Call for – ecosystem partner for the IAU enterprise and innovation challenge

This application has been discussed and agreed between both lead partners who are aware of this project.  

Each proposal must have both:  

• one Lead institution from the UK
• one Lead institution from the Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa; and  
• The proposal must be prepared jointly by leaders from both institutions but submitted by the Lead from the UK Institution. 

The application form and supporting documents have been completed in English.

UK led institution must be one of the following:  

• Higher Education provider with degree awarding powers.   

o England - Check the ‘awarding degrees’ drop down section on the specific provider’s entry on the OFS register. The OFS register lists all institutions which offer UK degrees, not all of which have degree awarding powers.  

o Northern Ireland – https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/universities-and-colleges-northern-...

o Scotland – https://www.gov.scot/policies/universities/ 

o Wales – https://www.gov.uk/check-university-award-degree/recognised-bodies-wales 

• Not-for-profit research institutions, establishment and organisations.  (See Annex 1 for a complete list of these).  

• Any public or private organisations with a role in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET)/Further Education (FE) system  

Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa lead institution must be one of the following:  

• Higher Education provider, as locally defined 
• Not-for-profit research institutions, establishments and organisations, as locally defined 
• TVET/FE provider, as locally defined 

The Lead institution in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa must have the capacity to administer the grant. They need to submit a support letter to confirm their capacity, and capacity must be confirmed in the support letter. 

Institutions must have the capacity to administer a grant and satisfy British Council requirements to prevent bribery, fraud and professional misconduct. Applicants confirm that they comply with British Council requirements by responding to Pre-submission Confirmation in the application form.

The partnership can include in their proposals Associated Partners (from both Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa and the UK) affiliated with:  

• Higher Education providers 
• Not-for-profit research institutions, establishment and organisations 
• TVET/FE providers  
• Other education organisations/charities/foundations/membership bodies  
• Not-for-profit organisations, including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)  
• For-profit/commercial organisations, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs)  
• Government organisations 
• Employer organisations and industry bodies 
• Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Social Enterprise organisations 

For-profit non-education organisations are not eligible to receive any grant funds, except to cover travel-associated costs. The proposal must clearly define their contribution to achieving call objectives.

Applicants may be asked to adjust their budget if their request does not fit within funding guidelines or if this is considered not appropriate by the application reviewers.

All applications should be completed and submitted on Good Grants platform. It is possible to download a blank version of the application form to enable your partnership to develop your answers together before it is submitted. 

The deadline for applications is 17:00 on 31/10/2025. We recommend that you submit at least an hour before to avoid any last-minute technical glitches.

Due to the volume of applications, we receive, any application received after specified deadline will be considered ineligible. 

Ensure you have included all of the documentation listed in the Pre-submission Checklist as incomplete applications may be immediately regarded as ineligible.  The British Council receives large numbers of applications to its funding calls, and for this reason we cannot facilitate resubmission process should your application be deemed ineligible. 

Please ensure that process of seeking institutional approval required for the application submission should be initiated timely. Each Grant call remains open for 4-6 weeks, which is a sufficient time to get required approvals and documents like CV’s, supporting letters etc. 

Please send the application form and the other required attachments (budget sheet, CVs, etc.) as separate attachments, please do not merge them into a single file.

If you require any access adjustments or have any additional support or learning needs in order to submit the application, please contact us prior to the deadline on SSAhighereducation@britishcouncil.org

Applicants for all calls must submit a completed online application form at the following link: https://goingglobalpartnerships.grantplatform.com/

If you are unable to use the online application for reasons of accessibility, please contact us at SSAhighereducation@britishcouncil.org.