Unwanted Witness

Application Deadline: November 10, 2017

The Annenberg School for Communication’s Internet Policy Observatory has teamed up with the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Research ICT Africa, Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), Unwanted Witness, Paradigm Initiative, and YoungICTAdvocates to organize the fourth regional Research Methods Workshop for Internet Policy and Advocacy in Africa. The workshop, taking place from Feb 26 to March 3 in Kampala, seeks applications from young scholars, activists, lawyers, and technologists working across Africa for an intensive practicum on using methodologically rigorous, data-driven, and contextually appropriate research for advocacy.

The workshop seeks to provide a venue for stakeholders in the region to build collaborative possibilities across sectors, expand research capacity within practitioner and digital rights advocacy communities, and to provide the skills and know-how to more strategically use research and data to advance advocacy efforts. Sessions will cover both qualitative and quantitative methods and will provide the space for hands-on activities and the development of individual and group research interests. In this way, the workshop seeks to provide opportunities to connect scholarly expertise with policymakers and advocates and improve working synergies between emerging African networks of civil society organizations, academic centers and think-tanks.

Sessions will include workshops on stakeholder analysis, conducting interviews, researching laws and regulations, social network analysis, network measurement, survey methods, data visualization, and strategic communication for policy impact.

Requirements

• Application are encouraged for individuals from Africa in the academic (early career), NGO, technology, and public policy sectors to apply.
• Prospective applicants should have a particular area of interest related to internet governance and policymaking, censorship, surveillance, internet access, political engagement online, protection of human rights online, and/or corporate governance in the ICT sector.
• Applicants will be asked to bring a specific research question to the program to be developed and operationalized through trainings, group projects, and one-on-one mentorship with top researchers and experts from around the world.

The course will be conducted in English and applicants should have high proficiency in English in order to interact with experts, lecturers and other participants who will come from diverse backgrounds. Please also note that we require all participants to have a laptop to use for the duration of the program.

Benefits:

• Several partial and full scholarships will be made for the most competitive applicants to participate.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Research Methods Workshop for Internet Policy & Advocacy in Africa