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2020-2022

1. About the NDC Financing Fellowship Programme

The NDC Financing Fellowship Programme (hereinafter referred to as “NDC-FFP” or “the Programme”) supports and trains 50 exceptional individuals who are interested in further enhancing their knowledge and skills on NDC finance - i.e. the identification of key financial, human and technical resources to develop innovative NDC programmes and projects; analytical capabilities at the national level and the development of knowledge products, tools, and institutional innovations to address these issues. The Programme is divided into two tracks focussing on fellows from the policy sector and from the research sector respectively (hereinafter referred to as “policy track” and “research track”).

Through the fellowship programme, technical understanding is created and exchanged related to a topic of high relevance to the sustainable (economic) growth of many countries. By following a bilingual approach, fellowships will be awarded to Anglophone as well as Francophone candidates from Sub-Sahara Africa (applications from Lusophone candidates are also welcomed).

The Programme is funded by the International Development Research Centre (hereinafter referred to as “IDRC”) and implemented by the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (hereinafter referred to as “Frankfurt School”) and the African Research Impact Network (hereinafter referred to as “ARIN”).

More information on NDC-FFP can be found on the official website: https://www.frankfurt-school.de/idrc/ndcffp

NDC-FFP Set-up

Phase 1: The NDC-FFP will provide up to 50 full scholarships for the participation at the six-months e-learning certification course on NDC Financing, the Certified Expert in Financing NDCs (CEFNDC).

Phase 2: The best 20 performing fellows will qualify for the following classroom trainings and a online seminar series. One researcher per cohort qualifies for a 2-month internship at Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (Frankfurt, Germany) or the African Research Impact Network (Nairobi, Kenya).

2. NDC-FFP benefits and duties

Fellowship holders will receive the following benefits from the Programme (subject to change):

  • One out of 40 full scholarships for a six-months e-learning certification course on NDC Financing (Phase 1);
  • Qualification for further training and workshops during on-site events on emerging topics and leadership skills in Frankfurt and Nairobi for the best 20 performing scholars per cohort (Phase 2);
  • 2-month internship for one researcher per cohort (Phase 2);
  • Guidance by internationally recognised trainers and experts in NDC finance (Phase 2);
  • Regular dialogue sessions and peer learning through the Africa Research and Impact Network online seminars.

Fellowship holders are encouraged to fulfil the following duties:

Policy fellows 

  • Submit an assignment and participate successfully at the exam of the e-learning course (Phase 1);
  • Attend all trainings and events (Phase 2);
  • Participate actively and integrate their knowledge into online seminars (Phase 2);
  • Policy fellows are expected to write one blog and one policy brief and/or discussion paper (Phase 2);
  • Fellows are expected to be multipliers in their own country and to support the implementation of NDC finance (Phase 1 + 2);
  • Engage in the periodic dialogues convened through the ARIN platform (Phase 1 + 2).

Research fellows

  • Submit an assignment and participate successfully at the exam of the e-learning course (Phase 1);
  • Attend all trainings and events (Phase 2);
  • Participate actively and integrate their knowledge into online seminars, blogs, policy briefs and/or discussion paper (Phase 2);
  • Researchers are expected to write one blog and one policy brief and/or discussion paper (Phase 2); 
  • The research intern is expected to write one academic paper during the internship (Phase 2);
  • Fellows are expected to be multipliers in their own country and to support the implementation of NDC finance (Phase 1 + 2);
  • Engage in perioding research dialogues and learning under the ARIN platform (Phase 1 + 2).

The NDC-FFP will and cannot accommodate spouses, children or friends during on-site events.

3. Application process

Applications for the NDC Financing Fellowship Programme (NDC-FFP) have to be submitted via an online application system that can be accessed on the NDC-FFP website https://www.frankfurt-school.de/idrc/ndcffp. All information requested must be written in English and all mandatory questions have to be answered. Only complete applications will be accepted (please have a look at the application instructions that are available on the website).

Submission deadline for the applications is 31st July 2020, 11:59 pm (CET).

General eligibility criteria:
NDC-FFP supports, promotes and trains exceptional citizen or individuals working from Sub-Saharan Africa (applications from English- or French-speaking Lusophone candidates are also welcomed) from research and policy. For the first cohort, applicants should be proficient in English (both written and oral); showing strong motivation and commitment to take over responsibility and to stay with the programme.

Specific eligibility criteria:

Research Track: For the research track, the NDC-FFP invites (early career) researchers in universities, research centres, and action-research NGO's from Sub-Saharan African countries to apply for the programme and to work on a research project to NDC financing. To be eligible, the research fellow must meet all of the following requirements:

  • Be a PhD holder or in the process of completing a PhD candidate or a mid-career researcher from a Sub-Saharan African country working in financing NDC or related topics, such as finance of climate/environmental policy, financing sustainable development/transformation, climate finance sector development etc.
  • Relevant publication experience, having published at least one relevant journal article in English.
  • Concrete NDC finance-related research proposal related to one of the following topics (please use the provided research proposal template in the application mask): Topic 1: NDC finance (inlc. NDC project/programme development, i.e. a proposal on a particular project linked to NDC actions in the candidate's home country or cross-sectoral or cross-country learnings on NDC implementation); Topic 2: Finance of climate or environmental policy or strategies; Topic 3: Financing sustainable development/transformation; Special topic: Impacts of Covid-19 on NDC implementation
  • Providing a reference letter by an academic supervisor or a secondment letter from government department supporting the applicant's participation in the programme.

