Social Science Research Council (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Research Grants 2020 for African Researchers( Deadline:January 15th 2020. )

Social Science Research Council (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Research Grants 2020 for African Researchers( Deadline:January 15th 2020. )

Overview

Request for Proposals

The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) invites research fellowship applications from African researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners working on conflict and peacebuilding issues at universities and research institutions; or regional, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies or organizations in Africa.

About the Individual Research Fellowships Program

A core component of the APN, the Individual Research Fellowships program is a vehicle for enhancing the quality and visibility of independent African peace building research both regionally and globally, while making peace building knowledge accessible to key policymakers and research centers of excellence in Africa and around the world. Fellowship recipients produce research-based knowledge that is relevant to, and has a significant impact on, peace building scholarship, policy, and practice on the continent. For its part, the APN works toward inserting the evidence-based knowledge that grant recipients produce into regional and global debates and policies focusing on peace building.

Support is available for research and analysis on the following issues:

• Root causes of, and emerging trajectories of violent conflict;
• Natural Resource Conflict;
• Geographies and histories of conflict and peace;
• Theory and practice of conflict mediation;
• Resilience, conflict prevention and transformation;
• State and non-state armed actors, transnational crime, extremism, displacement and migration;
• Post-conflict elections, democratization, governance and economic reconstruction;
• State building, including state-society relations and state reconstruction;
• Transitional justice, reconciliation, and peace;
• The economic and financial dimensions of conflict, peacekeeping, and peace support operations;
• Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and peace building;
• UN-AU-REC Partnerships and Peace Support Operations;
• Digital media, technology, and peace;
• Cultures, media, and art(s) of peace;
• Gender, youth and peace building;
• Water conflict and peace;
• Health, post-conflict development, peace, and security; and
• Prevention of mass atrocities.

Fellowships are awarded on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis and are intended to support six months of field-based research, from June 2020 to December 2021. Up to sixteen (16) individual fellowships of a maximum of $15,000 each will be awarded. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

During the fellowship period, recipients are required to participate in two mandatory workshops organized by the APN. These workshops will provide opportunities to refine recipients’ research focus and methods; present findings; explore ways to make their work more accessible through publications and other means to multiple peace building constituencies; and develop constructive working relationships with other grantees, senior academics, and practitioner facilitators.

Fellows are also strongly encouraged to contribute to the APN’s Working Paper and Policy Briefing Note series, as well as to the program’s digital forums and social media platforms (Kujenga Amani, Facebook, and Twitter).

Research Fellowships Proposals

The APN is interested in innovative field-based projects that demonstrate strong potential for high-quality research and analysis, which in turn can inform practical action on peace building and/or facilitate inter-regional collaboration and networking among African researchers and practitioners.

Proposals should clearly describe research objectives and significance, with alignment between research questions and goals and research design/methods. Proposals should also demonstrate knowledge of the research subject and relevant literature, and address the feasibility of proposed research activities, including a timeline for project completion. Applicants should also discuss the likely relevance of the proposed research to current knowledge on peace building practice and policy and situate it within existing literature. We strongly encourage the inclusion of a brief, but realistic, budget outline, keeping within the allotted amount for the grant and fitting appropriately within a six-month project and the page limit required.

Eligibility

All applicants must be African citizens currently residing in an African country. This competition is open to African academics, as well as policy analysts and practitioners.

Applicants applying as academics must hold a faculty or research position at an African university or research organization, and have a PhD obtained no earlier than January 2009.

Applicants applying as policy analysts or practitioners must be based in Africa at a regional or sub regional institution; a government agency; or a nongovernmental, media, or civil society organization, and have at least a master’s degree obtained before January 2014, with at least five years of proven research and work experience in peace building-related activities on the continent.

Application Process

All applications must be uploaded through our online portal.

Requirements

• Completed Application Form
• Research Proposal & Bibliography
• Current CV
• Proposed Research Timeline
• Proposed Research Budget
• Two Reference Letters
• Language Evaluation(s) (if required)

If you encounter any difficulties accessing the online portal, please contact APN staff at apn@ssrc.org, or by telephone at (+1) 718-517-3669.

Frequently Asked Questions.

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