Invitation to submit expression of interest
Funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Canadian International Development Scholarships (BCDI 2030) program aims to foster the social and economic development of people, particularly women, from eligible Francophonie and Commonwealth countries, as well as other Small Island Developing States. The eight-year program (2022-2030) promotes empowerment through providing learning opportunities for women and men committed to reducing inequalities and improving the lives of their communities.
BCDI 2030 closely aligns with the vision set out in Queen's new Global Engagement Strategic Plan, particularly as both are guided by values including mutually beneficial partnership, equity, and global impact for the Sustainable Development Goals. Such values necessitate a whole university approach, and we are looking to support a proposal that will include the voice, experience, connections and skills of various faculty and disciplines at Queen's.
To that end, we are now inviting expressions of interest from interested tenure-track and tenured faculty members. We are looking to hear from faculty who have deep, meaningful connections with partners in the eligible countries, and who also have a commitment to the SDGs that runs through their work. Each institution may only submit one application, in partnership with one or several of the 26 eligible partner countries. If multiple expressions of interest are received at Queen's, a steering committee will be convened to advise on how we might cluster these proposals together into a single cohesive institutional application.
Please review the Program Guidelines before submitting your expression of interest.
Opportunity Overview
BCDI 2030 aims to bolster partner countries' strategies to support leaders to become agents of change who will influence their communities through knowledge, skills, and attitudes that promote active citizenship.
Education and training opportunities focus on the needs of partner countries in priority areas of intervention related to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
BCDI 2030’s key thematic areas are:
✓ Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
✓ Climate Action
✓ Artificial Intelligence
✓ Health Sciences
✓ Green and Blue Economy
✓ Governance and Administration
This first call for proposals is worth $6 million CAD, and each institution may apply for $450,000 CAD in funding and is exclusively for scholarship projects. The second call is scheduled for 2024.
Program Focus
The BCDI 2030 Program has the following objectives:
- To provide scholarships to at least 51% of women, thereby promoting their access to learning and/or training activities that will enable them to develop skills that will give them a competitive advantage in the labour market and contribute to closing the gender gap.
- The provision of learning and/or training activities that directly address national priorities and the needs of partner countries to ensure sustainable economic and social benefits.
- The return of scholars to their home countries to contribute to the institutional capacity building of their nations and the development of their communities through increased agency and leadership, enabling them to become agents of change.
- Equal opportunity for all by ensuring that all targeted individuals have an equal opportunity, without discrimination, to participate in capacity-building activities, including the Scholarship Projects for Studies in Canada.
Eligible Partner Countries
Note that Queen’s must have an existing and active partnership with partners in the countries listed below.
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Egypt
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Ivory Coast
- Kenya
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
Process to Apply
- Read BCDI 2030 Program Guidelines
- Submit your expression of interest to the Vice-Provost, Global Engagement.
- Internal deadline: May 18, 12:00pm EDT.
- Internal steering committee meets May 19 to review internal proposals. Committee may advise clustering proposals together to form a strong single institutional proposal.
- PIs on selected proposals meet together in week commencing May 22 to plan joint external application.
- Complete external application.
- External deadline for institutional application: June 23, 3:00pm EDT.
Key Documents
Please consult the following resources to support you in the creation of your application.
Have Questions?
Email Tom Collier, Global Partnerships Coordinator in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Global Engagement.