Poliy Track: The policy track is targeted to young and mid-career professionals primarily from the public sector who have around 5 years of work experience relevant for climate change and finance. Preferable, fellows should be at the forefront of NDC, climate mitigation and/or adaptation finance or climate policy implementation issues in their countries. To be eligible as a policy fellow, you must fulfil the following requirements:

  • Having an MSc or MA degree, preferably in a subject related to climate change, environment, economics, development studies, finance or business administration.
  • Having around 3-5 years of work experience in the public sector, working on climate change programmes and related sectors such as energy, water, agriculture, infrastructure / settlement (incl. coastal zones) or insurances and be involved in accessing, delivering, and monitoring/evaluating climate finance at the international, national and subnational level. Experience in climate financial management would be an asset.

NDC-FFP staff will pre-screen all applications to ensure that eligibility criteria are met. Incomplete applications or applications that do not meet all eligibility criteria will receive a notification and will not be considered in the further evaluation process.

An independent selection committee will review eligible applications and will select the candidates for the fellowship programme. Candidates might be interviewed via Skype or phone by a member of the selection committee.

All applicants will be notified upon their selection status in August 2020. Fellows who are accepted must send their confirmation (or rejection) of fellowship participation (Phase 1) within 7 days of receipt of the notification. If a candidate does not accept the fellowship or does not answer within 7 days, the first candidate on the waiting list will be offered the fellowship instead.

4. Contract

Accepted fellows for Phase 2 will be asked to sign a contract outlining the conditions of the Fellowship. The awarding of the Fellowship becomes factual through the signing of the fellowship contract. The contract has to be signed and sent back to by the fellowship candidate within 14 days after reception of the contract.

5. Non-fulfilment of the contract / Cancellation of the Fellowship

All fellows must attend all on-site as well as online events over the 12 months (Phase 2). Failure to attend one on-site event without notice as well as any behaviour that could bring discredit to the NDC-FFP is grounds for immediate dismissal and removal from the programme.

A fellowship holder who does not attain the objectives set in the approved work programme, or whose fellowship is cancelled due to serious violation of his/her duties, for reasons ascribable to him/her, might be forced to refund the total or part of the values already received, according to the circumstances of each case.

Please note that if a Fellow fails to comply with any one of the above-mentioned terms and conditions of the NDC-FFP Fellowship Programme, Frankfurt School and ARIN reserve the right to determine the appropriate course of action, including, but not limited to: (i) terminating the Fellowship before the end of the contract period; (ii) causing the Fellow's early departure from the program; (iii) and/or asking the Fellow to cover costs for incurred costs.

6. Exclusiveness

Each fellowship holder may not be the beneficiary of any other concurrent fellowship funding the same purpose, except when expressly agreed between the funding entities (Phase 2).

The fellowship holder is under the obligation to inform the funding entity about awards of any other fellowship or grant.

7. Travel expenses (Phase 2 only)

Transportation to on-site events has to be financed in advance by the fellows and will be reimbursed against receipt up to a fixed limit. The limit will be announced to the fellows before the respective on-site event takes place and is calculated based on current ticket prices. For the research internship, the Programme will cover travel, accommodation and board (no renumeration will be paid).

9. Reporting & Deliverables

The selected fellows will have to submit the following deliverables:

Policy Fellows:

  • Policy brief (~4 pages) or country case study on the assignment submitted in for the e-learning course (Phase 1);
  • Presentation of approximately 15 min. about the NDC and the investment plan (if any) in their country, current implementation status, challenges and barriers for the Policy Academy (Phase 2);
  • Preparation of an online seminar related to NDC financing and participation of 75% of the online seminars (Phase 2);
  • Blog entry about the experience during one of the components (Phase 2).

Research Fellows:

  • Policy brief (~4 pages) or country case study on the assignment submitted in for the e-learning course (Phase 1);
  • Further development of the assignment submitted in for the e-learning course during the internship into an academic working paper for Journal submission (Phase 2);
  • Preparation of an online seminar related to NDC financing and participation of 75% of the online seminars (Phase 2);
  • Blog entry about the experience during one of the components (Phase 2).
10. System Requirements

In order follow all NDC-FFP components smoothly, applicants should guarantee the following technical requirements:
Having access to a stable internet connection, enabling downloads of PDF files and other files with a size up to 5 MB, solving online tests and online assignments, opening forums, streaming videos and audio lectures.
The online platform works best with Internet Explorer 10.0+, Mozilla Firefox 31.0+, Google Chrome 42.0+ or Apple Safari 7.0+
The following browser settings have to be made: activate JavaScript, allow pop-up-windows (for http://linked.frankfurt-school.de), activate Java, approve Cookies
Having a PDF-reader, for example the Adobe Reader, which can be download for free at www.adobe.com as well as office software to be able to open MS-Word (.doc & .docx) and MS-Excel files (.xls & .xlsx). If you don't possess Microsoft Office you can download the free Open Office (www.openoffice.org/).
To be able to follow our video lectures a broad band internet access is required as well as a minimum of 1GHz CPU. Furthermore, you need to have the flash player installed, which is available for free at www.adobe.com.

11. Data protection and permission for use and disclosure of information

Frankfurt School will have access to all information related to the applications submitted for this fellowship, including the full applications, and the ranking and rating lists. Individual applications are otherwise considered strictly confidential and will be used for internal review and communication purposes only. Applications from rejected participants will be deleted immediately.

By way of applying to this call, the applicant consents to the disclosure of the documents submitted by the applicant to the reviewers involved in the selection process. The applicant further consents to the disclosure of the name of the applicant, and the title of the proposed project (for research track only) in any announcement of selected proposals. References are also submitted in complete confidence. Further information about GDRP compliance of Frankfurt School is available on our website: https://www.frankfurt-school.de/en/home/data-protection