Fellowships

• ...work in a business or policy related field or if you are a researcher in climate adaptation finance.
• ...are a highly motivated and committed person from a developing / emerging country.
• ...aim for an academic or professional career in adaptation finance.
• ...show a strong commitment to the AFFP, its objective and goals.
   

• 18-month comprehensive Fellowship Programme on adaptation finance free of charge (September 2018 to February 2020).
• Participation in a six-month Frankfurt School Development Finance e-Campus online certification course for climate adaptation professionals, the “Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance”.
• Training and workshops during on-site events on emerging topics and leadership skills in Frankfurt and Bangkok
• Access to a mentorship programme and tutoring with internationally recognised experts in climate & adaptation finance.
• Opportunity to discuss and present own projects and business cases during a webinar series and on-site events with international experts
• Opportunities to contribute to webinars, blogs, publications, reports and journal articles
• Continuous online discussions, network opportunities and access to international professional networks of peers and leaders in climate adaptation and finance
• Researchers only: non-refundable grant to conduct research on climate adaptation finance and publication opportunities
• Business / Policy only: participation in academies on leadership skills in Frankfurt.

Tuition fees, training materials, transport to and from Frankfurt and Bangkok respectively,* facilities, accommodation in a single room (incl. full board) and social activities for all workshops and academies will be covered.
No honorarium will be offered.

^{*Fellows will have to pay a deposit which will be reimbursed after the successful participation of the full fellowship programme. Transportation has to be financed in advance by the fellows and will be reimbursed against receipt up to a fixed limit.}

• Fellowship duration: September 2018 – February 2020
• Kick-off Workshop Bangkok: September 2018
• E-learning course: September 2018 – February 2019 (including final examination in mid-March 2019)
• Summer Academy Bangkok: mid 2019
• Winter Academy Frankfurt: end 2019
• Final Workshop Frankfurt: beginning 2020
   

Please also read the Terms and Conditions of the Fellowship Programme before starting your application.

Subject to change.

The policy track is targeted to young and mid-career professionals in developing and emerging countries, primarily within the public sector, who have a background and work experience relevant for climate change and finance.

The AFFP will provide profound knowledge about financing sources, instruments and actors, risk assessment and mitigation, as well as financing adaptation activities. This will advance understanding and effective decision making in the social, economic and institutional dimensions of adaptation finance.

Fellows are expected to participate actively in all trainings and events, and integrate their knowledge into webinars, blogs, policy briefs and/or discussion paper.

Fellows are expected to be multipliers in their own country and to support the development of national policies in general and through the design of appropriate allocation and mobilization of national or international financial resources. For the Policy Track, the AFFP seeks to recruit six (6) fellows for the second cohort 2018/2019, starting September 2018.

Requirements

Applicants for the Policy track should fulfil the following requirements:

• Early and mid-career professionals primarily from the public sector
• Having an academic degree, preferably in a subject related to adaptation, climate change, environment, economics, finance or business administration
• Having around 5 years of work experience in the public sector, working on topics related to climate change, adaptation, risk mitigation/assessment and preferably with a link to finance (e.g. water, agriculture, infrastructure / settlement sector, insurances). Financial experience would be an asset.
• Experience in accessing delivering and monitoring / evaluating adaptation finance at the international, national and subnational level.
• Citizen of a developing or emerging country
• Showing strong motivation and commitment to take responsibility and to stay with the programme.
• Be proficient in English (both written and oral)

The business track is designed for professionals with a background and work experience in the private sector, including microfinance, banking and insurance, project development or risk analysis. The AFFP offers business fellows to build capacity and explore ways to exchange with other fellows and trainers / mentors. The economic agents, or in other words, private sector firms and businesses are those who actually constitute the core of the transformation towards a low-carbon and climate resilient economy.

