British Council  - Amazonia Brazil / UK -International Science Partnerships Fund The Capacity Building for Amazonia +10 initiative focuses on the Brazilian Amazon and its under-represented groups, forming part of the broader Amazon+10 Initiative—a coalition of 25 State Research Foundations across Brazil established in 2022. This initiative aims to support and fund a sustainable development model for the Brazilian Amazon through Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I). With an initial investment of nearly £7 million in Research and development (R&D) projects across the nine states within the Legal Amazon, the strategy endeavors to foster a socio-biodiversity economy while enhancing collaboration networks and research opportunities for PhD and MSc researchers, whose capacity currently lags behind the national average. The proposal seeks to integrate with the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) by co-designing interventions with Brazilian partners to strengthen capacity and promote bilateral research collaborations, fostering engagement between UK and Brazilian researchers, particularly in the Legal Amazon and other contributing institutions. Workshops will cover topics such as biodiversity and climate change, protection of traditional communities, urban challenges, and bioeconomy to support sustainable development. Open to lead researchers from universities and research institutions in both the UK and Brazil, the grants aim to support international development, enhance early career researcher capacity, and establish or develop sustainable long-term research links.
This initiative is ODA-eligible as it focuses on the economic development and welfare of the Brazilian Amazon, directly benefiting local communities by promoting sustainable development, enhancing research capacity, and fostering inclusive growth in a region classified as a developing area. The project aims to bolster the Amazon+10 initiative by funding six post-docs in the UK, focusing on the Amazon and under-represented groups, and providing travel grants for UK researchers to participate in a nationwide scientific congress led by The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and Amazonia +10 FAPs. This engagement will help UK researchers build networks to support bi-lateral research collaborations within the Amazon+10 initiative under the ISPF. Capacity-strengthening workshops, led by UK and Brazil PIs, will promote a sustainable development model for the Amazon through  Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I). The overarching objectives are to support international development and relevant research, build the capacity of early career researchers, and establish or significantly develop sustainable research links. The programme will identify concrete research challenges in the Legal Amazon, finance mission-oriented research, strengthen regional and intra-regional ST&I infrastructure, and fund collaborative research involving local actors. It aims to mobilize local researchers and their external partners, integrate scientific and traditional knowledge from the region, engage local communities, and disseminate research results widely. By addressing these objectives, the programme meets the ISPF and Official Development Assistance (ODA) purposes by focusing on the primary ODA objective of promoting the economic development and welfare of developing countries, ensuring that the research directly benefits the local communities in the Amazon region and contributes to sustainable and inclusive growth.