This Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme, funded by the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation and other European partners aims at providing sustainable support for research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides an African-European cooperation, special emphasis is put on the development and extension of academic networks within Africa.

This call is part of the Foundations’ career development strategy for African researchers in which junior and senior postdoctoral fellows should take responsibility for developing and executing their own research project and show leadership responsibilities for their research group (in the case of senior fellows). The project must be carried out in collaboration with a European partner institution. The call is open to all scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa active in the research fields mentioned below.

Thematic Scope
Current social, economic and political developments in contemporary Sub- Saharan societies are at the core of this call for proposals. Cultural and religious as well as historical questions and approaches can be included but should not be the main focus of the project. Projects understanding African countries as entangled in global interdependencies will be given preference.

These interdependencies refer to North-South as well as South-South relations. Processes of globalization in the African context and their social and/or cultural impact on societies can be an important aspect of the project.
Possible research areas include: processes of urbanization, the emergence and scope of violent conflicts, peace building strategies, foreign actors in Africa, inter-African relationships, questions of social order, measures aiming at poverty reduction. All projects should have a strong reference to present questions and problems concerning Sub-Saharan Africa and transcend disciplinary boundaries and limitations by exploring linkages between disciplinary approaches.

The programme is open to applications from disciplines like sociology, cultural sociology, political science, economics, social anthropology, and social or political history. Only researchers from Sub-Saharan countries are eligible for funding.

Funding Opportunities
This Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme aims at supporting young African postdoctoral researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa by (1) providing an opportunity to enhance both skills and academic qualifications (2) strengthening partnerships between African and European scholars, and (3) developing and extending academic networks inside Africa. The programme includes both junior and senior fellowships. For both fellowship types, a cooperation with a European partner institution is required. Furthermore, up to 25,000 EUR for an associated European Postdoctoral Fellow – to enhance the exchange of scholarly expertise – can be applied for. Additionally, the possibility of an accompanying assistance by mentors is given. The applications for junior and senior fellowships should include a statement by the Fellow concerning the institution she/he intends to collaborate with and what research topics will be covered. The official grant recipient will be the academic institution in Africa where the Fellow will be employed. Basic infrastructure should be provided by the African institution; the fellowship may include administrative costs for this institution up to a maximum of 5,000 EUR.

Junior fellowship
A three year fellowship (36 months) is offered to outstanding African junior researchers holding a Ph. D. (not more than three years after completion of Ph. D.). Project ideas must be developed independently by the applicant and should be realized primarily at an African institution. The fellowship covers salary, research, and travel costs up to a maximum of 90,000 EUR.

The budget must be justified specifically. It could include:

· Salary of Fellow or topping up if already employed at the African research institution (depending on experience and customary local salaries),
· Salaries of graduate students involved in the research project,
· Travelling to conferences/workshops,
· Research visits to African/non-African institutions of up to 3 – 4 months per year,
· Language courses, or courses for project management etc.,
· Consumables,
· Publication costs,
· Administrative costs (max. 5,000 EUR),
· Small equipment (max. 10 % of total budget).
· Additional and optional budget items


Additional European Postdoctoral Fellow (optional, max. 25,000 EUR),