Tuesday, October 2, 2007

GRANT- CRRC-UNICEF Research Fellowship on Children in Poverty in Azerbaijan

Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian Studies


GRANT- CRRC-UNICEF Research Fellowship on Children in Poverty in Azerbaijan

Posted by: Farid Guliyev <fareedaz@yahoo.com>

CRRC-UNICEF Research Fellowship Available

Engage in research - explore issues - satisfy your curiosity - get
published - generate further opportunities

The Caucasus Research Resource Centers and UNICEF are pleased to
announce the First Annual Research Fellowship on Children in Poverty
in Azerbaijan. Are you curious about child poverty issues? Do you have
some ideas or hypotheses that you want to explore further? This
fellowship could be the perfect opportunity for you!

What issues are we looking to address?

We're looking for social science research that addresses pressing
child poverty issues Azerbaijan currently faces. We define child
poverty as the deprivation of "the material, spiritual and emotional
resources needed to survive, develop and thrive, leaving children
unable to enjoy their rights, achieve their full potential or
participate as full and equal members of society." (UNICEF, The State
of the Worlds' Children 2005). We are especially interested in various
causes, forms and consequences of child poverty, delivery systems for
social services for girls and boys, social exclusion, monetary,
non-monetary poverty, exclusion, deprivation, disparities, and
discrimination issues. A narrow geographic focus would be preferable.

At the same time, we are happy to listen to your suggestions within
the general topic of children in poverty. We can also help you develop
your ideas if you are unsure about it, but are committed to
undertaking professional research. Look at CRRC blog,

http://crrc-caucasus.blogspot.com, to see some of the issues that
previous fellows have worked on.

What issues are we NOT looking to address?

We are open to innovative ideas and projects. But we are not
particularly interested in geopolitical studies, partisan pieces, or
research that is unfocused, speculative (or too theoretical) and does
not ground itself in the relevant existing literature. We prefer
research that can make a real impact by improving people's lives in
general, and in this particular case - children's lives in Azerbaijan.

What results are expected?

We want you to produce international quality research. You should aim
to publish your research in a peer-reviewed journal. This will give
your research international recognition. We will help you find an
appropriate journal to which you can submit your work. We also expect
your work to contain prescriptive richness and ask you to present you
findings to UNICEF, CRRC and other relevant interested groups
(international organizations, NGOs, government agencies) in Azerbaijan.

Who is the fellowship for?

You are smart, committed, curious and want to apply all your
abilities. Typically you will have at least a Master's Degree. You are
committed to develop your research ability and have a track record of
excellence. You may work in fields other than research, but you are
interested in getting back into research because you realize there are
excellent long-term opportunities in the field. We require a working
knowledge of English, since you want to publish internationally.
Exceptions can be made for those doing quantitative and survey work.
(Sorry, no funding for stipends abroad, or for Westerners.)

What do you get?

Primarily you get the satisfaction of doing excellent work and of
being part of a small but vibrant community of internationally
recognized research scholars in the South Caucasus. Moreover, if you
get published internationally, many opportunities follow. The
fellowship provides an opportunity to prove your professionalism,
which you can use for many other applications (jobs, consultancy work,
joint research projects, conference participation, to name the most
obvious). Depending on your research project, you can also get between
4000 and 6000 US dollars for pursuing your research interest (surveys,
for example, may have higher costs).

Is it easy?

Yes and no. We will help at every step. But it certainly is not easy
money. In research you confront new challenges and difficult decisions
all the time. That is why we are doing it, after all. It requires
determination and persistence -- we hope you will join us in the
thrill of discovery.

How to prepare?

Our application procedure is specifically designed to help you develop
your research proposal. Write us a short e-mail now (by the latest
October 7) to Rena at rena@crrc.az to find out more, telling us
briefly about yourself and your field of interest. We will send you an
email to let you know about the next step and to invite you to discuss
your ideas at our open houses.


The Caucasus Research Resource Centers program (CRRC) is a network of
resource and training centers established in the capital cities of
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with the goal of strengthening social
science research and public policy analysis in the South Caucasus. A
partnership between the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Eurasia
Foundation, and local universities, the CRRC network offers scholars
and practitioners stable opportunities for integrated research,
training and collaboration in the region. Offering advanced training
in research methodology, CRRC also funds research fellowships and
conducts a comprehensive annual Household Survey. For more details,
please see http://www.crrc.az.

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