The Finnish Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA) 2027 Call for Research Proposals has been announced by the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI). The upcoming funding opportunity will support collaborative research involving public and private non-profit organisations established in Europe and Africa, with applications expected to open in early 2027.
Funded by the European Commission under the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, the Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa seeks to strengthen teacher education, professional development and well-being across Sub-Saharan Africa. The second research funding round will build on earlier efforts to generate evidence that can inform education policies and address challenges affecting teachers across the region.
SUMMARY
- Funding Organisation: European Commission, through the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI)
- Programme: Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA)
- Funding Type: Research Grants
- Grant Amount: To be announced (previous grants ranged from €400,000 to €800,000)
- Number of Awards: To be announced
- Eligible Organisations: Public and private non-profit organisations in Europe and Africa
- Geographical Focus: Sub-Saharan Africa
Also Check: DAAD In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Program 2027 [Sub-Saharan Africa]
Programme Overview
The Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa is a European Union-funded programme designed to improve teacher education, training, professional development and working conditions across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The initiative forms part of the EU’s Global Gateway investments and operates from 2024 to 2030, with an overall budget of €100 million.
EDUFI coordinates the research funding and knowledge management components, supporting partnerships between European and African institutions to produce evidence that can strengthen education policies and practices.
The programme focuses on several priorities, including:
- Improving teacher training and professional development.
- Strengthening teacher well-being and working conditions.
- Addressing teacher shortages, retention and attrition.
- Supporting evidence-based education policies.
- Promoting research partnerships between African and European institutions.
The upcoming 2027 call will be the second research funding round coordinated by EDUFI under the initiative.
Eligibility Criteria
According to EDUFI’s preliminary announcement, the 2027 call will welcome applications from public or private non-profit organisations established in Europe or Africa and working within consortia involving European and African partners.
Potential applicants include:
- Universities and higher education institutions.
- Public and private non-profit research institutes.
- Research departments and academic organisations.
- International and local non-governmental organisations.
- Other eligible non-profit institutions involved in education research.
For the previous research call, applicants were required to form consortia comprising at least one European and two African organisations, with a maximum of seven participating organisations.
Important: EDUFI has not yet confirmed whether these consortium requirements will remain unchanged for the 2027 funding round. Applicants should consult the new call document when published.
Research Grant Benefits
The RTIA research grants provide financial support for collaborative projects that generate policy-relevant evidence on teacher education and professional development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Under the previous funding round, the grant arrangements included:
- Total Available Funding: €4 million.
- Minimum Grant: €400,000 per project.
- Maximum Grant: €800,000 per project.
- Co-financing: A 10% contribution was required from participating organisations.
- Project Duration: 18 months.
Following the first call, EDUFI selected six research projects for funding in 2025.
The selected projects focused on teacher professional development, well-being, retention and shortages.
The funding allocation, grant limits and co-financing requirements for the 2027 call have not yet been announced. These figures are provided as a reference to the previous funding round.
Application Procedures
How to Apply: EDUFI has confirmed that application instructions for the second research call will be published when the funding round opens.
Interested organisations should prepare by following these steps:
- Visit the official EDUFI 2027 call announcement to monitor the publication of the call documents.
- Identify potential African and European research partners interested in developing a joint proposal.
- Review the eligibility conditions, research priorities and funding requirements once released.
- Prepare and submit the consortium’s research proposal through the official application platform specified in the call announcement.
For the previous funding round, applicants submitted proposals through the Finnish Applyforgrants.fi service.
International applicants using that service were required to activate the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service, including obtaining a foreigner’s identifier and verifying their identity.
Applicants can review the Finnish Authenticator activation instructions on Suomi.fi.
However, the submission platform and identification requirements for the 2027 call will be confirmed in the forthcoming application guidelines.
Application Documents
The complete list of required documents will be published with the official call.
Prospective applicants may begin preparing:
- A preliminary research proposal outlining the intended objectives and methodology.
- Information about the participating consortium organisations.
- Evidence of institutional registration and non-profit status.
- Relevant research experience and institutional capacity.
- A proposed project budget and implementation plan.
Additional documentation may be required depending on the final call conditions.
Also Recommended: Acumen West Africa Fellowship for Leadership Training (Fully Funded)
Application Deadline and Timeline
The Finnish National Agency for Education has announced that the second RTIA research call is expected to open in early 2027.
The detailed application timeline, including the submission deadline, will be published on the official programme page.
For reference, the previous research funding round followed this timeline:
- October 4, 2024: Call launched.
- October 11, 2024: Information webinar.
- November 25, 2024: Application deadline.
- 2025: Six research projects selected for funding.
These dates relate to the previous call and do not apply to the upcoming 2027 application cycle.
