In 2009 the APPEAR programme was conceived to implement the strategy for higher education and research of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC). The overall objective of APPEAR is to strengthen the scientific foundation and institutional capacities in higher education, research and management in the ADC partner countries. Since then 107 projects, (64 Preparatory Funding, 37 Academic Partnerships and 6 Advanced Academic Partnerships) and 191 scholarships have been implemented by the OeAD. Based on the experiences of the previous programme phases and the results of an external project and programme evaluation the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) decided to extend the programme for another seven years. The total budget for the upcoming period (2020–2027) is approximately 19 million euros. 75 per cent of the overall budget will be spent on projects and 25 per cent on scholarships. The eighth call will tentatively open on the 1st of February 2021.
What are the main changes?
The programme design of APPEAR III follows to a large extent the previous programme phase. However, in order to further improve the attainment of the overall objectives and reflect the changing developmental context some innovations have been added.
- Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
Following the international development agenda APPEAR will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- New funding instrument: Extended Impact Partnership
This instrument is available to consortia which have successfully completed an APPEAR Academic Partnership project or an APPEAR Advanced Academic Partnership project. The aim of the instrument is to enhance the impact of the completed project(s) by focusing on the application and uptake of the achieved results. Consortia of academic institutions can invite non-academic institutions to join, if required, for enhancing impact.
- New eligible countries: Albania and Kosovo
For cooperation projects with Albania and Kosovo, special requirements apply. While all the instruments are available to partnerships with institutions in Kosovo and Albania, only development research projects are eligible for funding. Projects focusing on higher education or the strengthening of management capacities are not eligible. Furthermore, projects must be in line with the priorities of the ADC in Kosovo and Albania. The consortia must elaborate on why the project fits best to APPEAR and cannot be funded by other programmes.
- New guiding principles
Leave no one behind is a central principle of the Agenda 2030 and is also a new guiding principle for APPEAR underlining the importance that higher education cooperation must be socially just and inclusive. Furthermore, the concept of open access and open data have to be considered by project consortia, in order to enhance access to and dissemination of project results.
