Africa Oxford (AFOX)/Nekton Marine Science Fellowship 2019 for Seychellois Researchers

SeyCCAT and Nekton are pleased to announce a special partnership and a Request for Research Proposals (RFRP)

Application Deadline: 18th January 2019 – no later than 5PM Seychelles time.

Eligible Countries: Seychelles

About the Award:  The Seychelles Nekton Deep Ocean Expedition is a partnership between Seychelles and Nekton to undertake pioneering research, capacity development and public engagement to support the implementation of Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan (including 30% protection of the EEZ) and the sustainable development of the Blue Economy.

The expedition will take place in March and April 2019 and consist of three distinct Legs. Leg 1 of the expedition is to Farquhar Islands; Leg 2 is to Aldabra, Leg 3 is to Amirantes. The expedition goals have been co-produced, in locations jointly agreed at a recent stakeholder workshop. Please see further details of science questions, expedition locations and timings in the Appendix below.

For this special Deep Blue Grants Fund research focussed call, we are seeking projects that align with either of the following strategic objectives.

• Strategic Objective 1: Support new and existing marine and coastal protected areas and sustainable use zones.
• Strategic Objective 2: Empower the fisheries sector with robust science and knowhow to improve governance, sustainability, value, and market options.

Type: Grants

Eligibility: Successful projects proposals will need to meet one or more of the following criteria specified by Nekton:

• Include a training element to develop capacity in Seychelles for enhanced marine research or monitoring;
• Include a research question or survey approach which could be applied on a national or regional scale to provide additional data for policy and management decisions;
• Include collaboration with one or more Seychelles Nekton expedition scientists;
• Incorporate Nekton approaches or tools, such as GOSSIP (the General Ocean Survey and Sampling Iterative Protocol) and OCTOPUS (the Ocean Tool for Public Understanding and Science).

Number of Awards: 4-6 Awards

Value of Award: The current expectation is that SeyCCAT and Nekton will award between four – six Seychelles research projects (maximum US$ 20,000 / SCR 250,000 each) – to a maximum value of US$ 80,000 / SCR 1M. PLUS: One exceptional Seychellois researcher could also be awarded a new AFOX Marine Science fellowship to study in Oxford!

How to Apply: 

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage see link below) before applying
• GOODLUCK!

Visit Programme Webpage for Details