Explore

2. Funding Landscape and Strategic Posture 2026–2029

1. Purpose and scope

This document outlines the funding system landscape within which CoRE-Math’s funding strategy operates for the period 2026–2029. It provides a structured view of the relevant funding environments and assigns strategic priority and posture within each system. It is not a catalogue of funders, but a selective, analytical reference for determining where CoRE-Math should and should not invest sustained fundraising effort.

The document is intended to support: management-level decision-making, prioritisation of leadership attention, and disciplined allocation of proposal development and dialogue effort.

It is not: an exhaustive funder inventory, a ranking of funders by size or prestige, or an operational funding plan or application calendar.

Comprehensive descriptive mappings are maintained separately in underlying landscape notes.

⁠

2. How to read this document

The funding environment relevant to CoRE-Math is not a single market, but a set of distinct funding systems with different logics, constraints, and roles.

Accordingly:

The strategic priority is assessed within each funding system.

“High priority” does not mean “large” or “general”, but strategically indispensable.

Some small or specialist actors are high-priority because they reliably support core activities.

Each funding-system section, therefore, contains:

A short orientation note, and

A strategic posture table that is authoritative for that system.

⁠

3. African and regional funders

Orientation

Africa-anchored funders are structurally central, not peripheral. The effective funding landscape is highly concentrated, with only a small number of actors serving as anchors or decisive enablers.

Strategic posture: African & regional actors

Funder

Priority

Strategic role

Rationale

African Development Bank

Thematic complement

Relevant only through applied narratives (skills, digitalisation, climate); medium-term prospect.

Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA)

Regional enabler

Essential for QA, harmonisation, and preparatory work for collaborative doctoral programmes in East Africa.

National Research Foundation (SA)

National anchor

Critical where South African nodes host or coordinate doctoral and research components.

Oppenheimer Memorial Trust

Postgraduate training and excellence anchor

One of very few African foundations credibly funding postgraduate training and academic excellence.

Science for Africa Foundation

Pan-African anchor

Most important Africa-based science funder; strong fit when mathematics is framed as enabling infrastructure (data, AI, systems).

There are no rows in this table

⁠

4. European Union

Orientation

The European Union is a multi-pillar funding system, not a single funder. Strategic relevance for CoRE-Math varies significantly by instrument, rather than by programme family.

Strategic posture: EU instruments

Instrument

Priority

Engagement mode

Strategic rationale

COST

Network-driven

Valuable for Africa–Europe research coordination; not a capacity-building instrument.

Erasmus+ CBHE

Call-driven

Core instrument for institutional cooperation, QA, curricula, and governance; strong fit with doctoral-ecosystem logic.

MSCA Doctoral Networks

Opportunistic

EU-centric, administratively heavy, weak on Africa-led institutional capacity; not a strategic pillar.

NDICI – Intra-Africa Academic Mobility (IAAMS)

Call-driven

African-led mobility at scale; aligns well with networked PhD and staff mobility framed as development cooperation.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

5. Foundations

Orientation

Foundations differ primarily by mode of engagement, not topic. Strategic relevance depends on whether CoRE-Math is concept-ready, dialogue-ready, or contextually aligned.

Strategic posture: foundations

Foundation

Priority

Engagement mode

Strategic rationale

Foundation

Engagement mode

Strategic rationale

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Concept-driven

Concrete concept note exists; strong fit for excellence-oriented research and advanced training.

Mastercard Foundation

Dialogue-based

Dialogue brief exists; large-scale potential but requires careful systems framing and senior engagement.

Schmidt Futures

Contextual / watch

Possible future fit for ICMS-like frontier science and maths-and-society models.

Siemens Stiftung

Call-driven

Relevant only through narrowly aligned thematic or experimental calls.

Simons Foundation

Instrument-driven

Strong disciplinary complement; selective fit only.

Volkswagen Foundation

Call-driven

Relevant only through narrowly aligned thematic or experimental calls.

XTX Markets

Initiative-based

Well suited for flagship, visible activities (industry–mathematics interface).

There are no rows in this table

⁠

6. Public development funders (non-EU)

Orientation

Public development funders remain the closest functional analogues to Sida’s historical role, particularly in doctoral environments and institutional capacity building. This landscape encompasses both system-level development donors and national academic cooperation agencies, whose instruments play a complementary yet structurally important role in sustaining training pipelines and institutionally anchored cooperation.

Strategic posture: public development funders

Funder

Priority

Role

Rationale

DAAD

Training and cooperation anchor / pipeline funder

Long-term public agency for international academic cooperation; strong presence in Africa; relevant for doctoral training, staff development, and structured university partnerships; not a cluster-level backbone funder, but an important complementary public-development instrument. Demonstrated relevance to mathematics environments (e.g. AIMS, university partnerships).

IDRC

Structural anchor

Strong conceptual and operational alignment with systems-oriented capacity development.

International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP)

Multilateral convening and co-funding instrument

IBSP has an explicit mandate to support basic sciences. Best used as a co-funder of summer schools, workshops, or thematic activities.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Component funder

Consistent HE and research-capacity support; realistic as modular or complementary funding.

Norad (NORHED / successor)

Structural anchor

Proven willingness to fund research-based HE capacity and doctoral environments; requires Norwegian institutional lead.

NWO-WOTRO, successors (Netherlands)

Thematic complement

Relevant only when mathematics is embedded in applied development themes.

VLIR-UOS / ARES (Belgium)

Anchored institutional funding

High potential when anchored at 1–2 universities; not network-wide funding.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

7. Specialist funders in the mathematical sciences

Orientation

Specialist actors are not substitutes for public or foundation funding. Some are nevertheless strategically indispensable for specific CoRE-Math pillars.

Strategic posture: specialist funders

Funder

Priority

Role

Rationale

CIMPA

Schools anchor

Repeated funding of CoRE-Math summer schools; explicit interest in expanding East Africa activity.

CIRM

Research host

Disciplinary research venue; complementary only.

EMS-CDC

Episodic support

Small-scale, donor-dependent or society-run schemes; not strategic.

ICMS

Thematic platform

Host for thematic programmes (e.g. Mathematics for Humanity); no external funding role.

ICTP

Training complement

Important for individual training and visibility; not a programme funder.

LMS

Episodic support

Small-scale, donor-dependent or society-run schemes; not strategic.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ··· in the right corner or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.