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The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative

Fellowships

EASST Visiting Fellowship 2020/2021 for East African social scientists (Fully Funded to University of California, USA)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: Monday, February 10, 2020

The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative invites researchers interested in developing their skills in impact evaluation to apply for a 4-month fellowship (sabbatical) at the University of California, Berkeley, to be completed during Fall 2020 (August- December) or Spring 2021 (January – May).

To be eligible, researchers must be East African nationals who hold a staff or student position at a research institution, university, or other organization headquartered in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, or South Sudan. Applicants must already have a PhD or be working towards a PhD, except in the case that they are directly referred by an EASST fellow.

Requirements:

To be eligible, researchers must be East African nationals who hold a staff or student position at a research institution, university, or other organization headquartered in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda,Burundi, or South Sudan.Applicants must already have a PhD or be working towards a PhD, except in the case that they are directly referred by an EASST fellow.

Researchers from quantitative social science disciplines are encouraged to apply. 2 of the 4 fellowship slots are reserved for researchers in studying infectious disease with a rigorouseconomics and implementation science lens, while the other 2 slots are available for researchers interested in any topic in development economics (agriculture, financial inclusion, etc.).

Be a nationalof an East African country (i.e. Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan,or Uganda);

Have completed a PhD within the last 8 years,or be enrolled in a PhDprogram in economics, statistics, epidemiology/public health, or another social science discipline(in exceptional cases, the applicants will hold a Masters’ degree in a relevant fieldand have plansto pursue a PhD in the future. These cases will require a direct referral by aformerEASST fellow);

Have a current affiliation with a research institution, university or other research organization in East Africa,preferably one that supports policy-relevant, quantitative social science research;

Plan to return to a research institute in East Africa after the fellowship.If currently enrolled in a PhD program outside the African continent,scholars may complete their PhD before their return

FELLOWSHIP ACTIVITIES

During the fellowship period, visiting researchers will:

Participate in seminars and conferences on research in social and economic development;

Present their own research during seminars and workshops;

Engage in UC Berkeley coursework, such as a rigorous doctoral-level seminar in impact evaluation;

Carry out an independent research project under the mentorship of a CEGA faculty member (projects can use existing data for retrospective analysis or set-up a study design for future data collection);

Meet and collaborate with faculty andstudents in multiple academic departments;

Visit and present at other CEGA campuses, including UC San Diego,UCLA,and/or Stanford University;

Design impact evaluation curricula that will be taught at an East African institution; and

Participate in policy dissemination by contributing to policy briefs, attending meetings with policymakers and stakeholders, and presenting at events.

Researchers from quantitative social science disciplines are encouraged to apply. The request for application for the 2020-2021 cohort of EASST fellows will be open until 9:00 am U.S. Pacific Time on Monday, February 10, 2020. Eligible applicants are invited to apply following the directions in the Request for Applications (see orange button), which contains details on the fellowship activities, selection criteria, and forms for submission. Female applicants are especially encouraged to apply.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the EASST Visiting Fellowship 2020/2021

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Contests

East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative 2019 Research grant Competition

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline:

The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative invites pairs of researchers from East Africa and the CEGA affiliate network to submit proposals for grants to evaluate innovative interventions in health, education, economic development, energy, and other sectors. The ceiling for grant requests is USD $50,000 per project, inclusive of indirect costs.Up to $240,000will be awarded in the current grant period.

In Spring 2019, EASST will award grants for the evaluation of innovative interventions in East Africa. A total of $240,000in research funding will be awarded across all projects. Researchers may request up to $50,000 in funding. Research teams with two lead investigators –one from the CEGA affiliate network (or sponsored graduate students) and one from a research institution in East Africa –are invited to jointly develop a research proposal for consideration by EASST.

Research teams may request funding for a new project or supplemental funding for an ongoing project. Proposals will be peer reviewed by a panel of researchers. Successful proposals will achieve two primary goals:

(i) creating new knowledge that will improve the design of development programs in East Africa, and;
(ii) enhancing East African researchers’ skills and capacity to lead future evaluations.

