Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom

1. Title: Call for concept notes – Climate change, informal trade, and instability in conflict-affected borderlands 
2. Awarding Authority:
Chemonics International, Inc.
1 Benjamin St

London
England
EC1M 5QL
Contact: Benjamin Castro
Email: xcept-fund@chemonics.com
Phone:
URL:
3. Contract Type: Services
4. Description: The XCEPT Research Fund (XRF) is inviting applications for a 12-month project that will produce innovative, empirically grounded research examining the relationship between climate change, informal trade networks, and instability in conflict-affected borderlands, with a focus on the role of informal cross-border trade in the causal pathways linking climate stress to instability and conflict.

Building on the understanding that climate stress in conflict-affected borderlands – and the resulting increase in informal cross-border trade – can both amplify the agency of local communities as well as fuel instability, this Call for Concept Notes seeks to fund research that examines whether – and under what conditions – such trade networks support climate change adaptation and/or influence conflict. Concept notes should consider the following interlinked research questions:

1. How do communities in conflict-affected borderlands draw on informal, cross-border trade networks to adapt to climate extremes?
2. How are existing trade networks utilised or new ones formed?
How effective are such networks as a form of climate change adaptation and resilience-building?

3. Under what conditions do such informal, cross-border trade networks fuel instability and conflict, and what are the implications for local communities and climate adaptation?

Funding support up to £120,000 is available per award, depending on the scope of the research and methods employed.

Applications are welcome from organisations only.

Interested applicants can read more about this opportunity here:

The deadline for submission is Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 10:00 BST
5. CPV Codes:
73110000 – Research services
6. NUTS Codes: UKI12
7. Main Site or Location of Works, Main Place of Delivery or Main Place of Performance: London
8. Reference Attributed by the Awarding Authority:
C2-G052
9. Estimated Value of Requirement: £120,000
10. Start Date: 31/12/2025
11. End Date: 31/12/2026
12. Closing Date: 16/09/2025
13. Other Information:
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