FAR-LEAF Two-Year Research Fellowship Program (relaunch of the call for applications)

Future Africa at the University of Pretoria has reopened the call for applications for the Future Africa Research Leadership Fellowship (FAR-LeaF II) to encourage broader participation from early-career researchers across the continent.
This renewed call is specifically intended to attract new applicants who meet the updated eligibility criteria, including holding a PhD awarded no earlier than 2017 (within the past eight years) and being under the age of 38 at the time of application. Applications submitted during the initial call remain under consideration. This reopening places particular emphasis on engaging younger researchers to promote greater diversity and inclusivity within the FAR-LeaF II cohort.

ABOUT THE FAR-LEAF II FELLOWSHIP The Future Africa Research Leadership Fellowship is a two-year research-oriented fellowship programme, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and hosted at Future Africa. The programme focuses on future-looking science leadership and developing the next generation of African scientists and academics. 

The programme seeks to build a network of emerging African scientists with the skills needed to apply transformative research methods and approaches in addressing complex sustainability challenges in Africa, including inter- and transdisciplinarity, systems thinking, and futures literacy. Furthermore, it will provide multiple research and learning opportunities covering different sectors of science and society, aiming to create sustainable solutions in a real-world context, establishing communities of practice, and addressing the broad scope of sustainability, sustainable development, resilience, and greater social cohesion. 

Applicants should be receptive to applying transdisciplinary science and developing leadership skills to generate positive societal changes, whilst striving for a future academic leadership position. Successful applicants to the programme will receive a two-year fellowship, with training on transdisciplinary research approaches, through Future Africa at the University of Pretoria and its partners, and through inclusive codesign of fellows’ research projects with relevant role-players. 

The training and support provided by the FAR-LeaF II programme will create opportunities to establish research relationships at diverse African universities, in collaboration with and through mentorship opportunities offered by the University of Pretoria.

The FAR-LeaF II programme follows the first FAR-LeaF programme, which supported research focused on sustainability and well-being on the African continent. The research in the new FAR-LeaF II programme will extend and build upon the FAR-LeaF research, with focus areas of sustainability science, resilience, and social cohesion.
The Fellowship will support early-career researchers in conducting relevant research projects in the context of relevant national and regional challenges in sustainable development.

The importance and relevance of sustainability science in Africa is exemplified by the need to: 

• Advance the development and full integration of the natural sciences with the social and human sciences as a cross-cutting research approach.
• Generate actionable knowledge relevant to achieving sustainable development goals in an African context.
• Articulate African perspectives on and solutions to geo-political challenges and opportunities related to achieving these goals.

The envisaged research will harness the tools of the digital revolution to fuel scientific discovery and advance societal engagement to pursue sustainability. Technology is embedded in the research programme, and training will ensure that the research projects build on cutting-edge technological advancement to deliver tangible research outputs that are inclusive and transformative by nature.

 The proposed research and training (in the programme) will integrate research and technology skills to strengthen scientific capacity. Applying novel methodologies on co-design and co-production and other relevant approaches is vital for high-quality integrated research.

SELECTION CRITERIA AND PROCESS 

The programme is intended for candidates from across the African continent. The research will be conducted in the fellow’s home country, and fellows will retain their position at their home institutions. The FAR-LeaF II fellows will be selected based on their research interests in developing solutions for addressing transformation towards sustainability, resilience, and social cohesion to advance and complement diverse science disciplines.

 Applicants must be employed by an African higher education or research institution or have a firm commitment from a home institution to support a future position. The programme will be flexible to allow for minimal disruption of the academic responsibilities at the fellows' home institutions.

The programme has a strong institutional capacity development dimension whereby supervisors are part of the support and design of the research through paired submission by an early career candidate with their supervisor/study leader, and collaboration with mentors from the University of Pretoria.

Selection criteria

The following criteria will be used for the nomination and selection of fellows. Applicants must have:

• A PhD degree, awarded no more than 8 years ago (2017 or later)
• Candidates should be less than 38 years of age on application.
• A faculty or a continuing research position at a research-active institution in Africa
• Active involvement in research at an African institution of higher education or research
• A strong record of excellent early-career scientific or scholarly achievement
• Interest in translating and communicating the results of their work for impact on society
• Interest in developing leadership ability in research and beyond.

Other criteria which will guide selection include: 

• An interest in the role of transdisciplinary research in addressing issues related to the focus areas of the programme, namely, sustainability, resilience, and social cohesion. 
• An interest in collaborations across disciplines and sectors (e.g., industry, civil society, government) and with diverse stakeholders. 
• A commitment to participate in all the activities of the Fellowship. 
• The intent to share what is learned in the programme with broader networks.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS 

1. Applications must be submitted using the online application form provided at http://callforapplications.co.za/ 

The application form will now be open from 25 March 2025 to 8 April 2025.

2. The application will include a research proposal as outlined in the template included in the online application form.
3. All applicants must provide two support letters from academic referees. One letter should be from the applicant’s line manager or current supervisor. It should include confirmation that the applicant will be released from responsibilities – where applicable – to allow them to fulfil the
requirements of the fellowship.
4. All applicants must have a supervisor in their home institution, who is prepared to work with the applicant in developing the application jointly, between fellow and supervisor, with a research proposal, budget, and a publication plan.
5. The supervisor will be a co-applicant with the fellow, in the application and the proposal for the research project. The supervisor is requested to complete the relevant section on the Online
Application Form. 

Agreements

Agreements will be signed with the host institutions, and declarations will be required for successful applicants in due course. The funding will be provided up to a maximum funding level (see below), taking into consideration any sources of other income.

Fellowship financial support

The fellowship will provide research funds of USD 13 500 per year for two years, covering expenses for research-related expenditures, travel to local and regional communities and meetings, and fellowship visits to Future Africa. 

Applicants are strongly advised to view research examples from the first FAR-LeaF cohort before submitting their application: https://www.scienceblog.africa/blog

Queries can be addressed to the Programme Administrator at farleaf@futureafrica.science

For additional information about the CALL FOR APPLICATIONS and the FAR-LEAF programme, please visit: https://www.futureafrica.science/farleaf/