STAAARS+ FELLOWSHIP

BACKGROUND

The STAAARS+ Fellows program, a part of the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Capacity, and Influence (PRCI), is a collaboration between Cornell University, Michigan State University (MSU), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to advance rigorous, policy-oriented food security research on topics of inclusive agricultural- and rural transformation, development of healthy food systems, and enhanced resilience at individual, household, national and regional levels in Africa and Asia. The objective is to build and reinforce an effective policy research culture within African and Asian policy research organizations that can help build and sustain research capacity beyond the life of PRCI and the STAAARS+ program.

The STAAARS+ program spans 18 months from the release of the RFP to the delivery of final outputs by the STAAARS+ teams. STAAARS+ teams are selected through a competitive process and paired with mentors at Cornell, IFPRI or MSU, with whom they will jointly author a paper on a topic of mutual interest that fits within PRCI’s broad research priorities. The first cohort of STAAARS+ teams was selected in 2020 and a second cohort began in 2021. This RFP marks the beginning of selection for the third cohort of teams.

SCOPE OF RESEARCH AND GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS

Prospective STAAARS+ teams are invited to develop proposals in the following thematic areas:

1. Inclusive agricultural and rural transformation to raise rural household incomes (including small farmers), and to create more decent jobs particularly for young women and men;
2. Development of healthy food systems, including regulatory issues and private sector engagement, in ways that address food safety and the triple burden of malnutrition; and
3. Enhanced resilience at individual, household, national and regional levels (to climate, conflict, and other sources of shocks) to achieve economic and environmental sustainability.

STAAARS+ teams’ rigorous policy analysis should use existing, high quality data, such as the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), Demographic and Health Surveys, or similar datasets. High quality data sets collected locally, by an applicant’s institution or other research organizations in Africa or Asia, can be proposed and will be considered based on a case-by-case assessment of data quality. Mixed methods research projects are welcome. No funding is available for new data collection nor software purchase. Teams are welcome to approach researchers within the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Capacity, and Influence (PRCI) network for guidance on the suitability of a topic and research design for STAAARS+ support.

ELIGIBILITY
This call is open for teams of two to three early career African or Asian researchers currently working for eligible policy research institutions based in sub-Saharan Africa or Asia. Team members must be actively engaged in research, as manifest in published work within the past four years, and hold an M.S. or Ph.D., or equivalent degree – with a strong preference for teams containing multiple Ph.D.-holders – in agricultural economics, economics, geography, sociology, statistics, or a related field. Team members with PhDs should have completed their PhD no more than five years prior to the application deadline, although in exceptional cases a team of three could include one member whose PhD was awarded no more than ten years prior. Priority is given to proposals from PRCI-affiliated institutions, but teams from other research institutions based in sub-Saharan Africa or low- and middle-income countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia will be considered. Teams from government-affiliated universities or research institutions in Myanmar or Cambodia are ineligible, per USAID restrictions. Qualified female researchers are particularly encouraged to apply and topics with an explicit gender dimension are of particular interest. For guidance, please review training materials on integrating gender into policy research and outreach.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

STAAARS+ will hold an informational webinar on Friday, February 18th from 8:00 – 9:00am Eastern Time. Please register for webinar here. For those unable to attend, the materials will be available here after the webinar has taken place.

The STAAARS+ fellowship application process is managed by Cornell University. A team of two or three researchers from one or more eligible policy research institution(s) submits one application. Applicants must prepare a concept proposal (maximum 2500 words), which motivates the selected research issue(s) and objectives, outlines data sources and proposed analytical methodology. The team must document it has access to the data proposed for analysis and is free to produce publishable research using those data. The proposal must also contain a feasible and detailed division of labor, explicitly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each team member and a timeline for completing a rigorous paper ready for submission to a peer-reviewed international journal, as well as policy engagement materials based on the research, within the 18-month fellowship period. All proposals must be submitted in English. All proposals will be peer reviewed by experts from Cornell, MSU and/or IFPRI. Finalists will be expected to demonstrate adequate competence within the team in statistical analysis software (Stata or R) prior to final selection, established via a structured assessment.

The deadline to submit a concept proposal is March 15, 2022 at 11:59 PM New York time. Applicants should submit their completed proposals via the STAAARS+ online application link. Accepted applicants will be notified by early May 2022 and are expected to begin remote collaboration with their mentor and be prepared to join launch activities immediately upon acceptance. Any questions about the application process or program should be directed to staaars_plus@cornell.edu.

PROPOSAL TEMPLATE
Within the online application, please complete the team information and research sections. At the end of the application form please attach, as a ZIP folder or merged PDF, the following materials:

1. Concept Proposal (2500 word limit):
   1. Title page (not included in the 2500 word limit):
      1. Title of the proposed research
      2. Targeted country (countries)
      3. Host policy research institution(s)
   2. Introduction and motivation that includes clear statement of research objectives, policy relevance, and testable hypotheses
   3. Description of data source(s), documentation of access to the data for publishable research, and any prior experience working with the proposed data
   4. Proposed empirical analysis methodology(ies)
   5. If applicable, summarize any preliminary results
   6. Proposed division of labor among team members
   7. Proposed timeline
2. CVs of each individual team member
3. If proposing to use data that are not publicly available, a letter or other documentation from the data steward(s) indicating that the applicant will have access to the data to use in the proposed project
4. Letter of support from each team member’s home policy research institution(s), explicitly committing to provide team members with adequate paid time to undertake the research and to provide local assistance for any travel planning associated with the fellowship (see above).

To know more about the program and to apply, click here.