International Development Research Center (IDRC) Research Awards 2019 – Canada

For the eleven positions located at IDRC’s head office in Ottawa, this call is open to:

• Canadians and permanent residents of Canada pursuing a master’s or a doctoral degree at a recognized university OR who have completed (within the last three years) a master’s or doctoral degree at a recognized university.
• Citizens of developing countries pursuing a master’s or a doctoral degree at a Canadian university and who, prior to applying, have a student visa with a work permit valid in Canada until December 31, 2019, OR who have completed (within the last three years) a master’s or doctoral degree at a recognized university and who already have a work permit valid in Canada until December 31, 2019.

For the position located at IDRC’s Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, this call is open to:

• Citizens of Kenya pursuing a master’s or a doctoral degree at a recognized university OR who have completed (within the last three years) a master’s or doctoral degree at a recognized university.

Other eligibility requirements 

• Your proposed research must focus on one or more developing countries.
• These awards may be part of an academic requirement.
• NB: Successful award recipients cannot receive any other Canadian government scholarship, award, subsidy, bursary, or honorarium, or hold any federal government contract in support of a research/work project for the duration of the award; this includes any other IDRC award and any award managed by another institution but supported in whole or in part by IDRC, such as the Queen Elizabeth Advanced Scholars program.

• In addition, each program has specific eligibility criteria that must be satisfied.

Research country exceptions

In principle, IDRC supports research in all developing countries. At this time, however, we do not offer awards for research that involves the following countries:

Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Southern and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South Caucasus.

Countries subject to approval

You may apply for research in the following countries and territories, but if you are recommended for an award, your application may be subject to a further stage of approval within IDRC:

Afghanistan, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gaza, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, Micronesia, Monserrat, Myanmar, Sudan, Suriname, Venezuela, West Bank, Zimbabwe, some small island states, including Comoros, São Tomé and Principe, Saint Helena, Timor-Leste, and the Pacific Islands (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna).

Research award recipients will join IDRC for a one-year paid program to undertake research on the topic they have submitted, and will receive hands-on experience in research and program management and support, grant administration, and the creation, dissemination, and use of knowledge from an international perspective.

For payroll purposes, awardees are considered full-time employees of IDRC. Benefits include employer contributions to Employment Insurance, Employer Health Tax, the Canada Pension Plan, and paid vacation leave. Some travel and research expenses are also supported, up to a maximum of CA$15,000.

12 awards will be offered during this call. There is one call per program listed below. You may only choose ONE of the following:

• Advisory Committee on Research Ethics
• Agriculture and Food Security
• Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems
• Climate Change
• Employment and Growth
• Food, Environment, and Health
• Foundations for Innovation
• Governance and Justice (in Kenya)
• Livestock Health
• Maternal and Child Health
• Networked Economies
• Policy and Evaluation 

Evaluation criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications:

Research component:

• relevance of the proposal to IDRC’s mandate and thematic priorities
• relevance of the proposal to the chosen IDRC program’s specifications
• clarity and quality of the proposal
• clarity and appropriateness in addressing ethical considerations and gender sensitivity of the proposed research
• applicant’s capacity to conduct the proposed program of research, including academic training, local language capacity, and related experience