The African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) promoted skill building on adaptation research in Africa. From 2008 to 2016, more than 300 fellows – PhD and post-docs students, as well as individuals from government and NGOs – participated in the program. 

Fellows were matched with universities, research centers, and other host organizations across Africa where they collaborated with mentors to implement individually designed projects that assessed and prioritized climate risks, investigated practices for designing and implementing adaptation actions and considered approaches for integrating adaptation with planning and practice. 

The program was designed to provide a holistic fellowship experience through combining research funding with specialized trainings and targeted opportunities for national, regional and international exchange and collaboration.

The program created an active and engaged community of individuals and institutions dedicated to building scientific capacity in Africa to manage climate change. Many ACCFP fellows became ambassadors linking their home and host institutions, catalyzing knowledge sharing, interaction and exchange that extended beyond the duration of the fellowship.