The Association for Research On Civil Society In Africa (AROCSA) PhD Fellowship 2020

As part of the program, selected PhD scholars who have successfully defended their research proposals will be provided research grants to cover the cost of their research i.e. fieldwork, data collection, data processing, and the printing of their final dissertations.

The research grant is targeted at encouraging the production and dissemination of knowledge by African scholars in the fields of nonprofit management, philanthropy, civil society, social entrepreneurship, and voluntary action studies in line with AROCSA’s mission to promote and advance a community of excellence in research and practice on civil society in the service of African development.

Successful applicants will be expected to present papers on their research at AROCSA’s next annual conference scheduled to hold in August 2021 where they will formally be inducted as AROCSA fellows. Their completed theses will also be hosted on the AROCSA website as an open source document to benefit other researchers and the general public.
Successful applicants will be awarded a grant of up to US$3,500.

Eligibility

AROCSA is accepting proposals from African scholars currently registered as full time PhD students with a university in Africa. Applicants’ theses should focus on nonprofit management, philanthropy, civil society, social entrepreneurship and voluntary action studies. Applicants should have already defended their research proposals at the time of application to be considered eligible.

Requirements

Applicants are required to apply for the PhD Workshop through the electronic application on the AROCSA website. Applications must include the following:

1. Proof of registration with a university in Africa
2. Copy of Approved Research proposal: Applicants MUST provide a copies of their defended research proposals and the focus of study MUST fall within any of nonprofit management, philanthropy, civil society, social entrepreneurship, and voluntary action studies.
3. Letter of motivation from the applicant
4. Letter of support from supervisor: Using the institution’s letterhead, the letter should contain the supervisor’s approval, confirm that the student has indeed successfully defended their research proposal, and include an assurance of continuous support for the duration of the research. The letter should also include the supervisor’s contact details.
5. Budget: Applicants should present a detailed breakdown of finances required for the completion of their research, explaining how funds will be allocated and utilised from the collection of data to the completion of the thesis, clearly outlining the link between expenses and the phases of their research.
6. Please compile all items listed above into a single PDF document before submission. All original documents created for submission should be presented as double spaced, 12pt font with one inch margins.

Please note that all items listed above are compulsory and incomplete applications will not be considered.

Selection Criteria

Grants are awarded based on merit. Applicants will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. Potential quality and impact of proposed research.
2. Alignment with the thematic research areas of nonprofit management, philanthropy, civil society, social entrepreneurship, and voluntary action studies

Timeline

Applications deadline: Friday, 13th November 2020

Selection process ensues: Monday, 16th November 2020

AROCSA Fellows notification: Monday, 1st February 2020

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the AROCSA PhD Fellowship