Africa has a fast-growing scientific production. Between 2012 and 2016, Africa’s scientific production rose rapidly by 39%, and the number of authors grew by 43%. This was at least 10% higher than the growth on any other continent.
Yet, concerns have been justifiably expressed about the continent’s inability to harness the output of these research into meaningful interventions in policy, and everyday life of Africans. As a result, policy making at all levels appears to be little influenced by research, but much influenced by the policymaker’s guesstimates. Not only this, critical policy actors, such as the media, do not seem to have a relationship with researchers that is robust enough to allow them to embark upon data-driven advocacy and reporting.
As our contribution to bridging this gap, the Civic Media Lab, with support from the MacArthur Foundation hereby announces three post-doctoral fellowships for researchers in the social and human sciences.
Themes: The post-doctoral fully-funded fellowship will focus on corruption in the Nigerian system with an eye for possible solutions. It will cover three themes:
- Disinformation, misinformation and fake news in Nigeria
- Understanding (and predicting) Nigeria elections and electoral malpractices
- Understanding and tackling insecurity in Nigeria
For each theme, a fellow will be selected and be expected to deplore mixed-method research approach in the study of the theme with proactive collection and analysis of granular data.
Eligibility and selection
To be eligible, an applicant must:
- Have obtained a PhD in the relevant discipline not more than five years before the date of application; Master’s Degree with proven research skills and experience would also be considered. Such scholars are encouraged to apply if their current research is related to the themes of this call.
- Preferably be a researcher based in Nigeria
- Demonstrate ability to deploy mixed- or multi-method designs in conducting research
- Be capable of gathering historical, robust, and granular data on the chosen topic
- Present evidence of availability for the fellowship
Length and timelines
The fellowship will be for a period of six months.
- Application closes: 30 June, 2021
- Selection and interviews: 01 – 05 July, 2021
- Fellowship programme begins: 15 July, 2021
- Fellowship programme ends: 31 December, 2021
Deliverables
- Each fellow, working with a mentor who would not be below the rank of an associate professor, would present a monthly progress report on their research.
- About the fifth month of the fellowship, each fellow would be expected to submit a white paper with historical and granular data showcasing an in-depth investigation and analysis of the theme. The white paper should be in a format that can inspire news reporting by mainstream and online journalists.
- Each fellow would present a seminar based on their research to a gathering of journalists, civil society and other stakeholders.
- Each fellow would, with permission from and acknowledgment of Civic Media Lab, be encouraged to write up an academic article from the research conducted.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified applicants should prepare a two-page CV and about 1,500-word research proposal and fill the form on or before 30th June, 2021.
Application Deadline: 30th June, 2021.
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