AREF/EDCTP Preparatory Fellowship 2019/2020 for Early-career researchers (Funding up to €70,000)

Deadline: November 27, 2019

Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) are jointly calling for applications from emerging researchers for the Preparatory Fellowships 2019/2020.

The purpose of the AREF/EDCTP Preparatory Fellowship is to enhance the competitiveness of up-and-coming post-doctoral sub-Saharan African scientists and clinicians aspiring to receive international/regional/national fellowships or grant support, such as the EDCTP Career Development Fellowships. The AREF/EDCTP Preparatory Fellowship targets outstanding early-career researchers residing in or wishing to relocate to sub-Saharan Africa, who demonstrate independent scientific thinking and have potential to deliver locally relevant research with measurable impact and within the scope of the EDCTP2 programme.

Fellowship Objectives

The objectives of this call are to:

• Enable outstanding sub-Saharan African researchers (0 to 3-year post-PhD) to
  • further advance their research skills, through short-course(s) and hands-on training, especially using biological samples and data they or their home organisations have generated;
  • strengthen their competencies in project and proposal design;
  • enhance essential generic/transferable researcher skills that will allow them to secure research partnerships, and make effective use of fellowships;
  • contribute to creating a pool of researchers optimally equipped with the expertise and skills to address local research needs.
• Enable individuals to deploy their own resourcefulness and research relationships to best effect in competing for early/mid-career fellowships, such as (but not limited to) the EDCTP Career Development Fellowships;
• Enhance career development and retention of postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate medical researchers in research in and for sub-Saharan Africa;
• To provide a firm foundation and increase the quality, efficiency and impact of fellowship projects funded by organisations such as the EDCTP Association.

Funding

• Successful applicants will use the funding for a 3 to 9 months placement at a centre of research excellence in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa contracted to host the fellow before spending a 3-months re-entry re-integration period at the fellow’s home (employing) institution, making a total training period of up to 12 months. The re-integration project will be developed by the fellow with approval of the home institution so that it is aligned with its institutional research and human resources development plan.

Eligibility

Open to outstanding early-career researchers residing in or wishing to relocate to sub-Saharan Africa, who demonstrate independent scientific thinking and have potential to deliver locally relevant research with measurable impact and within the scope of the EDCTP2 programme.

A proposal/application will only be considered eligible if:

• its content corresponds, wholly or in part, to the topic/contest description for which it is submitted;
• it complies with the eligibility conditions for participation set out below, depending on the type of action:
  • The applicant must be a legal entity established in sub-Saharan Africa (the applicant legal entity)*;
  • The fellow must be employed or have guaranteed employment by the applicant legal entity (the host organisation) where they intend to remain working for a minimum of two years after the expiration of the grant.
  • The applying fellow must:
    • be a post-doctoral scientist;
    • have been awarded their doctorate within 3 years before the submission deadline of the AREF-EDCTP Preparatory Fellowship application;
    • have been either a PhD student or MD, who have been active researchers for up to three years following award of their doctorate;
    • be a resident of or be willing to relocate to a sub-Saharan African country;
    • not have been funded under this fellowship scheme before**.
  • The requested EDCTP2 contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 70,000;
  • Placements sought shall be for a period of at least 3 and up to 9 months, following which there will be a re-integration period of up to 3 months. The maximum fellowship duration shall be 12 months.

Expected Impact

Projects funded under this call for proposals should:

• Contribute towards the achievement of SDG3 ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’);
• Enhance the ability of fellows to design, plan and execute clinical biomedical and/or social science/ethics research proposals, and manage research relationships within the scope of the EDCTP2 programme, and to generate competitive proposals and into effective projects;
• Promote and enhance competitiveness for the next tier of fellowships and grants, such as (but not limited to) the EDCTP Career Development Fellowships;
• Lead to high impact research outputs by junior sub-Saharan African scientists who have not been supported by major funders previously;
• Foster new collaborations and mentorship opportunities for newly trained fellows;
• Equip the next generation of African researchers to sustain excellent and relevant research in sub-Saharan Africa, and engage as African citizens with African leaders, policy-makers and industries to drive forward evidence-based health improvement.

Application

Click here to apply

For more information, visit AREF/EDCTP Preparatory Fellowship.