The Global Development Network (GDN) closed, on Sept 11, 2016, a competitive call for interest as part of the Global Research Competition (GRC) on aid effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on health and agriculture.
This unique call focussed on research proposals on aid effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa from the perspective of aid recipient countries. Ongoing discussions on aid effectiveness do not reflect - or reflect only marginally - the experience of aid recipients in administering and managing increasingly diversified assistance flows, which often go much beyond overseas development assistance or recipient stances on current donor policies. The theme of this competition aims to address this dissonance between the dominant discourse on aid effectiveness and realities of aid recipients in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on health and agriculture. In addition, the theme calls for attention toward the emergence of non-traditional, emerging or new development partners and their impact on the changing landscape of aid and development.
Key Features of the call were:
- Teams of early career researchers from developing countries who have completed their doctoral studies in or after 2011.
- Affiliation to key institutions e.g. universities, undependent research insitutions, think tanks, networks and consortia in Africa
- First hand research experience in the proposed countries of focus
- Single sector focus in either health OR agriculture. Health includes infrastructure, system strengthening and serice delivery. Agriculture includes productivity, technology and development.
- Transnational teams that can include team member from different institutions, with one leading insitution
- At least two countries in the region, including countries with an experience of conflict
- The research project will be conducted over a 12 month period, from December 2016 to December 2017.
- Deadline: September 11, 2016 midnight, Nairobi Time (GMT +3)
- Shortlisted teams to submit a full proposal by the end of October, and will have access to quality academic and proejct management support to finalize their research plan in Autumn 2016.