The database includes explicitly climate-focused research organizations. Organizations involved in advocacy, capacity development, financing, or other activities are not included, unless they also have a clear, dedicated research component to their work. Only independent or quasi-independent organizations are included, meaning this database does not include public sector agencies nor does it include universities unless the university houses a dedicated institute working on climate issues. At this time, individual researchers are not included.

Organizations are categorized based on their stated workstreams and/or volume of work produced in a related topic area. The workstream categories are Agriculture and Forestry, Extractive Industries, Energy, Urban Development, Industry and General. Some organizations work across multiple sectors and are categorized to reflect each of their relevant workstreams. If an organization is clearly engaged in climate-related research activities but does not specifically state an area of focus, and if a focus area cannot reasonably be surmised, then the organization is included and categorized as “General”.

Africa Program staff have compiled the information contained within this database primarily through information housed on aggregated sites, including the United Nations, the African Union and the African Development bank, but also through a general web search. There are a broad range of organizations included, spanning from niche policy-oriented consulting groups to large physical science institutes. This database reflects an ongoing endeavor to produce a comprehensive list of research organizations based in Africa working on climate issues.

This list is not exhaustive, and any additions and/or corrections are welcome. Please contact alexander.csanadi@ceip.org with any questions or additional information regarding this database.

In order to allow Africa Program staff to properly assess potential additions, the database will only be updated on a quarterly basis. A review of all organizations currently listed will take place every six months to ensure the database is kept up to date. The date that each of these updates last took place will be clearly indicated.

An organization’s inclusion herein does not entail an endorsement, nor does the failure to include a potentially relevant organization constitute an institutional position on the quality of that organization.