African Peacebuilding Network: Individual Research Fellowships

The APN and Next Gen program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) invites applications from African researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners working on conflict and peacebuilding issues at universities and research institutions or regional, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies based in Africa.

About the Individual Research Fellowships Program

The Individual Research Fellowship (IRF) is the flagship program of APN. Since its inception in 2012, APN IRF has served as a vehicle for enhancing the quality and visibility of independent African peacebuilding research both regionally and globally, while making peacebuilding knowledge accessible to key policymakers, practitioners and research centers of excellence in Africa and around the world. In 2025, up to twenty (20) individual fellowships will be awarded at a maximum of $15,000 each. 

Program Components 

Through the APN IRF program, fellowship recipients can expect the following:

Thought Leadership

• Commit to nine (9) months of field-based research, analysis, and writing from June 2025 to March 2026. Fellows produce research-based knowledge that is relevant to, and has a significant impact on, peacebuilding scholarship, policy, and practice on the continent while inserting evidence-based knowledge into regional and global debates and policies focusing on peacebuilding.

Workshops

• Participate in two mandatory APN and Next Gen workshops occurring in July and January across different regions of Africa. These workshops will provide opportunities to refine recipients’ research designs, focus, and methods; present findings; explore ways to make their work more accessible through publications and other means to multiple peacebuilding constituencies; network and develop constructive working relationships with other fellows, senior academics, and practitioner facilitators.

African Scholarship and Knowledge Production

• Contribute to the APN and Next Gen’s Working Paper and Policy Briefing Note series, as well as to the program’s digital forums and social media platforms (Kujenga Amani, Facebook, and X). 
• Contribute to international peer-reviewed journals, books, articles, essays, blogs, feature pieces, op-eds, and/or podcasts.

Fostering Community, Professional Development and Networking

• Fellows are part of a network of highly visible and active African scholars and practitioners capable of projecting African perspectives and voices onto global discourses, knowledge and practices of peacebuilding. 
• Fellows will receive mentorship from highly experienced senior scholars in the field. There are opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and collaboration.
• Gain new knowledge and skills to advance their careers as academics or practitioners in their chosen fields.

Eligibility

• All applicants must be African citizens currently residing in an African country. This competition is open to African academics, as well as policy analysts and practitioners. Historically marginalized persons and communities are strongly encouraged to apply, including women, Indigenous people, gender diverse, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, among others.
• Applicants who are academics must hold a full-time faculty or research position at an African university or research organization, and have a PhD obtained no earlier than January 2015. Applicants who have not been awarded their PhDs by June 2025 will not have their cases prioritized to be eligible as academics.
• Applicants who are policy analysts or practitioners must be based in Africa at any of the following: a regional or sub-regional institution, government or nongovernmental agency, civil society organization, or media agency. Applicants must have at least a master’s degree obtained before January 2020 with at least five years of proven research and work experience in peacebuilding-related activities on the continent.

Become a Fellow

To apply and obtain more information regarding the APN IRF program, please refer to the 2025 APN and Next Gen Application Guidebook. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the guidebook or online portal, please contact the APN and Next Gen staff at apn@ssrc.org.

The program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Source, Social Science Research Coucil

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Joseph Wambua

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