Open Call: RIfS Africa Task Team

RIfS is launching an Africa Task Team for researchers living and working in Africa to define and address their regionally-specific challenges on climate information for society. The Task Team will facilitate and steer this work in Africa, and be a model for how RIfS might organize similar activities in other regions of the world.

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) has been coordinating global research collaborations for more than 40 years. Currently, with the impacts of climate change upon us, there is a priority on robust climate change information to inform regional decisions. For this reason, WCRP created a new Core Project on Regional Information for Society (RIfS) which is focused on the urgent interdisciplinary set of problems underlying this challenge.

The Task Team will become a body of the RIfS representing the regional interests of Africa. This Task Team will be majority African in membership and co-chaired by researchers living and working on the continent. The problem of the “missing middle” between climate research and stakeholder contexts appears in every region, and this Task Team will focus on the specific issues within Africa, and help shape the agenda for investment in research capacity in the coming years.

There will be dedicated coordinating staff capacity, based in Africa, to support the Task Team during an initial 2 year period, thanks to a partnership with the CLARE project (see below).

Expected outcomes

Contribute to:

Fostering collaboration and partnerships around frontier research on the generation, analysis, construction, and communication of robust climate change information aligned and engaged with stakeholder contexts;
Developing climate literacy and relevant capacity among the web of actors engaged in managing climate risk and building resilience to climate impacts;
Building an Africa Community of Practice around transdisciplinary approaches to climate and society;
Synthesizing lessons from pilot studies around the continent.

Tasks and responsibilities of the task team members

Define and participate in pilot projects;
Provide guidance and steering for the priorities of the Science Officer, and the postdocs;
Use their networks to promote the desired outcomes of the Task Team;
Advocate for the development of the pan-African research community as a whole, setting aside the particular interests of their own institution;
Work with the Science Officer to develop a prioritization of needed resources to develop research capacity on the African continent in the coming years;
Contribute to journal articles and/or white papers on these issues;
Share African perspectives about robust climate change information for decisions with counterparts in other parts of the world, by participating in activities of the RIfS Working Group on Robust Information;
Follow the WCRP Code of Conduct.

Co-chairs, to be selected from among the task team members, will additionally:

Chair meetings of the task team, including managing scheduling conflicts and circulating agendas;
Evaluate and recommend individuals to fill openings in the task team due to resignations or removal due to non-activity;
Report on the activities of the Task Team to the RIfS SSG, during at least four RIfS SSG meetings per year;
Work with the Science Officer to ensure that written reporting about major activities is completed in a timely manner;
Coordinate with the RIfS IPO as needed.

Expertise

We are seeking experts with experience in the development of robust climate information for decisions and stakeholder engagement, in addition at least one of the following:

Climate data incorporating observational records
Advanced statistical methods in climate applications
Global and/or regional climate modeling, and/or analysis of physical processes in climate model outputs
Social science-informed methods for assessing user needs and/or communicating complex information
Seasonal-to-decadal prediction
Operational climate service provision

The task team as a whole should collectively span this range of expertise.

Time commitment

Meetings will take place regularly, typically one hour every month, with a longer annual meeting (in-person, pending funding). In the first year, additional meetings may be necessary near the beginning, in May 2025, to review candidates for the postdoc positions. A multi-day meeting will occur alongside an in-person workshop in ±Sept 2025. Other meetings will primarily be online, with some face-to-face meetings, if possible, to leverage suitable opportunities. Some work will be necessary between the meetings to reach the objectives of the task team.

The initial membership term is 3 years to commence in May 2025, with possible two-year extension if the task team continues operating.

How to apply

To nominate someone (including self-nomination), please complete this application form.

Deadline

Applications must be received by March 15 at 17:00 UTC.

Selection process and criteria

The call selection panel will consist of members of the RIfS Scientific Steering Group (SSG), a co-chair from the RIfS Robust Information Working Group, a member of the WCRP Secretariat, with up to five active researchers from Africa.

The call selection panel will undertake the shortlisting of the applications. The identified names will then be submitted as a recommendation to the RIfS SSG for final approval.

Task Team membership will have a maximum size of 15 comprising:

2-3 co-chairs selected from researchers resident and active in Africa
2 members from the RIfS SSG
a majority of active researchers from Africa

Additional ex-officio membership will include:

RIfS International Project Office (IPO)
CORDEX IPO
Relevant donors supporting RIfS-related activities Africa, as identified by the Task Team

Remuneration

Task team members are not paid. Financial support to travel and participate in-person to relevant meetings may be available on a case-by-case basis.

Benefits to participation

As a task team member you will get exposure to a diverse community within the continent and internationally, as well as opportunity to connect with the broader RIfS and WCRP collaborators who are working on the frontier of scientific challenges and thought leadership. As a member of the Task Team you will also be contributing to advancing the added value of science for policy and decision makers, as well as gaining insight into the lived experiences and realities at the decision scale that implements solutions for society.

Diversity and inclusion

WCRP is committed to diversity and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from:

Early to mid-career researchers
Women and other underrepresented groups in climate science
Wide representation across geographic sub-regions of Africa

Majority membership of the Task Team will be from Africa. Meetings will take place in English, unless the Task Team decides otherwise.

About CLARE

CLARE is a flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience, funded mostly (about 90%) by UK Aid through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and co-funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. CLARE is bridging critical gaps between science and action by championing Southern leadership to enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards. Learn more about CLARE: www.clareprogramme.org

RIfS has partnered with CLARE for an initial two year period to support a Science Officer based in Africa to help coordinate across diverse, but related, efforts around the continent. There will also be two postdocs based at African institutions to work on pilot projects identified by the Task Team. The Task Team will provide guidance for these personnel, who will be contracted as remote members of the RIfS International Project Office.

Questions and contact

For questions about this call, please contact the RIfS office: open-calls@wcrp-rifs.org