Call for Applications: Structural Transformation of African Agriculture & Rural Spaces (STAARS) Fellowship 2025 for African Researchers

The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces (STAARS) fellowship program, a multi-institution collaboration managed by Cornell University with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), announces its annual call for research proposals. 

Application Deadline: 17th January 2025

About the Award: The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces (STAARS) fellowship program, a multi-institution collaboration managed by Cornell University in collaboration with the World Bank’s Development Research Group, and the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), announces its annual call for research proposals. Early-career researchers selected as STAARS Fellows in 2024 advance rigorous, policy-oriented research on the causal determinants of productivity and income growth, asset accumulation, rural employment and risk management in African agriculture and rural spaces.

The STAARS Fellowship began in 2016 and to date has supported 70 Fellows from diverse backgrounds.

The STARS Fellowship Program pairs early-career researchers with faculty mentors to advance rigorous, policy-oriented research on the causal determinants of productivity and income growth, asset accumulation, rural employment and risk management in agriculture and rural spaces. The core objectives of the program include:

• Build and reinforce an effective policy research culture among early-career researchers that can help build and sustain research capacity at their institutions beyond the STARS program.
• Provide mentorship to early-career researchers by Cornell University and other affiliated institution faculty and researchers.
• Conduct professional development activities to supplement the research process, including trainings, seminars, and feedback sessions.
• Create an active network of equipped, policy-engaged, collaborative researchers, connected to leading global authorities in the development research space.
• Heighten the exposure and rigorous analysis of high-quality, publicly available data, such as LSMS-ISA data and other micro-level panel data sets.

Scope of Research and Geographic Focus

Prospective STAARS Fellows are invited to develop proposals in the following thematic areas for empirical work on Africa south of the Sahara:

1. Dynamics of agricultural inputs use, technological change, and productivity growth.
2. Rural factor (e.g., credit, labor, land) and product market performance and links to urban markets.
3. Agri-food systems and value chains, their performance and evolution.
4. Food security, nutrition, health and education linkages.
5. Poverty dynamics, risk management and resilience against shocks.
6. Sustainable natural resources management.
7. Gender and marginalized groups.

STAARS Fellows’ rigorous policy analysis should use existing data, such as the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS–ISA), Demographic and Health Surveys or similar high-quality datasets from Africa south of the Sahara. STAARS does not fund new data collection.

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility:

• Early career researchers, either Ph.D. students in their final year prior to degree completion or those who completed their Ph.D. no earlier than 2019
• Familiarity with and demonstrated access to data sets in your research proposal. STARS does not provide funding for new data collection.
• Strong working knowledge of appropriate software, typically Stata and/or R, and an interest in econometric analysis of high-quality data sets. Knowledge of Stata and/or R will be assessed at the finalist stage.­
• Priority given to:
• Researchers who have earned at least one degree from an institution in a low- or lower-middle income country[1][2]
• Researchers planning to work professionally in low- and lower-middle income countries in the future
• Proposals relating to one or more of the research themes indicated above
• Qualified female researchers

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be Taken at (Country): Online

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value & Duration of Award: The selected applicants will receive funds to cover travel and participation in a three-week mentorship program at Cornell University or the World Bank (based on mentorship). The remainder of the research coordination and professional development training will be conducted virtually. Fellows are expected to commit significant time to the proposed research and capacity development activities. A modest honorarium will be provided to each Fellow. No salary support is available; STAARS will not cover the scholar’s time allocated to this research. A letter of support from the candidate’s current advisor/supervisor/or manager is required, explicitly indicating that adequate work time will be made available for full participation in the program, if selected. The program cannot support costs for any new data collection.

How to Apply:

The deadline to submit a research proposal is January 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST. Applicants should complete the required fields and upload their proposal and additional documentation using the STARS online application link. Accepted applicants will be notified by April 1, 2025. Any questions about the application process or program should be directed to stars-fellowship@cornell.edu.

• It is important to go through all application requirements in the Award Webpage (see Link below) before applying.
• GOODLUCK

Visit Award Webpage for Details