Africa: Advanced Research Fellowship Programme for African University Students

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February 25, 2009

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa is pleased to announce the 2009 session of its Advanced Research Fellowship Programme and to invite interested scholars based in African universities or research centres to submit applications for consideration for an award.

The CODESRIA Advanced Research Fellowship Programme
2009 Competition: Call for Applications

Objectives
The CODESRIA Advanced Research Fellowship Programme is designed to contribute to the reinforcement and promotion of a culture of concentrated and extended reflection among African scholars. It is particularly targeted at a younger generation of post-doctoral African scholars interested in carrying out advanced research on any aspect of the African social reality, historical or contemporary. The programme is open to candidates from all disciplines of the Social Sciences and Humanities. Through the programme, support is offered to scholars interested in charting new research directions or extending on-going research to new heights, the expectation being that this will contribute immensely to enriching the state of knowledge about different aspects of the historical and contemporary experiences of Africa. Candidates are free to determine the theme on which they wish to work and to specify their preferred methodology for doing so. In identifying candidates whose applications should be supported, emphasis will be placed on the potential for their proposals to lead to the production of new/original insights. The fellowships will be awarded to cover a period of one year, at the end of which a report of publishable quality shall be submitted for evaluation. Each report is expected to be between 50,000 and 80,000 words long and if accepted for publication will be included in the CODESRIA Book or Monograph Series. For the year 2009, the Council will be awarding ten fellowships of a maximum value of USD10,000 each.

Eligibility
To be eligible, candidates are expected to be holders of a doctoral degree in any of the social sciences and humanities. The doctoral degree should have been obtained within five years of the date of submission of the application. Exceptionally, candidates who do not yet have doctoral degrees but who have accumulated considerable research experience will be considered for the award of a fellowship. All applicants are required to be affiliated to an African research institution.

Requirements for Application
Candidates wishing to be considered for the award of a fellowship are requested to submit the following documents:

a) Research Proposal
A research proposal of between 10 and 15 pages which should be a clear statement of the work to be undertaken, the problematic that underpins it, the significance of the study vis-à-vis the existing literature, the methodology to be employed, implications of the methodological approach adopted for the empirical research to be undertaken and the expected output. Candidates are strongly encouraged to indicate the innovative or original dimensions which they hope their study will yield; a detailed presentation of the epistemological foundations of the research will also be considered as a distinct advantage.

b) Work Programme
The duration of each fellowship is one year, effective from the date of award. Each application should be accompanied by a detailed work programme spread over a period of 12 months beginning from the date of award of the fellowship.

c) Budget
Applicants are required to provide a detailed budget up to a maximum of USD10,000 which includes the research and dissemination costs they expect to incur throughout the duration of their fellowship. The budget should be structured to reflect the disbursement formula the Council intends to apply, which will consist in paying 50% of the fellowship amount upon signature of the award contract, 25% of the grant upon receipt of a satisfactory scientific progress report and the remaining 25% per cent upon receipt of the final revised version of the research results. In addition to the costs of fieldwork and book acquisition, candidates are encouraged to consider integrating participation in one international conference relevant to their research preoccupation in the budgetary framework of their study. (The final choice of the conference to be attended will be made in close consultation with the CODESRIA Department of Training, Grants and Fellowships, it being understood that requests for support to participate in such an international conference will only be entertained by CODESRIA after the receipt of a first complete draft of the final report of the fellow for which feedback from the international scientific community might be elicited for the revision of the report).

d) Reference Letters
Applications should be accompanied by three reference letters from scholars who are familiar with the applicants’ work and are in a position to attest to their institutional affiliation. Where possible, candidates are requested to include at least one reference from a scholar based outside their countries of residence.

e) Curriculum Vitae
Each candidate should submit a detailed curriculum vitae showing clearly the candidate’s research publications and participation in research network/activities. Copies of certificates obtained by candidates should be included with the applications.

f) Copy of Doctoral Certificate
Applicants should include a copy of their doctoral degree certificate with their application documents. CODESRIA reserves the right to cross-check the actual date by which candidates completed their studies in order to determine their eligibility for the fellowship programme.

g) Candidate’s Commitment Letter
A one-page letter from the applicant affirming his/her readiness to submit a monograph-length scientific report of between 50,000 to 80,000 words as the outcome of the research carried out under the grant. The applicant should also commit to carrying out all revisions arising from the peer-review of their report in a timely manner, and affirm his/her understanding that the final version of the report will be published in the CODESRIA Book of Monograph Series.

Selection Process
All applications received will be reviewed by an independent Selection Committee comprising eminent scholars. All candidates will be notified of the results of the selection process.

Deadline for the Receipt of Applications
All applications should be received not later than 31 July, 2009. Applications should be addressed to:

The Advanced Research Fellowship Programme,
CODESRIA,
BP 3304, CP 18524,
Dakar, Senegal.
Tel: +221- 33 825 98 22/23
Fax: +221-33 824 12 89
E-Mail: advanced.fellowship[at]codesria.sn
Website: http://www.codesria.org

Scholarship Tags: Advanced, Africa, African, Fellowship, programme, research, students, University