Explore issues – handle data – satisfy your curiosity – get published – generate opportunities
CRRC-Armenia is offering a new round of research fellowships. Are you curious about a social science issue? Do you have some ideas or hypotheses that you want to explore further? This fellowship could be the perfect opportunity for you!
What issues are we looking to address?
We’re looking for social science research that addresses pressing issues Armenia and the South Caucasus region faces. The Millennium Development Goals (click here) constitute one such urgent research agenda. Other likely issues include poverty, youth, social capital, migration and democratization. Pretty much any advanced analysis based on our Caucasus Barometer is of interest to us. We can also help you develop your topic if you are unsure about it, but are committed to undertaking professional research. Look at our blogs, crrc-caucasus.blogspot.com and crrcam.blogspot.com, to see some of the issues that previous fellows have worked on.
What issues are we NOT looking to address?
We are open to innovative ideas and projects. But we are not particularly interested in geopolitical studies, partisan pieces, or research that is unfocused, speculative (or too theoretical) and does not ground itself in the relevant existing literature. We prefer research that can make a real impact by improving people’s lives.
What results?
We want you to produce international quality research. You should aim to publish your research in a peer-reviewed journal (we will help you find one). This will give your research international recognition. We also expect your work to contain prescriptive richness and ask you to present you findings to relevant interested groups (researchers, government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, etc) in Armenia. We definitely want you to use some of our great data from the Caucasus Barometer and other surveys.
Who is the fellowship for?
You are smart, committed, curious and want to apply all your abilities. Typically you will have at least a Master’s Degree. You are committed to develop your research ability and have a track record of excellence. You may work in fields other than research, but you are interested in getting back into research because you realize there are excellent long-term opportunities there. We require a working knowledge of English, since you want to publish internationally. Funding is available to Armenian citizens residing in Armenia. (Sorry, no funding for stipends abroad, or for expatriates.)
What do you get?
Primarily you get the satisfaction of doing excellent work and of being part of a small but vibrant community of internationally recognized research scholars in the South Caucasus. Moreover, if you get published internationally, many opportunities follow. The fellowship provides an opportunity to prove your professionalism, which you can use for many other applications (jobs, consultancy work, joint research projects, conference participation, and international research stipends such as CRRC’s Carnegie Fellowship, to name the most obvious). Depending on your research project, you can also get between 2200 and 4000 USD (surveys, for example, may have higher costs) for pursuing your research interest.
Is it easy?
Yes and no. We will try to help you to possible extend. But it certainly is not easy money. In research you confront new challenges and difficult decisions all the time. That is why we are doing it, after all. It requires determination and persistence — we hope you will join us in the thrill of discovery.
The fellows will be required to attend special trainings/workshops (possibly through Moodle platform) for the benefit of the research output within the areas of research paper design, academic writing, information and contemporary education technologies, getting published in a peer-reviwed journal, etc.
How to prepare?
Send your application package to fellowship “at” crrc. am no later than August 31, 2012. The application consists of application and budget forms (attached to the message) and your CV with your personal and professional details. An information session will be held at 11.00 on August 20, 2012 to address your questions. Please call or write back if you intend to participate. An alternative communication with CRRC-Armenia staff will be available through Moodle online learning platform. Applicants are required to send a letter of intent to us at fellowship “at” crrc. am to get a log-in and password to register on the Moodle platform before August 16, 2012 (the sooner, the better). This will also help you to further develop your application.
The Caucasus Research Resource Centers program (CRRC) is a network of research and training centers established in the capital cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with the goal of strengthening social science research and public policy analysis in the South Caucasus. A partnership between the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, and local universities (Yerevan State University in Armenia), the CRRC network offers scholars and practitioners stable opportunities for integrated research, training and collaboration in the region.