Note that the CEGA partner and the East African researcher are expected to be full partners in the research—from the writing ofthe proposal, to design of survey modules, to data collection, to data analysis, to writing up results.Priority will be given to projects that are likely to result in at least one co-authored publication.

COMPETITION DETAILS

Funding:

EASST anticipates funding a total of $240,000 during this 2019Call for Proposals, with a maximum of $50,000 per grant.

Topics: Funding will support impact evaluations (randomized control trials or quasi-experimental studies) that address a topic of critical importance to economic development in East Africa, i.e.agriculture, health, youth empowerment, financial inclusion, etc. It is strongly encouraged that projects incorporate a focus on gender to the extent possible.

Applications will be accepted for work in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, or South Sudan. Please note that approximately 20% of the funds available in this round are earmarked for impact evaluations that use methods from implementation science to examine the socioeconomic dimensions of infectious disease (TB, Malaria, etc.—HIV excepted, unless in cases of co-morbidities with other infectious diseases).

This subset of funding is provided by the National Institutes of Health(NIH).

Eligibility:

Submissions must be made by at least one CEGA affiliated Principal Investigator(affiliate or grad students sponsored by affiliate) and one East African Principal Investigator. While the competition is open to any East African researcher, preference will be given to EASST fellows.

Period of Performance:

The official period of performance is from May1st2019—to May 1st2020, though requests for extension may be considered. Co-Authorship: Please see the accompanying “EASST Co-Authorship Statement,” which lays out expectations for collaboration between the CEGA affiliated PI and the East African PI.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the EASST Collaborative 2019 Research grant Competition

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Fellowships

East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative 2019 Visiting Fellowship for African researchers (Fully Funded to University of California, USA)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: March 1st 2019

The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative invites East African researchers to apply for a 4-month fellowship (sabbatical) at the University of California, Berkeley, to be completed duringFall 2019(September–December) or Spring 2020(January -May).

To be eligible, researchers must be residents of an East African country (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan,or Uganda)and hold a staff or student position at a research institution, university, or other organization headquartered in East Africa.

Applicants must already have a PhD or be working towards a PhD, except in the case that they are directly referred by an EASST fellow. Researchers from quantitative social science disciplines are encouraged to apply.

The EASST Visiting Fellowship seeks to equip East African social scientists with the skills needed to carry out rigorous evaluations of economic development programs. Researchers will be based at the University of California, Berkeley for four months during the fall academic semester (approximately August 20th -December 20th2019) or the spring academic semester (approximately January 16 –May 16th2020).

Benefits:

The EASST program will cover the costs of room and board in Berkeley, health insurance, a monthly stipend, visa fees, and round trip economy airfare for selected fellows.

Please note that the fellowship does NOT provide financial support for spouses or other family members.Upon completing the fellowship, scholars are expected to return to a university or research institute in East Africa and assume a leading role in promoting the use of rigorous evidence in economic development.After successful completion of the fellowship, fellows will be eligible for:

1)“catalyst grants” of $5000-$7500 to administer trainings in impact evaluation methods and work to build institutional capacity to conduct rigorous evaluations;
2) research grants of up to $50,000 to work with a CEGA affiliate to conduct an impact evaluation to answer an economic development question in East Africa; and
3) policy engagement grants of $8000-$10,000 to facilitate the scale-up of research and forge meaningful linkages with policymakers.

ELIGIBILITY Applicants to the EASST program must:

Be a nationalof an East African country (i.e. Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan,or Uganda);

Have completed a PhD within the last 8 years,or be enrolled in a PhD program in economics, statistics, epidemiology/public health, or another social science discipline(in exceptional cases, the applicants will hold a Masters’ degree in a relevant field and have plans to pursue a PhD in the future. These cases will require a direct referral by aformerEASST fellow);

If not a current student, hold a staff or academic position at a research institution, university or other organization in East Africa, preferably one that supports policy-relevant, quantitative social science research;

Plan to return to a research institute in East Africa for at least 1 year after the fellowship.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the EASST Collaborative 2019 Visiting Fellowship

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East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative 2018 Visiting Fellowship for African researchers (Fully Funded to University of California, USA)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline:  11:59 pm U.S. Pacific Time on Friday, 30 March 2018.

