DFG and NRF South Africa Sign New SGCI Partnership Agreement Focusing on Curiosity-Driven Research
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) South Africa have signed a third Partnership Implementation Agreement to continue supporting the Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) from 2026 to 2030.
© DFG
The SGCI is a multilateral initiative that currently brings together 19 research funding organisations (Science Granting Councils) across sub-Saharan Africa. Its mission is to strengthen national and regional research ecosystems through coordinated funding activities, institutional capacity development and international collaboration.
The DFG and the NRF have already supported the initiative in two previous partnership phases covering 2020-2022 and 2023-2025. Their collaboration has focused particularly on strengthening networking measures and support for regional South-South research funding calls, as well as promoting peer learning and exchange among participating Science Granting Councils.
With the newly signed agreement, both organisations reaffirm their long-term commitment to the SGCI and recognise the initiative as an important platform for mutual learning and international connectivity between research communities in Germany, South Africa and participating African countries.
The agreement was signed by DFG President Prof. Dr. Katja Becker and NRF Acting CEO Dr. Angus Paterson on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC) in Bangkok, Thailand.
The third phase of the SGCI marks an important strategic development. While earlier phases focused strongly on institutional capacity building, the initiative will now gradually place greater emphasis on research funding activities. This transition reflects the significant progress achieved over recent years.
Within the framework of their renewed partnership, the DFG and the NRF will place a particular focus on supporting curiosity-driven research (CDR). The growing interest among Science Granting Councils in this field creates new opportunities for both organisations to contribute their expertise as research funding organisations and to strengthen connections between regional and global research ecosystems.
The continued engagement of the DFG and the NRF in the SGCI is also linked to their co-hosting of the GRC Annual Meeting 2027 in Cape Town, South Africa, which will address the value and advocacy for CDR and will feature the SGCI and all participating SGCs on a global platform.
Learn more about the SGCI here: (externer Link).