African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) Research Fellowship for African Researchers 2017

To contribute to the evidence generation and knowledge translation built into this project, APHRC is pleased to announce a call for applications to support three Master’s and three doctoral students from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The award of these fellowships is contingent on funding availability. 

Application Deadline: 15th April, 2017 (11:59pm, Nairobi time)

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda

About the Award: The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is implementing a project that aims to improve and expand implementation and resourcing of national sanitation policies in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, with a specific focus on human fecal waste management in urban areas.

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The six fellows will embed their research in the project’s research activities, and will be required to support engagement with key decision-makers. Through these fellowships, the Center hopes to build a networked cohort of well-trained scholars able to generate high quality research and interact with policymakers and practitioners on issues around sanitation management policy and practice, especially on fecal waste management

Type: Research, Fellowship

Eligibility: The fellowship will primarily support research (including data collection and/or analysis). Funds will not be used to support coursework. Applicants must:

• Be citizens or permanent residents of the three East African countries where the project will be implemented
• Be undertaking Master’s or doctoral training at a university in Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda;
• Have completed all pre-dissertation requirements;
• Provide a detailed timeframe for completing their dissertation which must be endorsed by the head of department or the chair of the dissertation committee; and
• Must complete their research within 12 months (Master’s students) and 24 months (Doctoral students) of the start of the fellowship.

Female applicants are especially encouraged to apply

Selection Criteria: 

• The fellowship will support original qualitative or quantitative or mixed methods research that addresses a clear research question, employs appropriate and rigorous design, has an urban focus, and has unambiguous national or regional policy and/or programmatic implication(s)
• Candidates must demonstrate interest in pursuing a research career and dissertations must be sufficiently linked to future research interests
• At least one of the fellowships will support research to identify innovative approaches for social or technological innovations in the field of sanitation or hygiene: this could include the use of GIS, application of conversion technology such as bio-digestion, or adaptation of mHealth platforms to the sanitation sector
• At least one of the fellowships will emphasize analysis of relevant policies with the aim of identifying critical policyimplementation gaps
• The dissertation should ideally have received strong endorsement and support from the department
• Those interested in gender issues, especially the role of women in sanitation and hygiene decision-making and management are particularly encouraged to apply

Evaluation Criteria: The applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Candidate’s scientific background and potential to develop a strong research career
• Scientific merit of the proposed research project including originality of research question(s); integration of social or technological innovations; clarity and adequacy of the study design; demonstrated knowledge of relevant/current literature; detailed analysis plan; ethical considerations, etc.
• Research environment including commitment of main supervisors and department to facilitate timely completion of the dissertation. Candidates are expected to have a supervisor or dissertation committee of persons who fully understand the depth and breadth of sanitation and hygiene issues,
• Well-elaborated statement on the policy relevance of the research, and
• Budget summary and justification, including clear plan to complete the dissertation within 24 months

Number of Awardees: 6

Value of Fellowship: Each fellowship award will be up to a maximum of USD 12,000 for Master’s students and USD 25,000 for Doctoral students. This amount comprises a completion award of USD 2,000 that is only payable after successful thesis defense. Applicants can budget for a laptop computer and analytical software (e.g. STATA, SPSS, NVivo, Atlas/ti); research/data collection costs; and participation in one regional or international conference or workshop. In addition, there are two competitive innovation grants each worth $20,000 that will be announced in the course of the fellowships so that grantees with innovative solutions for sanitation and hygiene can apply for the grants and if successful work with experts in the field to develop their solutions.

Successful candidates will attend two week-long training workshops on research methodology and scientific writing. Attending the workshops is mandatory. The research methodology workshop is tentatively scheduled for May 29 – June 02, 2017 while the writing workshop will be held in 2018. During the workshops, grantees will receive training and mentorship on various aspects of research (design and methods, ethics, data analyses, scientific writing, proposal development and communication of research results, etc.). The working language for these workshops is English. The cost of attending this workshop is directly covered by the program.

How to Apply: The application form and supporting documents (attached) must be submitted via email at [email protected] by April 15, 2017 (11:59pm, Nairobi time).

Visit Fellowship Webpage for details

Award Provider: African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)