STAAARS+ fellowship for research teams working on structural transformation of African and Asian agriculture

STAAARS+ FELLOWSHIP FOR RESEARCH TEAMS WORKING ON STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF AFRICAN AND ASIAN AGRICULTURE

January 31, 2020

UPDATE (March 18): Deadline to proposal submissions now extended to April 22, 2020.

The USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Capacity, and Influence (PRCI) announces Request for Proposals for the Structural Transformation of African and Asian Agriculture and Rural Spaces (STAAARS+) Fellowship Program.

The new program is a collaboration between Cornell University, Michigan State University (MSU), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). STAAARS+ is an extension of the Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Space (STAARS) fellowship program run by Cornell University and supported by PIM since 2016 (see STAARS 2020 Call for Proposals here).

This first round of STAAARS+ is open for teams of 2-3 early career African researchers currently working for policy research institutions based in sub-Saharan Africa. Future calls will likewise be open to Asian researchers from policy research institutions based in lower and middle-income countries in Asia. Team members must be actively engaged in research (with published work within the past four years) and hold an M.S. or a Ph.D., or equivalent degree, in agricultural economics, economics, geography, sociology, statistics, or a related field. Team members with Ph.D. should have completed their degree no more than five years prior to the application deadline, although in exceptional cases a team of three could include one member whose Ph.D. was awarded up to ten years prior. Priority is given to proposals from PRCI-affiliated institutions*, but teams from other institutions will be also considered. Teams may span multiple collaborating institutions. Qualified female researchers are particularly encouraged to apply and topics with an explicit gender dimension are of particular interest. For guidance, applicants are recommend to review this presentation and attend the webinar on February 6, 2020 at 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM EST. (If you are unable to attend the webinar, a recording will be available shortly after the live event at the webinar page).

The deadline to submit a concept proposal is April 22, 2020. Accepted applicants will be notified no later than May 15, 2020 and are expected to begin remote collaboration with their mentors immediately upon acceptance.

For more information and full application package, please visit the PRCI website.


*These include all members of ReNAPRI – the Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes – all centers selected under PRCI as Centers for Policy Leadership (only some of which will be current members of ReNAPRI), and an agreed set of additional centers across Africa and Asia.  Current members of ReNAPRI are Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), Universite de Kinshasha, DRC; Institute for Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana; Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Kenya; Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural Resources (LUANAR), Malawi; Research Center for Agriculture Policy and Agri-systems (CEPPAG), Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique; Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; School of Agriculture Economics and Business Studies (SAEBS), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania; Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics, Makerere University, Uganda; Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), Zambia; and Department of Agricultural Economics & Extension, University of Zimbabwe. Centers for Policy Leadership are the Center for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law and the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development (CPEEL-DAERD), University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Uganda; and Bureau d’Analyses Macro-économiques (BAME) de l’Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA-BAME), Senegal.

Photo credit: Dominic Chavez/World Bank