Strengthening climate research capacity in Africa: lessons from the ‘Climate impact research capacity leadership enhancement’ project

Abstract Climate Change research plays a pivotal role in Africa’s sustainable development by providing the required scientific evidence to inform the design of Africa’s development priorities. The need for enhanced climate research is heightened by the fact that Africa is one of the regions likely to be most affected by the impacts of global warming and climate change. This paper highlights some key lessons learnt from the provision of climate research support in Africa under the Climate Impact Research Capacity Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE) project implemented by the African Academy of Sciences and the Association of Commonwealth Universities in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, Vitae, and the University of Greenwich’s Natural Resources Institute. The paper discusses the early-career research support landscape in Africa, the place of institutional strengthening in climate research programming, and the need for a well-coordinated community and public engagement in the climate research projects. Lessons from the CIRCLE programme provide useful insights for future climate research programme design and early-career research support initiatives in Africa.