In its first cycle, The Africa Initiative at Washington University in St. Louis has awarded three pilot grants of $10,000 each to three projects.
The purpose of this pilot grant program is to advance collaborative research in the fields of health and human development and to forge meaningful research collaborations between faculty at Washington University and scholars at institutional partners in Africa.
“This pilot grant is our first move to connect and support faculty who are interested in preliminary research on the continent of Africa,” said Benjamin Akande, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Affairs-Africa at Washington University in St. Louis. “We had a robust group of applicants and we look forward to favorable outcomes.”
Proposals were reviewed and evaluated based on the following criteria: level of innovation, research significance, approach, feasibility to accomplish its specific aims within a year, and potential to attract external funding. “We are very excited to see the level of innovation and collaboration among our faculty –especially from schools that do not normally collaborate in the traditional way,” said Proscovia Nabunya, Research Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Africa Initiative.