The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative invites African researchers to apply for a 4-month fellowship (sabbatical) at the University of California, Berkeley, to be completed during Fall 2018 (September–December), or Spring 2019 (January-May).

Launched in 2009, The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative is a multi-institution research network with a mission to promote rigorous evaluation of social and economic development programs in East Africa. EASST builds regional leadership in evaluation research by offering competitive fellowships and grants to junior social scientists at East African research institutions. EASST also facilitates collaboration between U.S. and East African researchers. Through these and other activities, EASST seeks to empower the “next generation” of social scientists to measure the impacts of development interventions, and then translate research findings into better public policies.

FELLOWSHIP ACTIVITIES

During the fellowship period, visiting researchers will:

  • Participate in seminars and conferences on research in social and economic development;
  • Present their own work during seminars and workshops;
  • Audit courses, including rigorous doctoral-level seminars in impact evaluation;
  • Carry out an independent research project under the mentorship of CEGA faculty (projects can use existing data for retrospective analysis or set-up a study design for future data collection);
  • Meet and collaborate with faculty and students in multiple academic departments;
  • Visit and present CEGA campuses, including UC San Diego, Stanford University, and/or UC Santa Cruz;
  • Design impact evaluation curricula that will be taught at an East African institution;
  • Participate in policy dissemination by contributing to policy briefs, attending meetings with policymakers and stakeholders, and presenting at events; and
  • Work with the World Bank and other partners to identify opportunities for future research.

Eligibility

Eligible candidates for EASST must:

  • Be a resident of an East African country (i.e. Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, or Uganda);
  • Have a PhD (completed within the last 8 years) or be enrolled in a graduate program in economics, statistics, epidemiology/public health, or another social science discipline;
  • Hold a staff position at a research institution, university or other organization in East Africa, preferably one that supports policy-relevant, quantitative social science research;
  • Have participated in or have familiarity with impact evaluation research (either randomized or quasi-experimental studies);
  • Have participated in field-based data collection and rigorous empirical research/analysis;
  • Be computer literate, fluent in English, and a strong public speaker;
  • Plan to return to a research institute in East Africa for at least 1 year after the fellowship; and
  • Demonstrate a commitment to building the capacity of African research institutions/universities.

Selection Criteria

Successful candidates must:

  • Demonstrate strong analytic skills, with past coursework in economics or statistics.
  • Demonstrate an interest in rigorous program evaluation, policy analysis, and micro-level field data collection.
  • Demonstrate a commitment to and experience with engaging policy-makers and implementing bodies and disseminating research findings.
  • Submit a clear and innovative research proposal to evaluate a specific public policy or program, using randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental methodologies.

*We will give preference to fellows interested in infectious diseases, agriculture, and digital financial inclusion.

Female applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. Preference will be assigned to fellows who have already completed a doctoral degree (PhD) in a relevant field of study.

To Apply

Carefully review the Application Guidelines in this document. An online system is used to submit applications. Please submit completed versions of all required documents by the submission deadline.  No information and/or documents will be accepted after the closing date. All materials should be submitted using the online platform “Submittable” at: https://cega.submittable.com/submit/105667/easst-2018-2019-visiting-fellow-application

 

Note: If you are unable to access the online system, please email Chelsea Downs, [email protected], to request an application in word format.

Estimated TIMELINE

Monday, 22 January 2018 Release of Request for Applications
Friday, 30 March 2018 Application deadline
Week of April 2 – 13, 2018 Application review
Week of April 16- 20, 2018 Selected interviews
Week of April 23 – 27, 2018 Notification of selections
Friday, 4 May 2018 Deadline to accept

 

 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the EASST Collaborative 2018 Visiting Fellowship

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