Deadline: 16-May-22
The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) is inviting applications for the Research Fellowship to Promote Knowledge Production on Civil Society.
This short-term fellowship (90-180 days) is an action-oriented initiative targeted at young researchers, particularly those enrolled in master’s or PhD programmes. The programme aims to equip West African youth with the research and analytical skills they need to effectively engage with government, the private sector and the global community to improve good governance and sustainable development.
The goal of the research fellowship is to offer young researchers with the dire opportunities to document deepening fellows’ understanding of the social, economic, and political contribution of civil society to development in West Africa. Fellows will be afforded the opportunity to contribute to ongoing research on the social, economic, and political contribution of civil society to development in West Africa.
Objectives
Specific objectives of the research fellowship are to:
- Identify and nurture early career academics who have demonstrated leadership potential and/or an interest in the development sector in West Africa.
- Support fellows to apply the acquired skills to conduct research that is relevant to the development of their careers and increase their impact on the community.
- Increase indigenous knowledge production on civil society issues that will better inform development agenda and planning.
- Build a community of practice (CoP) spanning across disciplinary boundaries, with academia, civil society actors and other stakeholders in West Africa to exchange ideas, opportunities, and solution to advance the development agenda in the region.
Benefits
Fellows will also have other opportunities and benefits such as:
- A certificate of completion. This will be provided upon satisfactory completion of all tasks and submission of all agreed deliverables.
- A monthly stipend.
- At least one WACSeries publication.
- Official recommendation from WACSI.
- Free access to WACSI’s rich civil society resource centre.
Research Fellowship Focus
The focus of the fellowship for 2022 will hinge on:
- Improved English-language skills (for French speaking participants).
- Become a member of a regional network of research fellows in the non-profit sector.
- A creative and stimulating professional environment for the students.
- Intercultural working experience with professionals from different West African countries.
- Networking events and building of strong relationships with seasoned development partners.
- Visibility of the fellow as his/her work will be disseminated to development actors and partners in West Africa and beyond.
- Cross-disciplinary exposure and experience in knowledge management, capacity development, policy advocacy and influencing, monitoring, evaluation and learning from the work of WACSI’s respective Units.
Outcomes
- At the end of the programme, fellows are expected to have hands-on knowledge and contextual evidence on social economic and political contribution of civil societies in West Africa produced by young research fellows.
- The results of the various research projects will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders in the region and regularly discussed at the policy roundtables as a tool for action.
- The fellowship would contribute to strengthen thought leadership in the civil society sector in West Africa.
Duration
Fellows can spend between 3 to 6 months at the Institute. This will be based on the alignment of the fellowship goals with the student’s current academic, career and research interests. However, applications will be considered on a rolling basis and applicants will be selected on a case-by-case basis each year.
Eligibility Criteria
- The fellowship is open to all young researchers from West Africa. Other young researchers who are not from the region but are interested in understanding and documenting civil society praxis in West Africa can be considered.
- Interested in working on civil society issues or in the development sector.
- Recent Master’s or PhD graduates who completed their studies within the last two years.
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate strong analytical skills and the ability to perform independent research.
- Interested applicants should be able and ready to cover all costs related to the fellowship. Applicants should be able to mobilise the resources to cover costs related to their travel to and from Accra, accommodation and living expenses while in Accra for the agreed period of the fellowship.
For more information, visit https://wacsi.org/call-for-application/
