THE AFRICAN RURAL POLICY ANALYSIS NETWORK (ARPAN)

CALL FOR SPECIAL PROPOSALS

Up to $2,000 – Short term Communications Project

DEADLINE May 10, 2003

- Communications, Online Workshops, and ARPAN web page
- MUST HAVE BOTH ENGLISH AND FRENCH CAPABILITY

Creating communications among the researchers and TAC will be a cornerstone of sustaining the network. ARPAN is therefore testing an innovative approach to fund one researcher with Information Communication and Technology (ICT) skills, to keep the network communication over the Internet. Primarily the ICT grant will fund an African with good access to connectivity and with his or her equipment to conduct research over the Internet and share with the ARPAN colleagues, maintain a newsletter, start up a list serve and facilitate discussions over the web. In addition, the grantee could sponsor online Workshops as an innovative approach through the Internet to provide for example, a proposal writing training that can be accessed on line through the ARPAN web site. The TAC will compile useful training modules and the process will be facilitated through a distance learning methodology with a facilitator based either in the US or the field. A second resource could be a curriculum planned and accessible online on advocacy and action plans for carrying out policy changes for each researcher in their institutions and communities.

The ARPAN web page already provides contact information, links, list of publications, abstracts and the latest ARPAN newsletters to researchers, universities, libraries, and research centers to a larger audience at a lower cost. Furthermore, the site allows visitors to order ARPAN publications directly from the web. The web site is hosted on a special program server at Winrock International, which assures its regular maintenance, as well as facilitates access from diverse locations. The researcher would also provide content for the web site and coordinate with the home office in Arlington, Virginia. (http://ARPAN.Winrock.org)

The grant will be used by September 30, 2003 with possible extension pending additional funding.

THE NETWORK

The African Rural Policy Analysis Networks (ARPAN) [formerly known as the African Rural Social Sciences Research Networks (ARSSRN)] program is pleased to announce a new Call for Proposals from African social science researchers.

ARPAN is a well‑established interdisciplinary Network of African social scientists that operates as a non-governmental organization focused on agricultural and general rural development and policy analysis of African countries. The Network provides research grants of up to US$5,000 per African social scientist, organizes methodology and peer‑review workshops for grantees, and publishes and disseminates the results of funded studies. Network grantees are assisted by Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) members to identify and analyze current policy-relevant and immediate-welfare-impacting problems in African agriculture and general rural development using primary data.

The Network was established in 1987 with Winrock International acting as the facilitator/motivator and providing the necessary starting seed money. Later, Winrock sought financial support from the Ford Foundation that provided operational funds for the first three years. From early 1990, however, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) joined the list of donors and became the principal financier of the activities of the Network up till today. Since its inception, the Network has awarded a total of 140 grants to African social scientists in 23 African countries, and funded seven Africa-wide rounds and one sub-regional round of research grants targeted at 20 researchers from francophone West African, namely: the Republic of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal.

The primary objective of ARPAN is to strengthen African researchers' capacity to conduct high‑quality, locally based social science research relevant to agriculture and rural development in Africa. The Network helps African scholars to:

· Conduct policy‑relevant research that contributes to a better understanding of the social, environmental and economic aspects of Africa's rural and agricultural development;

· Develop Working Groups of social scientists that can stimulate discussion and provide peer review of research proposals and/or research reports; and

· Publish and disseminate research findings with the particular goal of making relevant researched material available to universities, African governments, research and development institutions, and interested individuals worldwide.

PRIORITY AREAS OF RESEARCH

The African Rural Policy Analysis Network program covers the social science disciplines of economics, agricultural economics, political science, rural sociology, anthropology, gender and environmental studies, and nutrition-and-health-related research problems. As always, ARPAN encourages multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research proposals in various issues of special interest that deal with policy‑related topics such as:

· Impact analysis of lessons learned from named agricultural policy reforms in African countries;

· Agricultural input productivity, sustainable growth and rural transformation in Africa;

· Input and output markets development in Africa (including prices, taxes and subsidies);

· Natural resource management, ecology and environment control in Africa;

· Infrastructure (roads, irrigation system, storage system, rural energy) development and rural income and employment generation;

· Household labor use and time allocation, gender roles, and on‑farm and off‑farm employment;

· Agribusiness development with case studies of actual enterprises;

· Technology transfer, land tenure systems (land-owner/tenant issues), rural credit, monetization and marketing/trade linkages;

· Civil organized society (COS), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil liberties in the governance of rural Africa; and

· Regional cooperation and policy issues for economic growth and development in rural Africa.

