The POSSIBLE- Africa Fellowship Programme is a 24-month early postdoctoral (graduated within the last 5-10 years) fellowship opportunity for outstanding African scholars in the Social Sciences & Humanities, who propose research that aims to create evidence to inform sustainable development within the African continent. POSSIBLE- Africa is a programme of the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) that is being implemented with funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The fellowship opportunity also aligns with the goal of SFA Foundation to address the continent’s most pressing developmental needs by generating knowledge that solves problems and informs decision-making.
The fellowship aims to build a critical mass of independent African research leaders in the SS&H to lead science programmes at local and international levels. These leaders will have the capacity to engage successfully with funders, policy makers, communities, and other stakeholders, and to serve as mentors and supervisors for the next generation of researchers in Africa.
The objectives of the fellowship programme are:
- To form a high-quality and equitable cohort of postdoctoral fellows in the social sciences and humanities (SS&H).
- To develop emerging independent research leaders and enhance training in SS&H.
- To establish a SS&H advisory board to guide POSSIBLE Africa fellowships and other SS&H initiatives of SFA Foundation.
Fellow EligibilityÂ
African Scholars who have completed their PhD in any SS&H discipline in the last 5-10 years prior to the application date are eligible to submit a proposal for funding through the POSSIBLE-Africa fellowship programme. Applicants must be citizens of any African countries. Applicants must have an affiliation (academic or non-academic) with an African Institute of higher learning or research Centre in any African Country. Females are encouraged to apply, as are scholars from marginalized and disadvantages groups.
Applications are more likely to be successful if they can demonstrate:
- long term institutional commitment (i.e., commitment to retain them after the fellowship) and
- that they will contribute an existing body of data to the public domain (e.g., empirical data built up through numerous related consultancies, which are suitable for theoretical analysis with a view to producing scientific outputs during the fellowship)
Fellowship Activities
The fellowship programme will include SFA Foundation’s coordinated learning and related activities that will provide research and professional capacity strengthening opportunities for POSSIBLE-Africa fellows: These activities include:
Original research
All fellows will be expected to propose and conduct a programme of research about an eligible research topic. Fellows should include all expected costs of research field work, learning courses, conferences and related in their fellowship budget (see below for further details). A detailed research proposal must be submitted as part of the application.
Formal learning
Advanced social research methods and theory course (12 weeks)
The fellowship will incorporate a methods and theory short course which will provide POSSIBLE-Africa fellows opportunities to develop advanced research knowledge and skills, as well as network with each other and senior social scientists who facilitate the course.
Application Deadline: December 11, 2022
For More Information:
