Deadline: 28-Aug-22
The Global Development Network (GDN) is inviting applications for the Social Science Research Capacity Building Program in French speaking Africa which aims to strengthen five research institutions in the social sciences as well as to boost the production of research by young researchers.
The program will encourage regular exchanges between participating institutions around the links between the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development as well as on how to effectively strengthen research capacity in the French-speaking African space.
Objectives
- The program aims to strengthen research institutions as well as to boost the production of research by young researchers, on the basis of proposals that combine the two objectives and correspond to the aspirations of the participating institutions. In addition, the program will encourage regular exchanges between participating institutions on the interactions between the different dimensions of sustainable development as well as on how to effectively strengthen research capacity in the French-speaking African space. Five institutions will be selected
- This program is based on several assumptions:
- Despite efforts to systematize knowledge on the research systems of certain French-speaking African countries, certain institutions are document not able their o put innovative their challenges practices, into launch perspective, pilots and to scale. Better coordination between the three levels (systems of research, research institutions, and researchers) is necessary in several countries of the French speaking African space.
- Even if the French-speaking African space is extremely diverse, the institutions using mainly French can benefit from strengthening their links with peers using the same working language. The issue of integration into a regional or global community represent challenges common to several institutions beyond national borders;
- research institutions are better able than donors to define how to use the grants available through this program: they know their types of difficulties, often have ideas for innovative projects that are not yet funded and often have a better knowledge of the other sources of funding available to them;
- Young researchers are a promising target group – sometimes insufficiently taken into account through general budget support to the sector by donors. Research institutions would like to encourage them, but do not always have the possibility of empowering them and retaining them in their institution – so many are the other challenges institutions have to face. Dedicated individual funding can serve as a springboard not only for the individuals concerned but also to consider broader strategies for promoting the new generation of researchers;
- the theme of the links between the economic, environmental and social sciences of sustainable development is a vast theme which interests the research institutions of several French-speaking African countries, which promotes interdisciplinarity within the social sciences, and which encompasses and/or is linked to the more specific agendas of many institutions.
Components
- The five selected institutions will be supported through the following four components:
- Capacity building funding proposed by institutions for an amount of up to EUR 100,000 per institution (over a period of approximately 24 months)
- Funding dedicated to building the capacities of young researchers and to the production of research by them. Grants for young researchers as well as a budget for the management of a competitive process will be available.
- General support for all selected institutions
- Additional individual funding for development and dissemination for researchers from selected institutions
Eligibility Criteria
- Any applicant institution must meet the following requirements:
- Be located in French-speaking African countries (members of the International Organization of La Francophonie and/or using the French language as a working language in social science research). Research teams must be able to apply to this call in French;
- Have as main objective to conduct research on national and regional public policies in the political, social and economic fields;
- Be a public or private non-profit research institution (including a university or a department of a university);
- Be able to sign contracts on their behalf and receive a grant.
For more information, visit https://www.gdn.int/renforcer-les-capacit%C3%A9s-de-recherche-en-afrique-francophone