, of up to £5,000. We encourage proposals that meet the value for money criteria of the AHRC.  Only UK-based individuals can apply for the Individual Researcher Grants.
  • Up to 4 Small Project Grants, will be commissioned, each with a value of £10,000 - £30,000. We encourage proposals that meet the value for money criteria of the AHRC.  The Small Project Grants are open to UK and African scholars, NGOs and other organisations which work in the relevant areas.
  • Up to 2 Large Project Grants will be commissioned, each with a value of between £30,000 and £60,000. We encourage proposals that meet the value for money criteria of the AHRC.  The Large Project Grants are open to UK and African scholars, NGOs and other organisations which work in the relevant areas.

Please note: costings should be calculated using 100% of UK partners’ costs even though, as per UKRI rules, only 80% of these costs can be funded by the grant. 

Who can apply for the funding?

Organisations, individuals and NGOs are eligible to apply for this funding.

  • Our funding forms part of the UK’s foreign aid budget.  Our grants therefore have special requirements in regard to the involvement of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) on the on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) List of Official Development Assistance Recipients.  There are some exceptions: organisations in China, India, or in countries due to graduate from the DAC list are not eligible to lead on a project.
  • NGOs can apply for grants, but projects must be research focused.
  • All Lead Organisations will have to provide evidence of their capacity to lead and deliver research projects and to carry out projects in accordance with our funder’s terms and conditions (e.g., in respect to finances and good governance).
  • Each project must be composed of a Principal Investigator (PI) (responsible for the leadership of the project).
  • Projects can have one or more Co-Investigators (Co-Is) but this is optional.
  • Grant proposals do not need to include a UK investigator/organisation, but a UK partnership or partnership with a DEPA Network partner are strongly encouraged.
  • We encourage applicants to allocate around 70% of the funds to Africa DAC countries.  We will consider other grants where the costings are justified.
  • Please note - only UK-based individuals can apply for the Individual Researcher Grants.
Can NGOs apply?

Yes. As long as proposals are research-focused and include contributions from research-focused partners. Applications from PIs based in non-academic organisations that involve collaboration between DAC list and UK partners, and meet all other eligibility requirements, are encouraged. Non-academic organisations should provide evidence of their capacity to lead and deliver research projects and attention should be given to issues such as support for the career development of researchers involved in the project and access to appropriate support facilities (e.g. for data management) and advice (e.g. on research ethics, safety etc.).

Can applications be led by PIs from non-Academic organisations, such as NGOs and major in country delivery partners?”

Yes. As long as proposals are research-focused and include contributions from research- focused partners, applications from PIs based in non-academic organisations that also meet all other eligibility requirements, are eligible. Non-academic organisations should provide evidence of their capacity to lead and deliver research projects and attention should be given to issues such as support for the career development of researchers involved in the project and access to appropriate support facilities (e.g., for data management) and advice (e.g. on research ethics, safety etc.).

Can projects that are funded through the DEPA Network apply?

Existing DEPA Network projects – either Proof of Concept or Phase II – should be completed or very near to completion in order to apply. 

How long is the Award valid for?

Phase III projects should be between 3 and 6 months duration. Applicants should specify the duration of the proposed project at the point of application. Each project is encouraged to build a contingency plan into their timetable to account for possible delays/complications to their projects. 

A pandemic risk assessment will also be required within the initial application.

What activities does the grant cover?

Funding for new collaborative research projects which involve exploratory, innovative research, community engagement, arts methods, dissemination, and long-lasting impact, within the themes of decolonising peace education.

These activities could be in the form of conferences, workshops and seminars, fellowships, exchanges and placements.  Outputs and outcomes should be clearly articulated and tailored to the activity and challenge area. They could include, but are not limited to:  

  • Enhanced capabilities / facilities
  • Policy briefings 
  • Journal articles
  • Conference papers
  • Websites and digital resources
  • Training materials
  • Public engagements
  • Exhibitions, catalogues
  • New and changed projects, services, commercial outputs
  • Enhanced cultural, heritage assets 
  • Creative outputs, performances
What costs does the grant cover?
  • The maximum amount of funding which you can apply for is either:
    • Individual Researcher Grants - up to £5k. Costings should be calculated using 100% of UK partners’ costs even though, as per UKRI rules, only 80% of these costs can be funded by the grant. 
    • Small grants - Up to £30k. Costings should be calculated using 100% of UK partners’ costs even though, as per UKRI rules, only 80% of these costs can be funded by the grant. 
    • Large grants – up to £60k. Costings should be calculated using 100% of UK partners’ costs even though, as per UKRI rules, only 80% of these costs can be funded by the grant. 
  • Any UK component of supported projects will be funded in accordance with standard AHRC funding terms and conditions for grants, i.e., at 80% fEC (full economic costs) for UK research organisation costs (with the UK research organisations involved in projects contributing 20% fEC).
  • All other, non-UK organisations can request costs at 100%. This can include overheads.

Eligible costs include:

  • Staff salaries.
  • Travel and Subsistence.
  • Other Direct Costs (consumables, fees, etc.).
  • Costs may be included with devolved awards to support inclusive participation in development impact activities, for example in terms of translation costs or support for carers.
  • A contribution towards indirect and estates costs can be made for overseas organisations with DAC list (LMIC) countries; up to 20% of total eligible direct costs charged to the grant directly relating to the activities of the LMIC Investigator.
  • Estates/indirect/overhead costs cannot be requested for international co-investigators employed by academic organisations which are not based in a DAC list country.
  • If indirect costs are claimed for overseas (co-)investigators in DAC list countries it is not also possible to request direct costs to cover basic office and facilities (e.g. library access etc.) and minor/day-to-day consumables (e.g. photocopying, telephone calls, etc.) although major additional research related costs (e.g. linked to specific research methods such as survey/ fieldwork costs or development of project-specific digital resources) may be requested as direct costs where appropriate.
  • Overheads for:
What costs can’t the grant cover?
  • Any Fees for undergraduate or postgraduate courses.
  • First class travel costs or priority visa fees.
  • Travel/trips which show no real outputs for professional development.
  • Applications made on behalf of applicants without the applicants’ agreement.
  • Costs for activities that don’t adhere to ODA Compliance.
  • Capital or infrastructure expenditure is not an eligible cost.
  • Costs for equipment purchase under £10,000 should only be considered where significant use of equipment is required specifically and primarily or solely for the proposed research activity and/or where this is more cost effective for the project than other options such as hiring equipment.
What should be included in the budget justification?

This is an explanation of the required resources.  Applicants should include:

  • Justification of the need for investigator time, consultancy, or subcontracting, considering the administrative responsibilities of running a project.
  • The need for facilities or staff must be justified, but we do not need a justification of their value.
  • Estates costs need not be justified.
  • Cost for items expected to be found in a host institution must be justified.

A basic budgeting table is included in the application form, along with an Excel budget document, where you must provide a full breakdown of costs.