Application Deadline:October 26th 2020
Thanks to the generous financial support from the International Development Research Centre, up to $3 million CAD will be allocated via the expansion of the QES Advanced Scholars program, which will support doctoral researchers, post-doctoral fellows and early career researchers from eligible West African countries and Canada.
This call will support projects contributing to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with preference given to proposals that focus on or clearly integrate SDG 5 (gender equality) as a crosscutting or mainstream goal. QES-AS West Africa projects will focus on one or more of the following areas: climate resilience and sustainable food systems; education and innovation systems; ethics in development research; health equity; inclusive governance; and sustainable inclusive growth.
The program will require all scholars to participate in leadership development and community engagement activities and in the network of Queen Elizabeth Scholars.
The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships Program (QES) was created to improve global talent exchange between Canada and other nations. The program aims to develop the next generation of innovative leaders and community builders by providing enriched academic, professional, and cross-cultural experiences and by facilitating lasting local and global community engagement.
QES-Advanced Scholars – West Africa (QES-AS-WA) Competition
– Canadian universities are invited to submit multi-year project proposals seeking funding of up to $300,000 CAD.
Each Canadian university may submit one proposal to the 2020 competition. Up to $3,000,000 will be made available through this call for proposals.
Summary of Project Criteria:
• Canadian universities which have recognized provincial degree granting powers, or their affiliates, may submit a proposal to QES-AS West Africa. Universities may partner with one or more other Canadian university(ies) for a joint proposal however, each university may only be the lead applicant in one submission to the program.
• Projects will support specialized training and/or research activities for doctoral researchers, post-doctoral researchers and early career researchers from Canada and West Africa and each award must include a non-academic research placement with industry/civil society.
• Each scholar must be undertaking research in one or more of the following areas of focus:
• Climate resilience and sustainable food systems
• Education and innovation systems
• Ethics in development research
• Health equity
• Inclusive governance
• Sustainable inclusive growth
QES-AS West Africa will prioritize the following:
- Women researchers – overall, 60% of the researchers should be women.
- Francophone researchers – applications focusing on Francophone countries will be prioritised.
- Institutional strengthening – proposals which make a convincing case that scholar exchanges, beyond advancing individual scholars` own careers, will deliberately be used by Canadian and West African universities to strengthen their own institutional capacity (research areas, curriculums, partnerships etc.) will be prioritised.
Number of Awards: Not specified
Each project will involve incoming West African scholars, outgoing Canadian scholars, or a mix of both.
The program is targeting an overall participation rate1 of:
• 50% West African incoming scholars
• 50% Canadian outgoing scholars
For More Information: