Call for Pre-Proposals for Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Social Sciences in Sub-Saharan
Africa
1. Objectives
This Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme, funded by the Gulbenkian Foundation,
the Volkswagen Foundation and other European partners aims at
providing sustainable support for research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides
an African-European cooperation, special emphasis is put on the development
and extension of academic networks within Africa.
This call is part of the Foundations’ career development strategy for African
researchers in which junior and senior postdoctoral fellows should take responsibility
for developing and executing their own research project and
show leadership responsibilities for their research group (in the case of
senior fellows). The project must be carried out in collaboration with a European
partner institution. The call is open to all scholars from Sub-Saharan
Africa active in the research fields mentioned below.
2. Thematic Scope
Current social, economic and political developments in contemporary Sub-
Saharan societies are at the core of this call for proposals. Cultural and religious
as well as historical questions and approaches can be included but
should not be the main focus of the project. Projects understanding African
countries as entangled in global interdependencies will be given preference.
These interdependencies refer to North-South as well as South-South relations.
Processes of globalization in the African context and their social and/or
cultural impact on societies can be an important aspect of the project. Possible
research areas include: processes of urbanization, the emergence and
scope of violent conflicts, peace building strategies, foreign actors in Africa,
inter-African relationships, questions of social order, measures aiming at
poverty reduction. All projects should have a strong reference to present
questions and problems concerning Sub-Saharan Africa and transcend disciplinary
boundaries and limitations by exploring linkages between disciplinary
Deadline for Pre-Proposals June 15, 2011
Information Africa Initiative
The Humanities and Social Sciences,
The Engineering Sciences
The International Team
Dr. Cora Ziegenbalg
Phone: +49 (0) 511 8381-237
E-mail: ziegenbalg@volkswagenstiftung.de
VolkswagenStiftung
Kastanienallee 35
30519 Hannover
Germany
www.volkswagenstiftung.de
approaches.
The programme is open to applications from disciplines like sociology, cultural
sociology, political science, economics, social anthropology, and social
or political history. Only researchers from Sub-Saharan countries are eligible
for funding.
3. Funding Opportunities
This Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme aims at supporting young African
postdoctoral researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa by (1) providing an opportunity
to enhance both skills and academic qualifications (2) strengthening
partnerships between African and European scholars, and (3) developing and
extending academic networks inside Africa. The programme includes both
junior and senior fellowships. For both fellowship types, a cooperation with a
European partner institution is required. Furthermore, up to 25,000 EUR for
an associated European Postdoctoral Fellow - to enhance the exchange of
scholarly expertise - can be applied for. Additionally, the possibility of an accompanying
assistance by mentors is given. The applications for junior and
senior fellowships should include a statement by the Fellow concerning the
institution she/he intends to collaborate with and what research topics will be
covered. The official grant recipient will be the academic institution in Africa
where the Fellow will be employed. Basic infrastructure should be provided
by the African institution; the fellowship may include administrative costs for
this institution up to a maximum of 5,000 EUR.
Junior fellowship
A three year fellowship (36 months) is offered to outstanding African junior
researchers holding a Ph. D. (not more than three years after completion of
Ph. D.). Project ideas must be developed independently by the applicant and
should be realized primarily at an African institution. The fellowship covers
salary, research, and travel costs up to a maximum of 90,000 EUR.
The budget must be justified specifically. It could include:
· Salary of Fellow or topping up if already employed at the African
research institution (depending on experience and customary local
salaries),
· Salaries of graduate students involved in the research project,
· Travelling to conferences/workshops,
· Research visits to African/non-African institutions of up to 3 - 4 months
per year,
· Language courses, or courses for project management etc.,
· Consumables,
· Publication costs,
· Administrative costs (max. 5,000 EUR),
February 2011 3
· Small equipment (max. 10 % of total budget).
Additional and optional budget items
· Additional European Postdoctoral Fellow (optional, max. 25,000 EUR),
· Additional Mentorship Programme (optional, max. 10,000 EUR),
· Costs of Preparatory Meeting for the full proposal with European
partner institution and European Postdoctoral Fellow (optional).
Senior fellowship
A three year fellowship (36 months) is offered to researchers with a substantial
research experience (3 to 6 years of postdoctoral experience). Applicants
will need to demonstrate experience and achievements (as documented by
their publication record) appropriate to the extended funding and research
group leader responsibilities. The fellowship covers salary, research and
travel costs up to a maximum of 120,000 EUR.
The budget must be justified specifically and could include:
· Salary of Fellow or topping-up if already employed at the African
research institution (depending on experience and customary local
salaries),
· Salary of 1 - 2 Ph. D. students involved in the project, (co-)supervised by
the applicant,
· Salaries of graduate students involved in the research project,
· Travelling to conferences/workshops,
· Research visits to African/non-African institutions of up to 3 - 4 months
per year,
· Language courses, or courses for project management etc.,
· Consumables,
· Publication costs,
· Administrative costs (max. 5,000 EUR),
· Small equipment (max. 10 % of total budget).
Additional and optional budget items
· Additional European Postdoctoral Fellow (optional, max. 25,000 EUR),
· Additional Mentorship Programme (optional, max. 10,000 EUR),
· Costs of Preparatory Meeting for the full proposal with European
partner institution and European Postdoctoral Fellow (optional).
