Announcing 2018's funded projects for the LIRA 2030 programme

In 2017, ICSU together with NASAC and the ISSC launched the second call for pre-proposals to identify research projects in Africa that explore the development of new approaches and strategies towards the innovative re-thinking of urban futures in the region – in partnership with local authorities, industry, communities, and government.

Following the call, over 130 collaborative pre-proposals were submitted, of which 31 were selected to attend a 5-day training workshop on trans-disciplinary research (28 August – 1 September 2017, Kampala, Uganda). Two and half months following the training, the participants submitted full proposals, which were reviewed by external experts and the LIRA Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). In February 2018, the members of the LIRA SAC met at the National Commission for Science and Technology of Malawi and selected 11 collaborative projects for funding, which are listed below. Each project will receive 90,000 EUR over two years and will become part of the LIRA scientific community. The project is supported generously by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

More detailed description of projects can be found here. If you are interested in contacting any of the projects, please e-mail katsia.paulavets@icsu.org.

The 11 projects receiving support in 2018

Principal Investigator	Project Title
Tolu Oni University of Cape Town, South Africa	Integration of housing and health policies for inclusive, sustainable African cities Participating countries: South Africa, Cameroon
Simiyu Sheillah Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya	Management of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya and Kumasi, Ghana Participating countries: Kenya, Ghana
Justin Visagie Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa	Realising the potential of urban density to create more prosperous and liveable informal settlements in Africa Participating countries: South Africa, Angola
Peter Elias University of Lagos, Nigeria	Standardising City-Level Data-Gathering towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11 in Africa (SCiLeD) Participating countries: Nigeria, Ghana
Safiétou Sanfo WASCAL, Burkina Faso	Green Spaces and Repurposing Waste: Building Capacities for Resilience in Urban and Periurban West Africa Participating countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana
Phumlani Stanley Nkontwana Stellenbosch University, South Africa	Bridging Decentralized Energy Planning with Neighbourhood-level Innovations in Cities of Africa: Case Studies from Ghana and South Africa Participating countries: South Africa, Ghana
Madelein Stoffberg Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia	Community led upgrading of informal settlements Participating countries: Namibia, Zambia
Buyana Kareem Makerere University, Uganda	Co-Creating an Urban Framework for Localised Norms on Sustainable Energy Participating countries: Kenya, Uganda
Alice McClure Climate Systems Analysis Group, University of Cape Town, South Africa	Transforming southern African cities in a changing climate Participating countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe
Lwetoijera Dickson Wilson Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania	Integrating sustainable water and sanitation solutions to create safer, more inclusive and climate resilient cities in Tanzania and South Africa Participating countries: Tanzania, South Africa
Sylvia Croese University of Cape Town, South Africa	Co-producing urban knowledge in Angola and Mozambique through community-led data collection: towards meeting SDG 11 Participating countries: Angola, Mozambique