EASST Visiting Fellowship 2020/2021 for Researchers (Fully Funded to University of California, USA)

EASST Visiting Fellowship 2020/2021 for Researchers (Fully Funded to University of California, USA)

Application Deadline: Febuary 10, 2020.

The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative invites researchers interested in developing their skills in impact evaluation to apply for a 4-month fellowship (sabbatical) at the University of California, Berkeley, to be completed during Fall 2020 (August- December) or Spring 2021 (January – May).

To be eligible, researchers must be East African nationals who hold a staff or student position at a research institution, university, or other organization headquartered in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, or South Sudan. Applicants must already have a PhD or be working towards a PhD, except in the case that they are directly referred by an EASST fellow.

FELLOWSHIP ACTIVITIES

During the fellowship period, visiting researchers will:

Participate in seminars and conferences on research in social and economic development;
Present their own researchduring seminars and workshops;
Engage in UC Berkeley coursework, such as arigorous doctoral-level seminarin 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 other CEGA campuses, including UC San Diego,UCLA,and/or Stanford University;
Design impact evaluation curricula that will be taught at an East African institution; and
Participate in policy dissemination bycontributing to policy briefs, attending meetings with policymakers and stakeholders, and presenting at events.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants to the EASST program must:

Be a national of an East African country (i.e. Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan,or Uganda);
Have completed a PhDwithin the last 8 years,or be enrolledin a PhDprogram 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 plansto pursue a PhD in the future. These cases will require a direct referral by aformerEASST fellow);
Have a current affiliation with a research institution, university or other research organization in East Africa,preferably one that supports policy-relevant, quantitative social science research;
Plan to return to a research institutein East Africaafter the fellowship.If currently enrolled in a PhD program outside the African continent,scholars may complete their PhD before their return.

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 capacityof African research institutions/universities;Demonstrate a commitment to institutionalizing rigorous evidence within their institution;
Submit a clear and innovative research proposalto evaluate a specific public policy or programin East Africa, using a randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental methodologies;
Be computer literate, fluent in English,and a strong public speaker.

Researchers from quantitative social science disciplines are encouraged to apply. The request for application for the 2020-2021 cohort of EASST fellows will be open until 9:00 am U.S. Pacific Time on Monday, February 10, 2020. Eligible applicants are invited to apply following the directions in the Request for Applications, which contains details on the fellowship activities, selection criteria, and forms for submission. Female applicants are especially encouraged to apply.