African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Individual Research Grants 2020 for African Researchers

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.

Application Deadline: 15^th January 2020 11:59pm (EST)

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be taken at (country): Research can be done about one or several African countries. Grant may support travel outside of Africa for research and conferences related to the specific project.

About the Award:

Field of Study: The fellowships support dissertations and research on peace, security and development topics.

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;
• Statebuilding, 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 peacebuilding;
• UN-AU-REC Partnerships and Peace Support Operations;
• Digital media, technology, and peace;
• Cultures, media, and art(s) of peace;
• Gender, youth and peacebuilding;
• Water conflict and peace;
• Health, post-conflict development, peace, and security; and
• Prevention of mass atrocities.

About the Fellowship: A core component of the APN, the Individual Research Fellowships program is a vehicle for enhancing the quality and visibility of independent African peacebuilding research both regionally and globally, while making peacebuilding 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, peacebuilding 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 peacebuilding.

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 peacebuilding 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 peacebuilding 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.

Type: Research Grants

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 subregional 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 peacebuilding-related activities on the continent

Number of Awardees: 16

Value of Award: up to $15,000

Duration of Programme: 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.

How to Apply: Apply here

Visit Research Webpage for details