Applications invited for PhD dissertation research fellowships

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) invites applications for Ph.D. dissertation research fellowships on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI).

This is being organized in collaboration with US Government’s Feed the Future initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). The WEAI is the first measure to directly capture women’s empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector.

• The WEAI focuses on five domains:
• Decisions over agricultural production
• Power over productive resources such as land and livestock
• Decisions over income
• Leadership in the community
• Time use

Women are considered to be empowered if they have adequate achievements in four of the five areas. The Index also takes into consideration the empowerment of women compared with men in the same household, based on asking women and men the same survey questions.

The major objectives of sponsoring PhD work on the WEAI are the following:
Strengthen understanding and evidence of the WEAI through application to other settings or furthering knowledge surrounding a particular domain or analysis of the Index.
Expand understanding of WEAI dynamics through complementary qualitative and ethnographic work on domains or frameworks underlying the WEAI.
Support promising researchers interested in gender and agriculture through
Strengthening capacity for research, fieldwork and policy experience, and to build collaborations with their home academic institutions.

The Index is a partnership between IFPRI, the US Government’s Feed the Future initiative of USAID, and OPHI of Oxford University. The index focuses on women because they play a critical role in agricultural growth in developing countries yet face persistent obstacles and economic constraints, limiting further inclusion in the sector.

An eligible candidate for a WEAI Dissertation Fellowship will have the following criteria:
Is a full-time Ph.D. student in the social sciences or humanities, including but not limited
to programs in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Health Policy, Nutrition, Public Policy,
or Sociology;
All nationalities may apply;
Preference will be given to students completing their Doctorates at developing country
universities, however students from all universities may apply;
Preference will be given to proposals which include primary data collection or
participation in fieldwork of ongoing survey efforts as noted above;
Applicants must complete all Ph.D. requirements except dissertation by the time the
fellowship begins;
Applicants must be willing to present research to USAID, IFPRI and other stakeholders
upon completion in both written and oral formats;
Applicants must submit at least one article based on research funded through the WEAI
Dissertation Fellowship to a peer-reviewed journal for publication upon completion

Deadline: July 31, 2012 Proposals due.

For further information, visit the link.

Source Link: http://www.fundsforngos.org/fellowships-2/applications-invited-phd-dissertation-research-fellowships/#ixzz1vmchq7TE