2019 Visiting Fellowship Application
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
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 20th 2019) or the spring academic semester (approximately January 16 –May 16th 2020).
Each Visiting Fellow will be paired with afaculty mentor affiliated with the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), a research network based in the United States. CEGA staff and PhD students will provide additional mentorshipduring the fellowship and afterthe scholar returns home. The EASST program will cover the costs of room and board in Berkeley, health insurance, a monthly stipend, visa fees, and roundtrip economy airfarefor 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 thescale-up of research and forge meaningful linkages with policymakers.
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 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 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
Applicants to the EASST programmust:
- 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’ degreein a relevant fieldand have plans to pursue a PhD in the future. These cases will require a direct referral by a former EASST fellow);
- If not a current student, hold a staffor 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 Africaf or at least 1 year after the fellowship.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Successful candidates must:
- Demonstrate strong analytic skills, with past coursework in economics or statistics;
- Have participated in or have familiarity with impact evaluation research (either randomized or quasi-experimental studies), policy analysis, and micro-level field data collection;
- Demonstrate a commitment to and experience with engaging policy-makersand implementing bodies and disseminating research findings;
- Demonstrate a commitment to building the capacity of African research institutions/universities;
- Demonstrate a commitment to institutionalizing rigorous evidence within their institution;
- Submit a clear and innovative research proposal to evaluate a specific public policy or program, using randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental methodologies;
- Be computer literate, fluent in English, and a strong public speaker.
A total of four fellows will be accepted for the 2019-2020 Academic Year. Of these, two slots will be reserved for fellows interested in studying problems associated with infectious disease (HIV excepted, unless in the case of co-morbidities with other infectious diseases) with a rigorous implementation science lens (seehere). The other two slots are available for fellows interested in various fields related to economic development—including agriculture, financial inclusion, gender, technology for development, energy and climate change, and others.
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.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://berkeley.app.box.com/v/EASSTVisitingFellow2019?fbclid=IwAR1Hux3VGq9Up-mY318oL7c6FShE_jL3eRvK2Y6MuxEvvGw22F5f2YG4mlE