The African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) is an organisation with a vision of an African continent in which the people enjoy the highest possible quality of life through policies and practices informed by robust and scientific evidence. Its mission is to be a global centre of excellence, consistently generating and delivering scientific evidence for policy and action on population, health, and education in Africa.
APHRC, in partnership with IDRC, is calling for applications for the African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowships (ADDRF).
The ADDRF Fellowship Programme seeks to facilitate more rigorous engagement of doctoral students in research, strengthen their research skills, and provide them an opportunity for timely completion of their doctoral training. The Programme targets doctoral students with strong commitment to a career in training and/or research. The overall goal of the ADDRF Programme is to support the training and retention of highly-skilled, locally-trained scholars in research and academic positions across the region.
The ADDRF will award about 20 fellowships in 2013 to doctoral students who are within two years of completing their thesis at an African university. In this phase of funding and in consideration of IDRC’s health programming priorities, candidates whose dissertation topics address health policy or health systems issues will be given special consideration. The Programme has also reserved three fellowships for doctoral students conducting research on health inequities in urban areas or the reproductive health of marginalised urban communities. These three fellowships are funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Eligibility
The fellowship will primarily support research (including data collection and/oranalysis). Funds will not be used to support coursework. Applicants must:
- Be citizens or permanent residents of a sub-Saharan African country
- Be undertaking doctoral training at a recognized African university
- Have completed all pre-dissertation requirements
- Provide a detailed time-frame for completing their dissertation which should be endorsed by the head of department or the chair of the dissertation committee,
- Have a research topic that has been approved by their doctoral dissertation committee, as well as the official body overseeing ethical review of the research protocol, and
- Be able to complete their dissertation within 24 months of the start of the fellowship.
Eligible Fields of study include:
- Health Sector Analysis
- Health Management and Organization
- Health Care Financing (including health insurance)
- Quality of Care
- Human Resources for Health
- Health Program Evaluation
- Health Equity
- Cost- eectiveness of Health Care Programs
- Community Participation in Health Care or Health Issues
- Research to Practice and Health Policy
- Health Information, Education and Communication
- Pharmaceutical Policy
- Economic Policy and Health
- Health Information Systems
- Health Services Utilization and Accessibility
- Health Inequities in Urban Area
- Reproductive Health of Marginalized Urban Communities
Note that lab-based studies whose immediate relevance to health systems strengthening is not evident will not be considered.
How to apply
All application materials (applications in French will also be considered) must be received by January 15, 2013 in order to be reviewed. Applications must include the following documents to be considered (Applications not meeting these requirements will not be reviewed):
1. A completed application form. This form must be submitted electronically in MS Word format.
2. Proof of citizenship or permanent residence in a sub-Saharan African country (e.g. copy of passport or other national identication);
3. Two letters of reference (at least one must come from a faculty member
with extensive knowledge of applicant’s academic history and performance and must document how the candidate’s dissertation researches into ongoing research programs in the department).Referees’ contact information must be provided in the application form.
4. Evidence that the research protocol has undergone review and received
approval from an approved ethical review board and the dissertation
committee or is under review for the same.
The application form and supporting documents must be submitted online at https://www.aphrc.org/insidepage/ADDRF.php
To download the application form, refer to www.aphrc.org/download/2013-Application_Form-ADDRF-Final.doc.
For more about the 2013 African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship, refer to www.aphrc.org/download/ADDRFCallenglish2013opt.pdf.