Citizenship

The fellowship is open to citizens of Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, or South Africa.

Applications will also be accepted from applicants holding dual nationality which includes one of these countries.

Education

It is required that the applicant holds a completed BA degree or equivalent, Masters degree with an international focus is preferred.

Career

The fellowship is aimed at candidates at the mid-stage of their career and who come from academia, NGOs, business, government departments, civil society or the media. They should possess knowledge of, and an interest in, one of the policy-related challenges laid out in the research topics in ‘Research Topics.’

When can I apply?

The next call for applications opens on 12 March 2018. The deadline for applications is midnight (BST) Sunday 29 April 2018.

Please find a list of eligible research topics and the application form below.

Remuneration and benefits

The fellow will receive a monthly stipend of £2,228.  Modest provision is made for the costs of relocation, fieldwork, and possible publication costs.

Fellowship structure

A fellow’s time will be split between three key areas:

• Completing a personal research project of the fellow’s own design undertaken with the guidance of a Chatham House expert, (approximately 50%).
• Contributing to the ongoing research activities of their host research team and other Chatham House teams as appropriate (approximately 20%).
• Participation in the Academy’s Leadership Programme (approximately 30%). The Leadership Programme is a key part of the Academy fellowships. It provides fellows with the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills, network and self-awareness, which they can then draw upon in their future careers as effective leaders in their field.

Leadership Programme

All Academy fellows participate in, and contribute to, the Academy’s Leadership Programme which encompasses the following components:

• Intensive induction week
  Academy fellowships begin with an intensive five-day induction week at Chatham House to become familiarized with the elements of the fellowships and the Leadership Programme, meet their host research programme, and have their first personal development coaching session.
• Weekly discussion seminars
  These sessions highlight the principal substantive and skills-based areas the Academy believes vital for informed and effective international leadership. Fellows are expected to contribute to and learn from one another’s experience.
• Global Introductions off-site visits
  These half-day visits take place approximately every two months and allow fellows to meet with leaders and senior decision-makers from a variety of sectors. Previous visits have included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development, Standard Chartered, and Thomson Reuters.
• Leadership workshops
  Every two months fellows participate in half-day workshops focusing on specific aspects of leadership such as ‘Leadership in a new role’ and ‘Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship’
• Project presentations
  Fellows present updates on their research projects which  help fellow develop presentation skills, provide a valuable forum for peer-review and to think about and analyse issues outside their own area of expertise.
• Personal development coaching
  Fellows join the Academy seeking to grow their self-awareness through monthly one-on-one sessions with a dedicated coach, with whom they set personal development objectives which they work to meet during their fellowship and beyond.
• Media training
  Fellows learn how to interview effectively on television and radio, culminating in a mock interview from which they receive feedback on their presentation style and any areas of improvement
• ‘Leaders Who Lunch’
  Academy fellows will have priority in participating in the ‘Leaders Who Lunch’ series giving them the opportunity to discuss leadership experiences and lessons in an informal setting with acknowledged leaders from government, business, media and the non-profit sectors.
• Career mentors
  Fellows have the option to have an external career mentor during their fellowship. Mentors are independent of the Academy and Chatham House and are picked individually for each fellow based on their career objectives.

How long is the fellowship?

The fellowship is for a 10-month term from mid-September 2018 to mid-July 2019.

Where will I be based?

The fellow will be based full-time at Chatham House, London.

Research topics

Fellows are hosted by and based in research teams at Chatham House. During the fellowship, the fellow will conduct a research project of their own design which falls within the research topics below.

The parameters for the research topics have been designed in broad terms to allow applicants to devise a project that appeals to their own research interests.

Below are the research topics for 2018-19.

Research topics with the Centre on Global Health Security

The rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa
Across the world, NCDs are increasingly becoming the biggest individual health security threat that populations and governments are facing. In 2018, the Centre on Global Health Security will embark on a programme to reflect this epidemiological shift, looking at governance issues related to NCDs.

NCDs are linked to rapid economic growth and urbanization in recent years. To help develop its work on NCDs globally, the Centre is thus seeking a fellow to work on a specific case study related to NCD governance in Africa. Research questions are encouraged to focus on the commercial determinants of NCDs, for example, conflicts of interest between health and industry stakeholders in the region.

Healthcare in Conflict
Healthcare in conflict continues to be an important issue for the Centre on Global Health Security. We currently have projects covering: attacks on healthcare in Syria, cholera and food insecurity in Yemen and healthcare in areas controlled by non-state armed groups.

In 2018, the Centre will work with partners to develop tools for measuring the public health impacts of conflict, and look more closely at issues around the health-humanitarian-development nexus. The Centre welcomes applicants from health and/or humanitarian backgrounds to undertake research that aligns with any of these current or future projects. In particular, we would be pleased to welcome applicants interested in looking at Universal Health Coverage in conflict-affected settings.

Research topics with the Energy, Environment and Resources Department

Climate-Resilient Development: managing energy transition in a low income context
Innovative technologies and new financing mechanisms are offering low income countries the opportunity to avoid the high carbon development pathways taken by advanced economies and instead develop cleaner and ultimately cheaper systems. But how can low income and countries develop and manage the technical, economic, regulatory and social capacities required to implement these systems at scale?

Building on EER’s existing work, research proposals could explore the challenges facing low income countries in their transition to low-carbon energy systems – or specific elements of it – and examine the kinds of institutional, legal and policy reforms, financing and regional and/or international cooperation that would facilitate implementation. (We especially encourage proposals that look at energy from more than one sectoral or area perspective, i.e. forests and cooking, land and renewables, grid integration and political economy, green buildings and industrial competitiveness).

Research topics with Global Economy and Finance

The geo-economics of technology
Over the course of the 21st century, technological development has brought the promise of a transformation in living standards in both advanced economies and living standards.

However, this is not always apparent in the macroeconomic statistics. While many emerging markets in Africa and Asia have adopted technological innovations, from innovative manufacturing in China to new mobile technologies in Africa, it remains unclear what affects these innovations will have on the macroeconomic performance of these countries.

Proposals in this area will examine the rise of new technologies, their potential to improve the economic productivity of emerging markets, facilitate or disrupt their integration into global supply chains, and the geopolitical and geo-economic impacts of such a transition.

Research topics with the International Security Department

New Technologies and their Impact on International Security, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) or on Space
The International Security Department are seeking fellows to conduct research on the impact of new technologies on international security. While we encourage proposals on any aspect of this topic, we are particularly interested in the potential implications, both positive and negative, of AI on security, and of the space sector on security.

This may include research that considers future applications of AI, the vulnerabilities of space assets to attacks, or the weaponization of new technologies. We welcome innovative approaches to understanding these challenges.

Contact

Should you have any further queries please contact us at academy@chathamhouse.org.

The Africa Fellowship is a joint initiative between Chatham House and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.