FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM: South African Visiting Scholar or Researcher Program 2013-2014

The main aim of the Fulbright Scholar Program is to enhance mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries. This scholar program aims to provide educational exchange experiences to a maximum number of individuals not previously afforded such an opportunity. The experience should be of intrinsic value to the scholar, the recipient’s home institution, its faculty and its students, as well as to the U.S. host institution. Fulbright Scholars serve as cultural ambassadors and should be prepared to speak about their countries, cultures and research to academic and community groups.

All Fulbright grants include limited accident and sickness benefits. Most awards provide international travel for the grantee to and from the host institution in the United States. About 70 percent of Fulbright grantees also receive maintenance grants provided by the U.S. Department of State or bi-national Fulbright Commissions and Foundations.

Fulbright scholar program:

• ·         Most grants are awarded for a period of three to nine months.
• ·         The grant should start 13-15 months after the application deadline for the academic year.
• Grants should not be for periods of less than three months or more than 12 months, including extensions.

Eligibility requirements for applicants:

Applicants must possess ALL of the following qualifications in order to be eligible unless specific exemptions are stated by the Fulbright Commission or Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy (heretofore called “Fulbright organization”) from which you received this application. 

·         Be a South African citizen or have permanent resident status qualifying you to hold a valid passport issued in South Africa. 

·         Doctoral degree or equivalent professional training or experience at the time of application 

·         A detailed statement of proposed activity for research or lecturing at a U.S. institution

·         Proficiency in English appropriate to the proposed lecturing or research project to be carried out in the United States

·         Sound physical and mental health

External closing date: 30^th September, 2012

Internal closing date: 17^th September, 2012

For further information, visit the link.

IDRC Call for Proposals: Reducing Violence, Poverty and Inequalities

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) has announced a call for proposals as part of the Save and Inclusive Cities research initiative. This is a jointly funded initiative which aims to to build an evidence base on the connections between urban violence, poverty and inequalities. It also seeks to identify the most effective strategies for addressing these challenges.

The core objectives of this initiative are to:

1. Generate a better understanding of the relationship between urban violence, poverty and inequalities, and identify the most effective strategies for tackling these challenges;

2. Contribute to the shaping of theoretical and conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches that will guide future research on these issues;

3. Support a cadre of researchers, particularly in the Global South, in enhancing their skills to design and execute cutting edge, policy relevant, rigorous, and gender sensitive research projects in cities affected by violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

4. To widely disseminate project- and program-level research results among local, regional, and international stakeholders with a view to influencing policy and practice.

Research projects funded as part of this initiative will be selected through this competitive Call for Proposals.

As a result of this Call, a series of grants of up to CAD 500,000 will be awarded.

Projects should be scheduled to be completed by April 2016, including all research activities and final reporting.

Grants of up to CA$500,000 will be awarded to carry out cutting-edge research in cities across Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia.

The deadline to submit proposals is 26 August 2012. For more information, visit this link.

King Baudouin Foundation’s Efico Fund

The Efico Fund – set up to help achieve the objective of the Efico Foundation – is managed by the King Baudouin Foundation. The Fund provides funding support to improve the living conditions of poor communities producing coffee and/or cocoa in developing countries.

The Fund is responsible for selecting and monitoring projects and for distributing financial  support. Projects contribute directly or indirectly to the structural and sustainable improvement of poor populations that produce coffee and/or cocoa in developing countries. The projects may also involve humanitarian aid and rehabilitation activities for the poor in these countries.

Each year the Efico Fund has an available amount of +/- €100,000 to €150,000 to support projects.

Projects may be supported for one or several years, with a maximum of 3 years and a maximum grant of €20,000 per year.

List of the priority countries where Efico Foundation operates:

Belize, Burundi, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, El Salvador3/4, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua , Peru, Rwanda , Togo

The application process to submit proposals is two-staged: Pre-selection where only concept notes have to be submitted and in the second stage, pre-selected applications will be requested to submit full proposals.

The deadline to submit proposals is 31 August 2012. For more information, visit this link.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Humanitarian Futures Grant Programme 2012

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is open to accepting applications for the OCHA Humanitarian Futures Grant Programme 2012. The purpose of the programme is to build the capacity of young researchers to study topics relevant to humanitarian action. It provides financial support to enable original research and writing on issues and trends that relate to: 1) the changing drivers of humanitarian need; 2) the system for responding to those needs.

All research projects must be completed within a maximum of six months and result in the preparation of a 20-40 page paper. Projects that include field work and original research will be prioritized. The projects should not focus on the role of OCHA.

The maximum grant payable under this programme is $4,000, with the exact disbursement to be determined by the nature of the work and the total number of selected projects. The final papers will be published on the OCHA website so they benefit the humanitarian and wider community. Grantees will retain ownership of their work and it will not be used by OCHA for any other purpose.

The grants are open to anyone aged 32 years and under on 1 September 2012.

Research projects on any topic of relevance to humanitarian policy and practice are welcome.

The deadline to submit applications is 20 July 2012. For more information, visit this link.