Call for concept notes – Future Horn, future Sudans: multiple and competing centres   

The Cross-border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme brings together world-leading experts and local researchers to examine conflict-affected borderlands, how conflicts connect across borders, and the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour. Funded by UK International Development, XCEPT offers actionable research to inform policies and programmes that support peace.  

We are one of the UK government’s flagship conflict research programmes. Our focus on how conflict-affected borderlands and how conflicts connect across borders sets us apart. We view conflicts as complex systems that connect across borders and ensnare conflict actors and communities, intertwining the licit and illicit, the formal and informal.  

We argue that since conflicts are not bound by national borders, responses to conflict should not be bound by national borders either. Responses to conflict should be transnational. They should work at local, state, and regional levels and enable integrated and coordinated international responses. 

Chemonics UK is the lead implementing partner for XCEPT. Core partners during the life of the programme have included: The Asia Foundation; Chatham House; Conciliation Resources; King’s College London; Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center; and Rift Valley Institute.  

XCEPT also works with many other partners through the XCEPT Research Fund (XRF). These include grassroots organisations dedicated to building peace in their local area, innovative teams pushing the boundaries of how technology can be used to track conflict dynamics, and individual researchers with expertise in conflict-affected borderlands. 

XCEPT welcomes applications from both individuals and organisations.

Successful applicants will be responsible for receiving, managing, and reporting on the awarded funds, and must demonstrate the capability to do so in line with FCDO requirements for financial accountability and transparency. This includes maintaining appropriate financial systems and controls.

The awardee will also hold primary responsibility for duty of care, safeguarding, and risk management throughout the duration of the project, and must have appropriate approaches in place to manage these effectively.

Applicants should ensure that their proposed budget, and their approach to risk, safeguarding, and duty of care, are proportionate to the scale, scope, and complexity of the proposed research. These elements will be considered as part of the assessment process.

In line with these expectations, we do not anticipate awarding high value budgets to individuals acting outside of an institutional or organisational framework, unless they can clearly demonstrate the capacity to manage funds and responsibilities at that scale.

Global South researchers and research organisations are strongly encouraged to apply, independently or in partnership / collaboration with researchers or research organisations based in the Global North. Applications that include meaningful participation of Global South researchers and/or organisations will be scored more favourably.

Proposals should consider whether the research would be strengthened through the participation of researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds, or through partnerships between academics and policy professionals.

The application process involves two stages: Concept Note and full Project Proposal. This call for Concept Notes is the first stage.

To apply, applicants should prepare and submit the following:

• Concept Note Application Form (max. 1200 words). This includes space to discuss the research idea and evidence gap; methodology; expected outputs; and proposed research team. It also includes space for you to describe a high-level summary budget. The form should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document in English. Please note that application forms differ depending on whether you are applying as an individual or on behalf of an organisation.
• CVs must be provided for the Principal Investigator and any Co-Investigators (maximum three CVs in total).

The completed Concept Note Application Form and CV(s) should be submitted via email to [email protected] by the submission deadline. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications must indicate in the subject line of the email the following: “C2-G053 Multiple centres + [Name of lead (whether individual or organisation)]”.

Detailed instructions on how to submit an application are included in the Call for Concept Notes document.

Yes, the deadline is Thursday 25 September 2025 at 10:00 BST.

Applicants may submit several Concept Notes, but no organisation or individual will be awarded more than one award as the lead applicant.

Applicants will be notified by XCEPT regarding selection within one month of the Concept Note submission deadline.

We anticipate issuing three to five awards under this call, across a range of funding levels. The final number of awards may be higher or lower, depending on the scale, quality, and strategic fit of the proposals received. Final decisions will be made by the Selection Committee, which will take into account the overall balance and diversity of the portfolio of research, including thematic coverage, geographic focus, and methodological approaches.

Applicants are encouraged to consider the appropriate scale for their project, bearing in mind the following indicative funding brackets:

• Up to £15,000 – For desk-based research papers (sole or co-authored) drawing primarily on existing literature, data, and analysis. These projects are not expected to involve field data collection but may include remote interviews.
• £15,000–£40,000 – For projects that include field data collection. At the lower end of the scale this may involve key informant interviews requiring travel; at the higher end it may involve interviews, surveys or field-based case studies in one or two locations.
• £40,000–£80,000 – For projects involving more substantial field data collection, potentially across multiple sites or countries, and delivering more extensive outputs.
• £80,000–£120,000 – For projects proposing a portfolio of research activities across multiple sites, potentially involving mixed methods and multiple outputs that offer comparative case studies in different geographies.

Concept notes should explain the justification for higher budgets relative to the contribution to XCEPT objectives, scholarship, and policy.

While the research is expected to focus on the Horn of Africa, XCEPT welcomes proposals that offer comparative analysis to identify and test hypotheses about the evolution and implications of the rise or fall of centres, particularly in XCEPT’s core geographies, which include fragile and conflict-affected areas of:

• The Middle East, especially Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen
• The Horn of Africa, especially Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia
• Coastal West Africa and the Sahel
• Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Myanmar

The primary research output of each award will be a high-quality paper or series of papers, subject to external peer review and suitable for publication by the Awardee organisation or prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Research papers are typically accompanied by policy-focused outputs, such as summary briefing notes and presentations to policy audiences. Projects may also include outputs geared for a wider public audience, such as commentaries, blogs, podcasts or videos. Applicants should list the outputs they plan to produce in the Application Form.

To learn more about this funding opportunity, please join the virtual question and answer (Q&A) session on Monday 8 September 2025 at 13:00-14:00. This will be an opportunity to ask questions about this call for papers. If you are interested in joining the Q&A, please confirm your attendance by completing this form: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/9022867c-c26d-4304-8bc6-0b67e0cc99fa@7c1f24a6-7d39-452c-8237-0726e3b19a73

If you have any clarification questions, please ask them at the Q&A or email them to [email protected] by the clarification questions deadline on Thursday 8 September 2025, 18:00 BST.