Frequently asked questions

Research institutions from selected African countries and from Germany with a clear expertise in the field of marine sciences working in partnership. It is required that one partner organisation submits the application and acts as coordinator of the Co-design phase.

Join our info session on 20 October including a Meet & Greet to find partners for Nature-based Solutions research projects.

MeerWissen supports partnerships of at least one African and one German academic institution based on a jointly submitted proposal. They can involve additional partners. MeerWissen will provide funding for up to three implementing organisations once full project implementation starts after the Co-design phase.

These additional third partners can either be an additional African or German partner or they can be based in a country outside Africa or Germany. However, the overall focus of the MeerWissen initiative on strengthening capacities in African partner countries needs to be clearly reflected and at least half of the funding for the implementation of the joint project must go to the African partner organization(s).  

All grant-receiving partners must have public-benefit / non-profit status and fulfill the legal and commercial eligibility requirements. 

Algeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Tunisia.

MeerWissen supports partnerships of at least one African and one German academic institution based on a jointly submitted proposal. They can invite/involve additional partners. MeerWissen will provide funding for up to three implementing organisations once full project implementation starts after the Co-design phase. 

These additional third partners can either be an additional African or German partner or they can be based in a country outside Africa or Germany. However, the overall focus of the MeerWissen initiative on strengthening capacities in African partner countries needs to be clearly reflected and at least half of the funding for the implementation of the joint project must go to the African partner organization(s).  

All grant-receiving partners must have public-benefit / non-profit status and fulfill the legal and commercial eligibility requirements.   

Locally active African NGOs whose core mission and activities are in the field of research are eligible for funding if they are invited by the academic partner organisations (research institutions) as partner in their partnership projects.

Please send all relevant documents in one email to: meerwissen@giz.de with the subject line: Application for the 3^rd MeerWissen Call for Proposals on Nature-based Solutions

Please submit only one application package per projectand include the following filled out documents:

• application template,
• budget table for the Co-design phase,
• checklist on legal and commercial eligibility
• cooperation agreement between all partners.

31^st December 2021

The reviewers judge proposals according to the

• Reflection of the thematic focus and social and political relevance
• Contribution to overall objectives of MeerWissen and the UN Ocean Decade
• Reflection of partnership of equals
• Integration of gender and intergenerational equality
• Plausibility of project logic
• Quality of proposal for Co-design phase
• Consideration of sustainability of project impacts and outputs

Next to members of the MeerWissen Secretariat independent scientific experts selected by the MeerWissen Secretariat will review the proposals. Evaluation of applications to this call will also involve the Ocean Decade Coordination Unit and will simultaneously evaluate the eligibility of the selected research projects to be endorsed as official Decade Actions.

This call follows a two-stage process:
The funding decision with go-ahead for the Co-design phase is expected to be announced at the end of February 2022.
Approval of funding for the full two-year project implementation phase will be based on the successful completion of the Co-design phase and the quality of the full co-designed project proposal that is to be submitted three months before the Co-design phase ends.

Each project will be funded with up to 360.000 EUR (for both co-design and implementation phase). 

Up to two years and nine months, beginning with the Co-design phase in June 2022 and ending in February 2025. 

Funding for the Co-design phase is expected to commence in June 2022.

MeerWissen seeks to support partnerships of equals. All partners’ active commitment is a prerequisite for participation in the MeerWissen funding programme. The strong partnership is achieved through a Co-design approach to ensure that project partners are working at eye level, jointly setting priorities and that outcomes meet local needs and can be used by all partners as well as decision-makers. Within the dedicated Co-design phase prior to implementation, project partners should address at least these four themes: common vision and shared understanding, stakeholder engagement, project and partnership management and sustainability. Please find more information in the Guidelines for Co-design.

This call has been developed as a contribution by the MeerWissen Initiative to the Ocean Decade and it forms part of the Ocean Decade’s Call for Decade Actions No. 02/2021. Successful projects will be endorsed as Decade Actions and formally recognised as part of the Ocean Decade, which means that they will be able to use the Ocean Decade logo in their communications and awareness raising activities in accordance with Decade Brand Guidelines.

Proponents will become members of the Ocean Decade Global Stakeholder Forum, including thematic and geographical Communities of Practice. Once endorsed, Proponents of Decade Actions will be asked to provide simple annual reporting on the progress of their Action.