Call for Applications: Mastercard Foundation and University of Cambridge Climate Resilience and Sustainability Research Fund 2026

Ednah Carrick January 13, 2026

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Closing Date: 15 January 2026

Call for Applications: Mastercard Foundation and University of Cambridge Climate Resilience and Sustainability Research Fund 2026

Overview

The Mastercard Foundation and University of Cambridge Climate Resilience and Sustainability Research Fund (CReSus) aims to catalyse new and strengthen existing collaborations between researchers in Africa and Cambridge and support high quality training activities. The focus of the scheme is research on climate resilience and sustainability. This focus is interpreted broadly so long as the linkage of the research to these areas can be justified in the application for the award.

Awards are made to pairs of researchers (post-doctoral level and above although due consideration will be given for equivalent experience), one from an African university or research institution and one from the University of Cambridge. CReSus encourage applications from across the sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts and from all academic subject areas. CReSus particularly encourage innovative research. Multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research proposals and research related training activities are welcomed.

This fund is part of the Africa Climate Collaborative – a partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the University of Ghana, Makerere University, University of Cape Town and University of Cambridge. Together, the partners are empowering young Africans to lead climate resilient and sustainable futures.

The research fund is supported by a generous £7.7million investment by the Mastercard Foundation and will run from 2025 to 2030. The Mastercard Foundation and University of Cambridge Climate Resilience and Sustainability Research Fund will follow an annual cycle of awards until 2029 when the award will support activities for the year 2029-30. It is anticipated that most awards will be made for activities that will take place over a 12-month period.

The first call took place in spring 2025. The second call is now open for applications until 15 January 2026.

Eligibility

Applications are invited from pairs of researchers (post-doctoral level and above) from the University of Cambridge and African universities or research institutes, across all disciplines to initiate and/or strengthen research collaborations that address key challenges in climate resilience and sustainability. In this round, CReSus will also consider Research Catalyst applications from NIAB and Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Awards available:

Applications can be made for a Research Catalyst Grant for up to £20,000 or a Workshop Grant for up to £50,000 regardless of discipline and dependent on justification for funding requested.

All applicants must ensure they read the Guidance for Applicants, including eligibility criteria, before applying.

Any questions or requests for assistance can be directed to [email protected]

How to apply

The online application form has been designed to allow both applicants (Cambridge and Africa-based) to log in, update, save and eventually submit electronically.

To access the form, the Cambridge based applicant must Register Here. Only applicants with @cam.ac.uk, @niab.com and @sanger.ac.uk email addresses can register.

The Cambridge-based applicant must then log in to the Mastercard Foundation and University of Cambridge Climate Resilience and Sustainability Research Fund (CReSus) application form, where they will see the words “Invite a 2nd applicant to view/edit this submission”. Click on this link in order to invite the Africa-based applicant to register and edit the forms.

The Cambridge-based Principal Investigator must register and complete a savable online
application form, available on the Cambridge-Africa website. Final submissions should include
the following documents:

Case for support, including details of how the collaboration is expected to work
An itemised budget (template provided)
A lay summary
A letter of support from the department/faculty of the Cambridge-based PI. (For the
Department of Engineering, a letter of support from the Head of Division is needed). An
email from an institutional email account is also acceptable.
A letter of support from the department/institution of the Africa-based PI. An email from an
institutional email account is also acceptable.
CVs (maximum 2 pages) for both the Cambridge-based and Africa-based PI
The details of two suggested referees are also required. These should be individuals who have
no conflicts of interest with the applicants (e.g. they should not be from the same
Department).