322 Organizations in 74 Countries Express Passion for Sharing Air Quality Data and Achieving National Impacts

Our call for applications to support local actors in sharing air quality data in order to drive national-level impacts attracted 322 applicants from 74 countries (Figure 1). Regions with the highest number of applicants were in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This tracks with where the greatest burden of particulate pollution is felt, yet where there is the greatest need for resources (Figure 2).

Figure 1

75 percent of Applicants Propose Work in Countries that Lack Necessary Resources to Confront Air Pollution

Seventy-five percent – or 242 – of the applicants are seeking to work in countries that EPIC has previously identified as “higher priority,” areas where small, well-supported initiatives have the highest likelihood to bring about national-level impacts in air quality improvement (Figure 3). For example, countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon are considered “higher priority” given the lack of air quality resources and ground monitoring and the impact of air pollution on life expectancy. Meanwhile countries like India scored lower, since, despite still having a serious air pollution issue, it is unlikely a single monitoring effort could achieve a national level impact, given the current number of government and civil society air quality monitoring efforts across the country.

Applicants Come from a Variety of Sectors, Including Governments

Applicants most frequently came from academic or non-profit institutions (Figure 4). Surprisingly, about 10 percent of applicants were from government entities. These included city governments, national environmental agencies, transport authorities and state-owned hospitals. This interest highlights an unmet demand from governments seeking support of even the most basic air quality data infrastructure and to make such data available to the public.

Applicants Have Expertise, But Most Have Not Yet Had the Opportunity to Lead; Support Structures Are Needed For Success

In an anonymous follow up survey, a strong majority of applicants –87 percent – indicated that they have previous experience in air quality monitoring, yet only 23 percent have had the opportunity to be the primary lead on an air quality project before. This is not surprising; by design, this call for applications is seeking those from countries that have historically received exceedingly few resources to support air quality work. Meanwhile, across many technical fields, there has been a pervasive labor division between Global South and Global North experts that exists, in part, due to where funding, often originating from the Global North, is frequently confined to flow, in addition to other systemic barriers. Observing this dynamic in our applicant pool reinforces our decision to prioritize funding such local actors, in order to achieve our immediate aims of data generation translating into national level impact, as well as a related wider aim to build in-country capacity, including award management and project leadership for air quality work.

This dynamic also points to the need for structures to support funded applicants, in the form of award management assistance, professional network building, and technical support, all of which will take dedicated resources to build them for this global talent pool.

In Applicants’ Own Words

More than half of applicants from higher priority countries expressed that one of their national-level ambitions is to influence the creation of a National Air Quality Standard in their country, ratchet up its ambitions, or promote policy that can help their country meet its Air Quality Standard. This makes sense. According to the 2024 Air Quality Life Index Update, more than three-quarters of countries and territories around the world are not meeting their national pollution standards or have not even set a standard.

Meanwhile, applicants also indicated in an anonymous follow up survey that they have observed positive impacts even through the act of applying to the EPIC Air Quality Fund, particularly in the form of building civil society and government partnerships and translating into more open data policies.