The overall objective of this stream is to stimulate interdisciplinary and scientifically significant research on the regional origins and implications of climate change. Three distinct types of activities are envisaged to fulfill this component:

The stream will start with an inception six-day training. This training will have two components;

(i) The common three-day training explained in the activities page
(ii) Advanced research training.

The latter will last for three days. This training will include understanding concepts of climate variability and change modelling at various times and space scales, understanding the approaches to regional and local climate studies based on existing climate analysis methods, efficiently planning for experiments or surveys and methods and tools for data analysis. As in the policy stream, selected researchers will be expected to develop a draft proposal describing what kind of research the applicants would like to conduct before coming for the inception training.

The research problem will need to have been informed by a comprehensive and relevant literature review of related national and regional climate research needs and its policy implications, for example from 5thARs, IPCC, AfDB, AU, IGAD and other sources. Selected researchers will receive feedback on how to elaborate and refine their draft proposals from the training facilitators as well as from other fellows from the three streams.

After the training, researchers will be expected to carry out national or regional climate change assessments and research on Vulnerability, Impact and Adaptation (VIA) on thematic areas informed by the gaps identified from key sources (e.g. IPCC5thARs as well as AR6 themes, AfDB, AU and IGAD) that can address issues of concern to both the science and policy-making communities and contribute to the future rounds of IPCC’s Assessment Reports. To ensure relevance of the research problem, national or regional assessments will be conducted, supported by IRA, with participation from the science and stakeholder communities of the nation or region and with support from IPCC and UNFCCC focal points.

Each of the ten (10) researchers with high quality research proposal will be eligible to receive a 8 to 12 month research grant of US$9,000 to carry out their proposed research. Each researcher will be working with a mentor who will have been identified during the inception training. The mentor will guide the research work at critical points (e.g. final research proposal, research results and their discussion) and will review papers produced to ensure they are of high quality to be published in peer-reviewed journals and cited in AR6.

The research results produced will be used to guide planning and implementation of national or regional vulnerability and adaptation research and assessments that will advance knowledge beyond the findings of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report and provide new knowledge from nation or region for input to future IPCC reports (such as the upcoming 6th Assessment report) and to inform policy and practice. The research findings will also be published in high impact peer-reviewed journals. With this contribution, the researchers should also be able to participate in AR6 committees. One of the ways of getting our researchers to participate in IPCC’s AR6 is for this program to join the ‘October Group’ (formed in a workshop held in October, 2016) that was created by the University College London’s Department of Science Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), which is looking to find concrete ways of enhancing African participation in climate assessments and the IPCC.