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Call For Applications: Training on Climate And Disaster Risk Financing (CDRF)

Concept Note

With the financial support of the European Union (EU) and financial and technical support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Africa Adaption Initiative (AAI) through the project, "Enhancing Knowledge and Evidence to Scale-up Climate Change Adaptation in Africa", has the pleasure to invite you to apply to participate in an online Short Course Training on "Climate And Disaster Risk Financing (CDRF)" which will take place between 12^th September 2022 and 27^th October 2022. There will be four versions of the CDRF short course where each version of the course will be focused on a particular region (Eastern Africa, Anglophone North, and West Africa, Francophone North, West and Central Africa, and Southern Africa) and or language group (English, French, and Portuguese). Participants attending the course will be assigned to a training course that reflects the region they are a citizen of and or whether they speak either English, French or Portuguese.

The main objective of the training is to advance the capacity of senior government officials and decision-makers from across the African continent to understand the basic concepts and instruments of CDRF and assess, plan for, and utilize climate risk information to inform policy and strategy. Furthermore, the training covers discussing challenges and opportunities for developing countries in terms of accessing and managing climate and disaster risk finance, as well as the current opportunities, advantages, shortcomings, and areas for improvement of risk mitigation, reduction, transfer, and financing approaches.

Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to;

• Understand the climate and disaster risk environment in Africa, and be able to apply this knowledge within their own countries and contexts;
• Understand core concepts, principles, and instruments for CDRF in the African and their own contexts;
• Conduct In-depth risk context studies in supporting informed and effective CDRF;
• Identify types and sources of information (data) needed to assess climate/disaster risk in-depth, and utilize common assessment and analysis tools;
• Identify and mapping of various key stakeholders, prepare a value proposition of CDRF for these stakeholders and mobilize resources for CDRF initiatives

The CDRF course is designed to be taught virtually over a four-day training block, using a variety of teaching media with time divided between online teaching and discussion sessions, and periods of self-study. Each day of training sessions will be approximately 180 – 240 minutes in length, structured around specific themes comprising several different, yet related topics. These sessions and topics will be taught by lecturers and other experts from Stellenbosch University (as the hosting institution) but will include contributions from academics from the PERIPERI U consortium, industry experts, and potentially other partners. Readings supplementing teaching sessions will be prescribed for each theme providing additional context and insights to inform both class discussions and written work that participants must complete each week for assessment.

Teaching materials, readings, and recordings will be made available for participants to download through the Stellenbosch University short course teaching and learning platform SUNOnline. Participants will also have the ability to participate in online discussion forums to discuss readings, and topics and assist one another, as well as complete online quizzes and submit final assignments through this platform.

The course is designed for senior government officials from Ministries of Finance, Planning, Climate Change/Environment, Disaster risk Management agencies, and other related ministries and institutions. Priority will be given to the following target groups:

• Government officials from Ministries of Finance, Planning, Climate Change/Environment, Disaster Management Agencies/Ministries/Departments senior government officials.
• Female participants are strongly encouraged to apply.
• All applicants must be a citizen of an African state or provide evidence of long-term working experience in Africa.
• Participants must be able to confidently understand and communicate in French, English, or Portuguese (depending on the language of tuition and translation services available per course).

To apply for the CDRF training, applicants are requested to fill in this application form upon being nominated by their respective national governments and the regional organizations/supervisors. Completing the initial application process would not mean automatic acceptance of the course. All applications will be reviewed to ensure that applicants with the relevant background or experience are given preference, whereafter, applicants with other motivations for taking the course will be considered. More information on who can apply and which training they are eligible to apply for will be located at the end of this document.

Once participants have been accepted through this screening process, and their applications confirmed, they will be notified of their successful application and invited to register on the University's online short course registration platform. The participants will be provided with further instructions about their respective short course training, links to the online training sessions, and how to access their learning materials.

Submit your application via email to info@africaadaptationinitiative.org together with your application form. The deadline for submissions of Applications is August 26th, 2022, at 05:00 PM CET.