Background Information

The Frontiers Planet Prize (https://calls.aasciences.africa) aims to recognize transformative scientific contributions that offer solutions to the planet’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. In partnership with the Frontiers Research Foundation (FRF), the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) has rolled out the second cycle of the African Planet Prize (APP), a continent-wide open competition among African Early career researchers in planetary sciences to enhance African participation in the prestigious FPP global prize. The APP, is the AAS’s structured mechanism for identifying, supporting, and nominating Africa’s strongest candidates for the FPP.

While African scientists are actively engaged in planetary health research, structural barriers, such as low visibility, institutional disconnects, and limited access to global platforms, have constrained their representation in international recognition mechanisms like the FPP. This initiative seeks to bridge that gap by building a scalable, supportive engagement framework, ensuring African institutions and researchers are equipped to contribute and compete effectively.

Outcomes

• Up to three winners will be selected.

Benefits

• USD 5,000 cash award for career development support
• Global exposure, recognition and visibility for research
• Access to a mentorship network of global experts

Selection & Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility

Eligible individuals should meet the following requirements:

• Lead applicant must be an African early-career researcher (≤7 years post-PhD, with possible marginal extensions for career breaks, such as parental/medical leave, national service, or other documented interruptions to research activity).
• Must have at least one peer-reviewed publication in a high impact factor journal (IF >4) (as indexed by Clarivate Journal Citation Reports, Scopus Cite Score, or an equivalent recognized index) that is directly relevant to planetary boundaries and sustainability challenges.
• The African researcher must be affiliated to an African institution (institution of higher learning, research institution or university) working within one or more planetary boundaries domains (e.g., climate change, biodiversity loss, freshwater use, land-system change, or pollution).
• The nomination must be supported by a recognized institution domiciled on the African continent, such as a university, research institution, or equivalent body.
• Previous APP Winners are encouraged to apply pithching different research proposal withing the call's focus areas.

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria of both the candidate and the research will focus on the following:

Scientific Excellence (40%)

• Novelty and originality of the research.
• Rigor of methodology and quality of data.
• Translational (bench-to-bedside) research relevant to the planetary boundaries.
• Contribution to advancing knowledge in planetary health and sustainability.

Societal Relevance (30%)

• The awarded Research must have been domiciled in an African university or research institution.
• Potential of the research to address urgent planetary challenges.
• Applicability and relevance of findings to the African contexts
• Implementation research that contributes to SDGs.
• Demonstrated outreach or stakeholder engagement

Impact and Visibility (20%)

• Evidence of influence on policy, practice, or innovation.
• The research product must have a citation score above 100, based on Scopus or an equivalent field-normalized bibliometric indicator and verified at the time of nomination.
• Policy mention: evidence of work cited or referenced in government policy documents showing its impact on public discourse and decision-making.

Capacity Building and Leadership (10%)

• Role of the researcher in fostering collaboration
• Role of the researcher in mentoring early-career and upcoming researchers.
• Contribution to strengthening African research ecosystems in Africa.

Application & Submission Requirements

Nominations should be submitted through https://calls.aasciences.africa 

A completed nomination form verified by the endorsing institution shall include:

• The candidate’s CV (maximum 3 pages), highlighting the qualifying publication(s) and relevant career history.
• A full list of publications, with DOIs, clearly identifying the qualifying peer-reviewed article(s).
• A 2-page research summary describing the scientific contribution, societal relevance, and demonstrated or potential impact of the work.
• A letter of institutional support from the nominating African institution.
• Two reference letters (recommended) from mentors, collaborators, or senior researchers familiar with the candidate’s work.

Review & Selection Process

• Stage 1; Eligibility Screening: the AAS Secretariat confirms that nominations meet the eligibility requirements above.
• Stage 2; Independent Scientific Review: an expert review panel scores eligible nominations against the weighted Selection Criteria.
• Stage 3; Shortlisting & Panel Deliberation: top-scoring nominations are shortlisted and discussed by the review panel/jury.
• Stage 4; Final Selection & Notification: winners and any honorable mentions are confirmed and notified ahead of the Award Ceremony.

Conflict of Interest & Confidentiality

Panel members with a conflict of interest in relation to a nomination, for example, co-authorship, current or recent institutional affiliation, or a personal relationship with the candidate, must declare it and recuse themselves from scoring or discussing that nomination. All nomination materials and panel deliberations are treated as confidential and used solely for the purposes of this selection process.

Timeline

• Call for Nominations Opens: 8th September 2026
• Nomination Deadline: 22nd September 2026
• Notification of Results: 22nd October 2026
• Award Ceremony: 2 December 2026, during the Science Forum South Africa (SFSA)

Contact Information

APP Secretariat:                       app@aasciences.africa

Contact Information:                +254-709-158-100