Excell Malaria Programme (Africa)

• Grant Amount – up to $50,000
• Deadline – October 15, 2025
• CLICK HERE TO APPLY

The $50,000 Africa Research Excellence Fund invites applications from high-achieving Malaria researchers to be considered by their institution for nomination to the Excell Malaria Programme.

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For the AREF Excell programme, they will provide capacity building needed to equip African post-doctoral malaria researchers with the research leadership skills they need to progress and lead malaria research throughout their careers.

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AREF’s Excell malaria programme will enable 18 individual researchers from three participating institutions to build strong research careers, empower excellent teams, win research funds, work collaboratively, engage with research users – and so make an even bigger impact on improving health and saving lives.

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Objectives

• Outcomes orientation: To focus on developmental outcomes that benefit participating researchers and their home institutions and that lead to the production of excellent malaria research outputs.
• Organisational development: To have interventions that promote sustained institutional engagement in developing and managing their most talented malaria researchers, thereby enabling committed institutions to grow their research footprint, impact and outcomes.
• Individual development: To provide coaching, mentorship and experiential learning interventions that enable individuals to realise their research and leadership potential in the field of malaria research; develop their skills and capabilities; and to meet challenging research and career goals.

Themes

• The Researcher as Leader
• The Effective Researcher
• The Compelling Applicant
• The Researcher as Manager
• The Responsible Researcher

Benefits

• Intensive developmental support for five nominated “rising stars” from your institution.
• The opportunity to cascade their learning through your other institutional programmes.
• Cooperation and networking between participating institutions, sharing your experience and best practice – and engaging with other networks.
• Feed-through into greater success at winning funds and to research with greater impact.

Funding Information

• Up to 50,000 USD funding will be available to support a capacity-strengthening project involving your team, the core of which will be your institution’s Excell Institutional Lead and nominees. 
• Award money will be provided over two years, up to $30,000 in the first year and up to $20,000 in the second.

Eligibility:

• Institutions
  • This call is open to universities and research institutions internationally recognised for their contribution to malaria research, based in Africa. Note that such research institutions must be a legal entity established for purposes that include research and research training.
  • Applications will be submitted to AREF by a malaria Institutional Lead who, as designated Institutional Lead, is authorized to do so by the leadership of the institution. The Institutional Lead (as the named principal applicant) will be responsible for developing and implementing the Excell Malaria programme within their institution. 
  • Your application will need to be sponsored by the institution’s leadership: a named official with responsibility for research capacity development, such as the deputy-vice chancellor for research or the research institution’s director, must personally engage in local sponsorship and governance of the Excell programme.
  • Joint applications, such as between two universities or a university and an independent research institution, are welcome: one institution shall be identified as the lead and will be responsible for ensuring sound governance and implementation. 
  • AREF will not accept applications from institutions to add to an existing, funded researcher development activity that has the same objectives as Excell.
• Institutional nominees
  • To qualify as a participant for the Excell Malaria Programme, your nominees must meet the following eligibility criteria:
    • A national of an African state
    • Employed in an eligible institution in a post with a significant and specific research or research/teaching or research/clinic role.
    • Scientists and clinicians with a PhD: 2 to 8 full years of active postdoctoral research experience. Clinicians without a PhD:
      • Both an MD or research Masters,
      • 4- to 8 years of active research experience.
    • Active in malaria research with at least 4 publications in this field.
    • Declaration that they have not participated in an equivalent programme to Excell, or in separate training events that cover more than two of the AREF five Learning themes.
    • Institutions must rank their nominees so as to assist the AREF Selection Panel achieve a balanced yet diverse cohort of 15 outstanding individuals from across the three successful African institutions. 
    • Including ineligible nominees or evidence of a weak selection process will reduce the chance of the institution succeeding in its application.

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