DelPHE round four: We have just finished reviewing proposals under DelPHE round four. We received over 150 proposals from 21 of the 22 DelPHE focus countries; of these nearly 100 were sent to the UK for further review. There were some very interesting and diverse proposals; almost half were in our priority subject areas for round four. There were 59 bi-lateral applications, 52 multi-institutional and 44 involving three or more countries.

The Selection Committee will meet in the next couple of weeks to make the final decisions. Results will be communicated to all applicants via overseas British Council offices by the end of June. Successful proposals will be posted on the DelPHE website in July. For further information about the time line please refer to the timetable for round four

PMI2 funding for 2009-10: PMI2 connect provides funding to higher education institutions to help build international partnerships in a number of activities. In the third year of funding calls will be announced for the following activities:

• UK -China collaborative partnerships in employability and entrepreneurship-to be announced in June 2009
• International mobility of UK students, eligible countries for partnerships will be India, China (including Hong Kong), Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand -to be announced in June 2009
• Collaborative programme delivery, eligible countries to be confirmed -to be announced in September 2009

For more information visit the PMI2 website all applications and guidelines will be available on line when announced.

Environmental Change and Sustainable Livelihoods Projects: Climate change and its impact on the world we live in is an important issue for us all – particularly in parts of Africa where local communities are vulnerable to environmental changes and their impact on livelihoods and food security.

The School of the Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds is the UK partner for two current DelPHE projects that are focusing on climate change issues. Dr Andy Dougill, Head of the School and his colleague, Susannah Sulla, recently met with Stephen Dunnett, Project Delivery Manager from DelPHE’s UK team to give an update on the progress being made by both projects.

The first project is an established one looking at Transforming Ghana’s Land Policy for Sustainable Development where Andy and his colleagues are working in partnership with the University of the Gold Coast and Communications for Research and Development (COMFORD). This project is now in its third and final year and is currently focusing on community level participatory research as well as the development of curricula and modules for degree courses in sustainable development.  Community leaders have been very enthusiastic about their role in this project and have contributed eagerly during a series of community planning sessions.

The second project is still in its early months and focuses on Capacity Building in Climate Change with the Leeds team working in partnership with Bunda College in Malawi and the University of Botswana.  Andy had previously worked with the University of Botswana for many years on a number of other collaborative research projects. This new DelPHE project aims to develop capacity in both Malawi and Botswana relating to issues around climate change adaptability and the impact on local livelihoods. This will be achieved through exchanges of staff across institutions, collaborative research programmes and the development of new teaching materials.

Andy and Susannah both felt that one of the great strengths for these projects is that there were already strong links established with the project co-ordinators in the lead institution overseas before the projects even began – which has made ongoing communication between partners easier and more productive.