York St John academics secure funding to empower climate change researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Dr Olalekan Adekola, Associate Professor in Geography, and Professor Alex Lo, Professor of Business and Sustainability at York St John University, have received funding from The British Academy to run workshops with early-career Sub-Saharan African climate researchers. They were successful in securing the maximum award value of £30,000 for his project ‘Amplifying Sub-Saharan African Climate Adaptation Research: Bridging the Epistemic Gap and Promoting Global Visibility’. 

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is facing significant challenges in adapting to climate change impacts, such as droughts. To address this, the project team will support early-career SSA researchers in enhancing their writing and publishing skills. Through workshops, mentorship, and collaboration, the project team will guide them on how to publish their work in international journals and books. 

The initiative will begin with an in-person workshop in Kenya (May 2026), followed by another in South Africa (October 2026), bringing together early-career researchers from the least-developed SSA countries. By increasing their representation and visibility in global climate science and policy debates, the project aims to promote climate justice by fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion of locally produced knowledge in worldwide climate solutions. 

Project lead Dr Adekola said:  

"Researchers tackling climate change in SSA remain significantly underrepresented in scientific publications, limiting their impact on global discussions. This disparity is also a matter of justice, as SSA has fewer opportunities to present and validate both science-based and indigenous knowledge solutions.  

“Alongside colleagues, we crafted The British Academy grant proposal to advance climate adaptation research in Africa. Our goal is to support emerging scholars and ensure African perspectives remain central to global climate discussions.” 

The British Academy International Writing Workshops provide support for early career researchers in developing countries. The workshops are funded by the British Government’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. Led by a team of academics, the workshops focus on enhancing researchers' writing and publishing skills, helping to bridge their underrepresentation in science publications and global climate discussions.  

Workshop team: Dr Olalekan Adekola, York St John University; Professor Alex Lo, York St John University; Professor Jessica Lamond, University of the West of England; Dr Gina Ziervogel, University of Cape Town; Dr Darlington Sibanda; University of Cape Town; Professor Daniel Olago, University of Nairobi; Dr Eunice Boruru, University of Nairobi. 

Find out more about the project on the The British Academy website. 

Call for Early-Career Climate Change Adaptation Researchers from Southern and Eastern Africa 

This opportunity is for early-career researchers with a PhD who are nationals of, and affiliated with, institutions in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or East African Community (EAC) regions. Applicants should be within 7 years of completing their PhD and actively engaged in climate adaptation research. Projects should take a broad social science approach and support locally led adaptation, with potential focus areas including climate justice, lived experiences, resourcing adaptation, nature-based solutions, and urban or peri-urban adaptation.

Participants will join a growing network of climate adaptation researchers and benefit from mentorship and collaboration with international experts. They will receive training in academic publishing, grant writing, and research communication, and have the chance to publish in a special journal issue or book chapter. Travel, accommodation, and meals for in-person workshops will be fully funded. The programme is committed to inclusion and encourages applications from underrepresented or marginalised groups in academia.

Complete the application form by 5.00pm (GMT) on Friday 13 June 2025.  

For enquiries, contact Dr Olalekan Adekola, email o.adekola@yorksj.ac.uk