ARPAN’s research is particularly focused on issues of HIV/AIDS and malaria diseases in relation to agricultural productivity and rural transformation in Africa (in addition to the usual general topical areas). Therefore, proposals that deal with policy‑relevant issues in HIV/AIDS and malaria and their impact on agriculture and rural welfare will be given priority consideration – especially in those African countries where HIV/AIDS and malaria have debilitating effects on agriculture and general welfare.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The Research Proposal

To apply for this special grant, an applicant should submit a well‑written proposal, a detailed budget, and a curriculum vitae (CV) showing a list of publications along with a cover letter giving essential information on the applicant's name, address, gender, country of origin, institutional affiliation, telephone, fax and e‑mail address. The proposal must not exceed ten (10) double‑spaced typed pages. The proposal should specifically present:

§ A well‑articulated system for communicating with the existing ARPAN researchers and TAC members;

§ A demonstrated understanding of research problems around HIV/AIDS indicating the policy issues and/or related existing policies and why these issues are important;

§ An understanding of social science methodologies so appropriate research and tools can be identified and shared with the network;

§ Highly skilled with electronic media and computers, and ideally experienced with web page design and links;

§ Ability to write a newsletter and success stories on the researchers

§ Expand the network to include policy makers and legislators;

§ Suggest innovative ways to exchange information and research materials

§ Start a list serve and chat rooms for debates on issues in African Rural Policy

§ A monograph report on activities; accomplishments; and lessons learned

The Budget

The proposed budget must itemize all major expenses required to conduct the project. The ARPAN grant covers field expenses, computer time and related research expenses, and correspondence and telecommunications expenses. The researcher is expected to have his or her own equipment and connectivity. The budget should be in local currency with the current official exchange rate to U.S. dollars indicated in a footnote. Applicants should use the following cost categories in preparing their budgets:

· research‑related expenses;

· necessary software, data processing, books, supplies;

· correspondence and telecommunications; phone or cable line proportionate to use; and

· their institution's contribution to their wages and benefits during the period of the research.

APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for an ARPAN grant, the applicant must be:

§ An African with a minimum of an MS degree in a named social science discipline;

§ Affiliated with an African institution with direct responsibilities for teaching, extension or research, or employed in a policy‑making position in the ministry or government parastatals in the broad context of rural development;

§ Willing and able to commit time to conducting the necessary research, writing the research report, and attending two ARPAN ‑organized workshops during the grant period; and

§ Residing in Africa at the time of conducting the project.

§ Prepared to submit the proposal and write the report in English and French;

Former grant recipients may reapply without advantage or disadvantage; as Network alumni(ae), they will be expected to extend their knowledge of the program to other interested candidates. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION

All proposals must be received by May 31, 2003. Proposals will be reviewed by the ARPAN Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) within one month and evaluated on the basis of clarity and research focus, relevance of the issues involved, applicant's background and ability to complete independent research, and other criteria as determined by the Technical Advisory Committee. TAC members will modify proposals selected for funding to include relevant issues before the researchers implement them.

Final Review

Completed research reports should be mailed to the ARPAN TAC Chairman who will distribute them to TAC members for editing. Reports recommended for publication will be returned to the authors with comments from the reviewers. After revision by the authors, the reports should then be sent to the Editor-in-Chief/Chairman of TAC for final revision and preparation for publication. Prizes will be awarded for the two best papers: $500 for first and $250 for second place.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Grant applications will be accepted until May 10, 2003. Receipts of the proposals will be acknowledged immediately. Notification of grant awards will be on or immediately after May 25, 2003. A cover letter identifying the proposal title and applicant's biographical data together with the full proposal, budget and CV should be sent to:

Professor Anthony Ikpi, Chair ARPAN TAC

Department of Agricultural Economics

University of Ibadan

Ibadan, Nigeria

Tel: (234‑2) 8106870

Fax: (234‑2) 8103127

Email: aikpi@attbi.com

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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