The 2012 Research Grants on Innovative Application of ICTs in Addressing Water-related Impacts of Climate Change are an initiative of the School of Computing and Informatics and the Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology (LARMAT) of the University of Nairobi, Kenya, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada.
The project aims to strengthen capacities of registered Masters and PhD students in universities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to more effectively engage in research on application of ICTs for water management under changing climatic conditions and attendant policy formulation. Eligible research grants will address the various dimensions of using ICTs to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacities of communities in developing countries. Priority thematic areas include:
- Modeling and mapping of water resources, weather forecasting and climate monitoring using ICTs
- Use of ICTs to strengthen the capacity of vulnerable communities to deal with stress due to climate change
- ICTs in vulnerability mapping
- ICTs in the “last mile” challenge of Early Warning System (EWS)
- ICTs in social learning and knowledge sharing
- Integration of indigenous knowledge with modern ICTs to cope with the hazards of climate change and water
- ICTs in creating more effective governance mechanisms to manage scarce and changing water resources
- Strengthening the building of partnerships, networks and stakeholder collaboration through the use of ICTs
The call for proposals is open until November 30, 2012. Application form, research proposal and support documents should all be uploaded through the project website: http://www.ictwcc.or.ke