The AFFP will provide profound knowledge about financing sources, instruments and actors, climate-related risk assessment and mitigation options as well as financing adaptation activities. This will advance understanding and effective decision making in the social, economic and institutional dimensions of adaptation finance. The programme focuses on adaptation projects in water, agriculture, tourism, land use and infrastructure / settlement (including coastal zones) sectors and provides and enables the fellows to improve skills, to learn from each other but also to develop and discuss new ideas in the area of adaptation and barriers to financing adaptation projects. Fellows are expected to participate actively in all trainings and events, and integrate their knowledge into webinars, blogs, policy briefs and/or discussion paper. For the Business Track, the AFFP seeks to recruit six (6) fellows for the second cohort 2018/2019, starting September 2018.

Requirements

Business fellows have to fulfil at least the following requirements:

• Having an academic degree, preferably in a subject related to adaptation, climate change, environment, economics, finance or business administration.
• Having around 5 years of work experience in the private sector, including those in SMEs, microfinance, banking and insurance institutions, project developer, risk analysts, and NGOs.
• Citizen of a developing or emerging country.
• Showing strong motivation and commitment to take responsibility and to stay with the programme.
• Be proficient in English (both written and oral)

For the research track, the AFFP invites PhD candidates, post-graduates and early career researchers from developing and emerging countries to apply for the programme and receive funding to carry out research related to climate change adaptation finance.

The objective is to make sure that the young researchers are equipped with in-depth understanding of the mechanics of climate change adaptation and adaptation finance, particularly the knowledge and vision of how to support adaptation projects in their respective home countries. Moreover, this program aims to provide these fellows with opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue with each other, which ultimately would result in a creation of network of well-versed researchers who are committed to adaptation finance. The fellows in the research track are required to discuss research idea and present research paper to fellows from other tracks to link it to policy or business angle. Further, fellows are expected to participate actively at the training sessions and integrate their knowledge into webinars, blogs, policy briefs and/or discussion paper. For the Research Track, the AFFP seeks to recruit six (6) fellows for the second cohort 2018/2019, starting September 2018.

Eligible expenses

Each research fellow will receive a maximum research grant of USD 16,000 which will be paid in three installments according to the progress of research work. Research grants must be used for the activities directly associated with field research or desk-based research, survey cost, compensation for research assistants, software purchase, the dissemination of research findings, and other research expenses. Research funds may not be used to fund applicants’ salaries, tuition fees or other training costs.

Requirements

Applicants for the Research track should fulfil the following requirements:

• Be a PhD candidate or a mid-career researcher from a development country working in climate change adaptation and / or finance at universities, public/private research institutes or action research NGOs.
• Having done research and publish at least 2 papers on climate change or climate adaptation (in English). Research experience in adaptation finance will be given special consideration. 
• Concrete adaptation finance related research proposal and an academic supervisor providing a reference letter.
• Showing strong motivation and commitment to take responsibility and to stay with the programme.
• Citizen of a developing or emerging country.
• Proficiency in English (both written and oral)

Please also download the Budget Template before starting your application.

Remark: Selected candidates cannot change from Research Track to Policy or Business Track

Applications will be assessed by an experienced team of international experts in climate adaptation finance. Candidates might be interviewed via Skype or phone by a member of the selection committee.  The results of the AFFP selection process will be communicated via email in April 2018.

System Requirements

Technical requirements for AFFP participation

You need to have access to stable internet connection:

• enabling downloads of PDF files and other files with a size up to 5 MB
• solving online tests and online assignments
• opening the forum
• streaming the video and audio lectures

 Our online campus is best viewed with the following browsers:

• Internet Explorer 10.0+
• Mozilla Firefox 31.0+
• Google Chrome 42.0+
• Apple Safari 7.0+

The following browser settings have to be made:

• activate JavaScript
• allow pop-up-windows (for http://linked.frankfurt-school.de)
• activate Java
• approve Cookies

Finally, you need to have an PDF-reader, for example the Adobe Reader, which you can download for free atwww.adobe.com as well as an office software to be able to open MS-Word (.doc & .docx) and MS-Excel files (.xls & .xlsx). If you don't posses Microsoft Office you can download the free Open Office (www.openoffice.org/).

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your AFFP Team at j.fleer@fs.de.