The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) is pleased to announce a call for policy-relevant research proposals from early career researchers to increase the attention paid to family planning (FP), fertility and population growth in urban development at local, national and international levels. Eligibility will be limited to citizens of countries in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, who have received a Ph.D. within the past ten years, who are currently affiliated with established institutions in either region, and who have shown evidence of research skills, ideally through having authored or co-authored published papers. (A medical doctor within ten years of completing residency, with some public health or social science training and evidence of research skills, may also apply.) Applications to study settings with high fertility, high unmet need for FP and high rates of urbanization are particularly encouraged.
The audience for the research includes urban planners and policy makers, and managers involved in urban health and family planning services. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the urban poor and other urban residents who, for diverse reasons, have limited or no access to quality family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) services: e.g. adolescents and youth, recent migrants and residents of urban slums. In order to achieve its goal of increasing the attention paid to family planning, fertility or population growth in urban policy discussions and initiatives, researcher’s projects should be policy relevant, addressing issues that contribute to inclusive and sustainable cities (SDG 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”). The researchers selected for this project thus have the opportunity to use their skills to improve human welfare in urban environments by studying matters that urban planners or progamme managers need to address, setting their proposals within the policy contexts that exist both for family planning and for urban development. This is an exciting opportunity for young and mid-career researchers to gain new skills and advance their careers.
Research supported through this programme will attempt to answer the following broad questions.
What are the implications for urban development of demographic change, with particular attention to population growth and fertility? How does family planning and lower fertility help make cities and urban settlements more inclusive and sustainable (objectives of SDG-11)? How can family planning services be more effectively embedded in urban policies and health systems? What are the implications of family planning/family size for health, schooling, employment, poverty reduction and impact on the urban environment?
How can family planning services in urban areas be most cost-effectively improved and reach those most in need? What would it take to ensure all urban residents have access to quality family planning services? How can urban inequities to services be reduced and what would be the benefits of doing so? Where is need the greatest (migrants; poor; youth; in particular communities or localities)?
The IUSSP invites proposals from early-career researchers (PhDs awarded within the last 10 years, or MDs who finished residency within the last 10 years, in both cases with evidence of research ability) to conduct high-quality, policy-relevant research in a limited timeframe. Most fellowships will last for two years but a one-year timeframe is also acceptable.
The research project duration will be 12-24 months. All research activities and reporting must be completed before the agreed upon project completion date. A typical budget we expect to receive is US$30,000 to $40,000 for a two-year project though higher awards will be considered for proposals of exceptional quality. This is for direct costs including computer hardware and software, primary data collection, research assistants, and the fellow’s time. The fellow’s salary support will be provided when required to give her or him partial or total release from other duties for the project duration. (Costs for dissemination and communications, such as participation in conferences to present the work and workshops with policy makers of the city studied to present the results, will be provided from a separate fund.)
The proposal must focus either on a single city, or represent comparative work on multiple urban areas, of any country of sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia. Eligibility will be limited to citizens of countries in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, currently working in established institutions in those countries (not necessarily a citizen of the country where proposing to do research). Contracts will ideally be made with individual fellows but can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis if their home institution has special requirements. Institutional overhead charges can be no more than 15% of the total budget.
The audience for the research includes urban planners and policy makers, and managers involved in urban health and family planning services. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the urban poor and other urban residents who, for diverse reasons, have limited or no access to quality family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) services: e.g. adolescents and youth, recent migrants and residents of urban slums. In order to achieve its goal of increasing the attention paid to family planning, fertility or population growth in urban policy discussions and initiatives, researcher’s projects should be policy relevant, addressing issues that contribute to inclusive and sustainable cities (SDG 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”). The researchers selected for this project thus have the opportunity to use their skills to improve human welfare in urban environments by studying matters that urban planners or progamme managers need to address, setting their proposals within the policy contexts that exist both for family planning and for urban development. This is an exciting opportunity for young and mid-career researchers to gain new skills and advance their careers.
Research supported through this programme will attempt to answer the following broad questions.
What are the implications for urban development of demographic change, with particular attention to population growth and fertility? How does family planning and lower fertility help make cities and urban settlements more inclusive and sustainable (objectives of SDG-11)? How can family planning services be more effectively embedded in urban policies and health systems? What are the implications of family planning/family size for health, schooling, employment, poverty reduction and impact on the urban environment?
How can family planning services in urban areas be most cost-effectively improved and reach those most in need? What would it take to ensure all urban residents have access to quality family planning services? How can urban inequities to services be reduced and what would be the benefits of doing so? Where is need the greatest (migrants; poor; youth; in particular communities or localities)?
The IUSSP invites proposals from early-career researchers (PhDs awarded within the last 10 years, or MDs who finished residency within the last 10 years, in both cases with evidence of research ability) to conduct high-quality, policy-relevant research in a limited timeframe. Most fellowships will last for two years but a one-year timeframe is also acceptable.
The research project duration will be 12-24 months. All research activities and reporting must be completed before the agreed upon project completion date. A typical budget we expect to receive is US$30,000 to $40,000 for a two-year project though higher awards will be considered for proposals of exceptional quality. This is for direct costs including computer hardware and software, primary data collection, research assistants, and the fellow’s time. The fellow’s salary support will be provided when required to give her or him partial or total release from other duties for the project duration. (Costs for dissemination and communications, such as participation in conferences to present the work and workshops with policy makers of the city studied to present the results, will be provided from a separate fund.)
The proposal must focus either on a single city, or represent comparative work on multiple urban areas, of any country of sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia. Eligibility will be limited to citizens of countries in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, currently working in established institutions in those countries (not necessarily a citizen of the country where proposing to do research). Contracts will ideally be made with individual fellows but can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis if their home institution has special requirements. Institutional overhead charges can be no more than 15% of the total budget.
Moreinfo: https://iussp.org/en/call-research-proposals
