We cordially invite you and some of your advanced PhD students to attend a Grant Writing Workshop for a post-doctoral fellowship at the Faculty of Arts Conference Room, University of Cape Coast. Please see below for the background, rationale, and outline of the workshop.
Introduction
The African Humanities Programme (AHP), which is sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and Carnegie Corporation, in collaboration with the Department of History, University of Cape Coast, will hold a Grant Writing Workshop titled “Preparing an Award-Winning Grant Proposal” at the Faculty of Arts Conference Room, University of Cape Coast, from 19-20 August, 2019. It will take place from 9 am to 3 pm each day. Participation is FREE!
The workshop, which will be facilitated by two international senior advisors and proposal reviewers of AHP, aims to prepare potential applicants for the next call for proposals for the AHP post-doctoral fellowship. The fellowship provides a generous financial package for research that deals with themes and issues that broaden the knowledge production frontiers of the humanities in Africa. Although this invitation is primarily to early-career researchers who have obtained their PhDs, candidates who are far advanced in the writing of their PhD thesis or have turned in their thesis and waiting to defend it can also attend the workshop to learn a few tricks and skills in the writing of award-winning grants to use eventually.
Background to AHP Post-doctoral Grant and Fellowship
Fellowship stipends from AHP allow recipients an academic year free from teaching and other duties for revising their thesis for publication or for the first major research project after their PhD degree. Fellows are also eligible for additional benefits such as residential stays for writing, manuscript development workshops, and publication support.
Each fellow may request a residential stay at an African institute for advanced study. Residencies have proved to be extremely popular and productive, granting fellows time and space to concentrate on writing. Because residencies must be taken at an institute outside the home country, they foster international communication. Currently, AHP Fellows may take residencies at six institutes from South Africa to Senegal, Ghana to Tanzania.
Description of the Grant Writing Workshop
This workshop aims to introduce the benefits of the African Humanities Programme to researchers in University of Cape Coast, and provide strategies and advice on grant writing and submission processes for the AHP post-doctoral fellowship, and encourage networking among early-career researchers who are interested in the humanities in Africa and wish to initiate or develop research grant proposals.
The general structure of this two-day workshop will consist of talks from the AHP advisors, as well as group work activities that will foster the application of knowledge gained through the facilitators’ presentations. Recipients and Fellows of the AHP fellowship from the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana will also share their grant writing and post-doctoral fellowship experiences.
The workshop facilitators will also hold one-on-one counselling sessions with interested prospective applicants of the AHP post-doctoral fellowship. They will review drafts of the proposals of prospective applicants at the workshop and offer constructive suggestions about them. Participants will be encouraged to develop grant writing skills using either their own research ideas or provided examples for honing their conceptualisation of themes and topics, and writing style and structure. Feedback will be provided at the end of each work session where appropriate.
Registration
There is no registration fee. Prospective participants who have drafted their proposals are encouraged to send them to de-valera.botchway@ucc.edu.gh for them to be forwarded to the advisors for a preliminary evaluation before the workshop. Please note that proposals should not exceed two pages.
Expression of interest, request for a reservation, and questions should be sent to de-valera.botchway@ucc.edu.gh
Information about Requirements for Eligibility to Prospective Applicants
Proposed projects such as the writing of a book manuscript or an article must be in the humanities, defined by the study of history, language, and culture, and by qualitative approaches in research. The humanities disciplines include anthropology, archaeology, studies of the fine and performing arts, history, linguistics, literature studies, studies of religion, and philosophy.
Projects in social sciences such as economics, sociology, or political science, as well as in law or international relations that are clearly humanistic in content and focus, that is, studies that use qualitative methods and approaches and do not serve the purpose of advocacy, the improvement of policy, work for development, or the improvement of professional practices are eligible.
At the time of the submission of an application, applicants must have defended their thesis and must be no more than eight years past the date of receiving their PhD degree.
Applicants may propose either a combination of research and writing or writing only. They must be able to devote fulltime to the AHP project throughout the fellowship period.
For further information see https://www.acls.org/Competitions-and-Deadlines/African-Humanities-Program or
contact Prof. De-Valera NYM Botchway on 0244925140