The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative invites African researchers to apply for a 4-month fellowship (sabbatical) at the University of California Berkeley, to be completed during the 2014-15 academic year.
To be eligible, researchers must be residents of an East African country and hold a staff or student position at a research institution, university, or other organization headquartered in East Africa. Researchers from economics, epidemiology, statistics, and other quantitative social science disciplines are encouraged to apply.
For this round of fellowships, the application deadline is 11:59 pm U.S. Pacific Time on Wednesday, 26 March 2014.
The EASST Visiting Scholar Fellowship seeks to equip East African social scientists with the skills needed to carry out rigorous evaluations of economic development programs. During a four-month fellowship, researchers will be based at the University of California Berkeley. Fellows may visit either during the Fall semester (from August 20-December 20, 2014) or the Spring semester (from January 20-May 20, 2015).
Each Visiting Scholar will be paired with a faculty mentor affiliated with the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), a research network based in the United States. A list of CEGA faculty affiliates is available online at http://cega.berkeley.edu/faculty/. Additionally, CEGA staff and PhD students will provide support during the semester and once the scholar returns home. The fellowship program will pay for room and board in Berkeley, health insurance, monthly stipend, visa fees, and roundtrip air travel. CEGA staff will provide mentorship not only throughout the semester, but also once the scholar returns home.
Upon completing the fellowship, scholars are expected to return to a university or research institute in East Africa and assume a leading role in the global effort to use rigorous evaluation and evidence for economic development. Small grants of up to $8,000 will be provided to scholars who return to their home institution, to hold trainings in impact evaluation, build institutional capacity, or to forge new linkages with government policymakers.
Eligibility
Eligible candidates for all EASST programs must:
- Be a resident of an East African country participating in EASST (i.e. Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, or Uganda);
- Have participated in field-based data collection and rigorous empirical techniques/analysis;
- Have participated in or have familiarity with impact evaluation research (either randomized or quasi-experimental studies);
- Hold a staff position at a research institution, university or other organization in East Africa, preferably one that supports policy-relevant, quantitative social science research;
- Be computer literate, fluent in English, and a strong public speaker;
- Have a PhD or Master’s degree (completed within the last 8 years) or be enrolled in a graduate program in economics, statistics, epidemiology/public health, or another social science discipline;
- Plan to return to a research institute in East Africa for at least 1 year after the fellowship; and
- Demonstrate a commitment to building the capacity of African research institutions/universities.
Selection Criteria
Successful candidates must:
- Demonstrate strong analytic skills, with past coursework in economics or statistics.
- Experience conducting field research using empirical, quantitative and qualitative techniques.
- Demonstrate an interest in rigorous program evaluation, policy analysis, and micro-level field data collection.
- Submit a clear and innovative research proposal to evaluate a specific public policy or program, using randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental methodologies.
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.