Mentorship Programme
By taking part in the optional Mentorship Programme, the Fellow can establish
links to two leading researchers of her/his choice – one from a European
and/or one from an African institution. The mentorship offers the possibility of
scientific networking and knowledge exchange between Mentors and Fellow.
For meetings between the Fellow and the Mentors, up to 10,000 EUR can be
applied for. The Mentors must agree to act as supporters of the Fellow by
encouraging the career development, introducing them to peer networks and
assisting with publication in international journals. Mentors must not be supervisors
or main collaborators in the project and should be based at an academic
institution different from the institution where the Fellow is employed.
Additionally, the Mentors must not be identical with the European partner institution.
The role of the Mentors is meant to give further assistance beyond
the support of the European partner institution.
Additional support for Postdoctoral Fellows from Europe
As optional feature of this programme, it is possible to receive funding of up
to 25,000 EUR for a European Postdoctoral Fellow. The funds are meant to
support European Postdoctoral Fellows to participate actively in the research
project outlined by the African applicant. The African Fellow needs to apply
for these additional funds for his/her European partner. The European Fellow
must be based at a European research institution. The role of the European
Postdoctoral Fellow in the project has to be described and justified by the applicant.
Additional workshops, trainings, summer schools
Funding of workshops, trainings, symposia, and summer schools in addition
to training courses which are part of the research projects can be applied for.
These events should take place in Sub-Saharan Africa and should aim for a
high visibility and for the strengthening of networking activities between African
junior and senior researchers as well as European junior and senior researchers.
Applicants are requested to send draft proposals to the Volkswagen
Foundation. If approved, the applicants will be invited to submit a full
proposal. Full proposals should be submitted at least four months before the
proposed activity. They can be submitted any time during the course of the
fellowship.
4. Application and Selection Process
The application is organized as a three-stage process, and pre-proposals
must be submitted as one pdf file in English by 15 June 2011 to
socialsciences2011@volkswagenstiftung.de, or alternatively via the electronic
application system (https://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/vwsantrag/
login.do? siteLanguage=en).
Stage 1
The pre-proposal applications will be reviewed by an international expert
committee. Decisions including recommendations will be communicated by
October 2011. Please, note the attached check-list for pre-proposals for
Postdoctoral Fellowships for the Social Sciences in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Successful applicants of stage 1 may apply for funding of preparatory meetings
of the prospective Fellow with the European partner institution and the
European Postdoctoral Fellow (if applicable). Date, venue, participants, and
costs of these meetings have to be specified already in the pre-proposals.
Stage 2
Successful applicants of stage 1 will be invited to submit full proposals.
All full proposals will undergo an international review process. Details of the
requirements for full proposals including the recommendations made by the
review committee will be forwarded to the successful applicants of stage 1.
Stage 3
Successful applicants of stage 2 will be invited to present their project at a
selection workshop to be held in Africa in early 2012. During the conference
they will also be interviewed by an international review panel.
5. Notes for Applicants
The Foundations can only provide funds to academic institutions. Furthermore,
it is not possible to fund projects for development aid or short-term applications.
The Foundations cannot consider applications which have been
submitted at the same time either in the same or some similar form to other
funding institutions. Also, the Foundations are not able to allocate funding to
cover commitments entered into prior to the receipt of the grant letter.
Contact:Dr. Cora Ziegenbalg
Phone: +49 (0) 511 8381 237
Fax: +49 (0) 511 8381 344
E-mail: ziegenbalg@volkswagenstiftung.de
Check-list for Pre-Proposals for Postdoctoral Fellowships for the Social
Sciences in Sub-Saharan Africa
Pre-proposals have to be written in English and have to be submitted by the
applicant. Particular format requirements or application forms do not exist for
this call. The project proposal must be submitted either by email to
socialsciences2011@volkswagenstiftung.de or alternatively via the electronic
application system (https://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/vwsantrag/login.do?
siteLanguage=en). Application deadline for project pre-proposals:
15 June 2011.
A pre-proposal should contain the following information on the front
page:
· Full name, address and signature of the applicant,
· Indication of programme/call for pre-proposals the application refers to,
· Brief informative title of the proposed project,
· Duration of funding and sum applied for.
The following information is needed for the evaluation of the pre-proposal:
· A summary of the applicant’s current research/work (max. 1,000 words),
· Expertise and role of the participating European partner institution,
· Expertise and role of the European Postdoctoral Fellow (if applicable),
· Date, venue, participants and costs of preparatory meetings for full
proposals (only funded for successful applicants of stage 1),
· Description of the topic and of the relevant information for the realization
(max. 1,000 words):
o aim of the project,
o state of the art including references,
o preliminary work,
o theories and methodological approach,
o working programme and time schedule, including
distribution of tasks among Fellow and European
Postdoctoral Fellow (if applicable),
o budget.
As appendices:
· CV of the applicant – not more than 2 pages,
· Letter of support from the African research institution stating that it will
provide the basic infrastructure and
· Specifying the logistics and/or financial support it will provide for the
applicant,
· Letter of support of the European partner institution,
· Statement of the applicant whether this application has been or will be
sent to another funding organization,
· Description of the role of the European Postdoctoral Fellow in the
project – if applicable,
· Statement of the European Postdoctoral Fellow – if applicable,
· Letter of support of the Mentors (if applicable).
PLEASE NOTE:
Applications are only accepted if a preceding pre-proposal was evaluated
positively. Deadlines will be communicated with the approval of
the pre-proposal.
The Foundations can provide funds only to academic institutions.
