Call for African Peacebuilding Network: Collaborative Working Group Research Fellowships are open now!
Senior African academics and researchers working at universities, training centres, and policy organisations are encouraged to apply for positions as project leaders in the African Peacebuilding Network (APN), a programme of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). The goal of the projects is to develop and disseminate knowledge about conflict and peace-building on the continent.
A vital addition to the field-based and networking aspects of the APN’s programmes is the Collaborative Working Group Research Fellowship. This fellowship addresses the need for intense cooperation and engagement between researchers and practitioners on difficulties associated with peace-building in Africa. Additionally, it aims to link research and policy, encourage mentoring of younger scholars by more seasoned peers, promote networking between academics and practitioners based in at least three African nations, and raise the likelihood that the knowledge-production process will have an impact on policy and actions.
Research-based information and publications from collaborative working groups are expected to be pertinent to and have a substantial influence on scholarship, policy, and practise related to peace-building on the continent. The APN will seek to incorporate the evidence-based knowledge that this multinational and multidisciplinary group creates into local, national, and international discussions, practises, and policies related to peace-building in this section. The working group will receive funding from the APN while it conducts novel, policy-relevant research on the creation, execution, and effects of peace-building mechanisms and procedures in African countries and sub-regions.
New field research, training initiatives, literature reviews, the creation and dissemination of a variety of outputs—from policy briefings and reports to best-practice models—as well as scholarly publications in print and electronic media should all be supported with funding. At the conclusion of the project time, the working group is anticipated to create a book-length manuscript.
Support is available for research, convening of scholar-practitioner meetings and analysis of issues such as the following:
- Local peace-building cultures, mechanisms, and practices;
- Inequality, poverty, and natural resource conflict;
- UN-AU-African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) cooperation on peace and security issues;
- African Governance Architecture (AGA) and African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA);
- Governance, peace, security, and development
- Women, peace, and security;
- Transnationalization, migration, youth radicalization, extremism, and violence;
- Climate change, peace, and security;
- Early Warning and Response Systems; and
- Conflict mediation mechanisms, processes, and practices
- Institutionalising peace-building: Local, national, and regional processes and mechanisms
Location:
African CountriesBenefits
- One APN Collaborative Working Group Research Fellowship will be supported by a maximum award of $60,000 for a period of eighteen months.
Eligibilities
- Applicants must be scholars or practitioners based in Africa and the lead investigator must be of the rank of a full professor and based in an African university (and hold a PhD).
- The competition will be open to joint researcher-practitioner teams (of six members) made up of Africans based at or affiliated with universities; regional organisations; government agencies; or nongovernmental, media, or civil society organisations located in at least three countries on the continent.
- While the lead investigator must be a professor and have a PhD, other members of the research group may be early- and mid-career scholars, or practitioners, who are expected to hold at least a master’s degree with two or more years of work experience.
- It is expected that teams reflect diversity as much as possible, and include individuals from a range of professional, institutional, national, regional, disciplinary, gender, and generational backgrounds and experiences.
- The project should also leverage strong mentoring relationships between senior and junior members of the team, while encouraging both scholarly and practitioner participation as well as engagement with universities and regional practitioner/policy institutions.
Application Process
- Visit the “Apply Link”
- Create your account at SSRC’s Open Water Application Portal to continue your application.
Required application materials include the following:
- Completed Application Form
- Lead Investigator’s CV
- Research Proposal & Bibliography
- Proposed Research Timeline
- Proposed Research Budget
- List of All Team Members, including their names, affiliations, professional backgrounds, and highest degree levels attained
- Two Reference Letters
- Language evaluation(s) (if required)
Application Deadline: February 11, 2024
Application ClosedOfficial link
