Empowering Voices, Building Peace: Unlock Your Potential with the African Peacebuilding Network’s Individual Research Fellowships (Reward $15,000)
The African Peacebuilding Network (APN), an initiative by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is pleased to announce the opening of applications for its Individual Research Fellowships Program. This unique opportunity welcomes applications from African scholars, researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners actively engaged in the study of conflict and peacebuilding issues within African universities, research institutions, and various agencies across the continent.
About the Individual Research Fellowships Program
At the heart of the APN lies the Individual Research Fellowship (IRF) program, a robust platform designed to elevate the caliber and visibility of independent African peacebuilding research globally. The program aims not only to contribute valuable insights to regional and global peacebuilding discourse but also to ensure that this knowledge reaches key decision-makers, practitioners, and research centers both in Africa and around the world.
Fellowship recipients, carefully selected through a competitive, peer-reviewed process, embark on six months of field-based research from June to December 2024. The program allocates up to seventeen fellowships, each carrying a maximum award of $15,000. Strong encouragement is extended to women applicants.
Research Focus Areas
The APN supports research and analysis on a wide array of issues, including but not limited to:
- Causes, drivers, actors, and trajectories of violent conflict
- Natural resource conflict at community, national, and regional levels
- Geopolitics and histories of conflict, conflict mediation, and peace
- Climate change, energy transitions, conflict, and peace
- Religion and peace
- Post-conflict elections, democratization, governance, and development
- Transitional justice, reconciliation, and peace
- Women, youth, and peacebuilding
- Media, digital technology, AI, war, and peacebuilding
- Water politics, conflict, and peace
- Human mobilities, insecurities, and peace
Fellowship Experience and Expectations
Fellows are not only recipients of financial support but also active participants in two mandatory workshops organized by the APN during the fellowship period. These workshops provide opportunities to refine research designs, present findings, explore avenues for accessibility, and foster networking among peers, senior academics, and practitioners.
Fellows are strongly encouraged to contribute to the APN’s Working Paper and Policy Briefing Note series, as well as engage with the program’s digital forums and social media platforms, including Kujenga Amani, Facebook, and Twitter.
Research Fellowship Proposals
The APN seeks innovative, field-based projects demonstrating strong potential for high-quality research and analysis. Proposals should articulate clear research objectives, aligning questions with goals and design/methods. Applicants are urged to demonstrate familiarity with relevant literature, discuss the feasibility of proposed activities, and provide a realistic budget outline.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be African citizens residing in an African country.
- Academics must hold a faculty or research position at an African university or research organization, with a PhD obtained no earlier than January 2014.
- Policy analysts or practitioners must be based in Africa, possessing at least a master’s degree obtained before January 2019, with a minimum of five years of proven research and work experience in peacebuilding-related activities on the continent.
Application Process
All applications must be submitted through the Online Open Water portal. The required documentation includes a completed application form, research proposal, bibliography, expected publications, current CV, proposed research timeline, proposed research budget, two reference letters, and language evaluation(s) if required. In case of difficulties accessing the online portal, applicants can contact APN staff at apn@ssrc.org.
This program is generously funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, reflecting a commitment to advancing African peacebuilding research and expertise on the global stage. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this transformative opportunity—apply now and contribute to shaping the future of peacebuilding in Africa.
