Applications open for the IDRC Research Awards 2021

IDRC is now accepting applications for the IDRC Research Awards 2021 call.

LOUIS NIAMBA, FORMER RESEARCH AWARD RECIPIENT

This call is open to Canadians, permanent residents of Canada, and citizens of developing countries who have recently completed or are currently enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree at a recognized university.

The selected candidates will be granted a one-year paid program to undertake research and gain hands-on experience in research and program management.

The application deadline for the IDRC Research Awards 2021 call is 16:00 (EDT) September 16, 2020. 

IDRC Research Awards 2021

CALL FOR

Applications

PROGRAM(S)

Agriculture and Environment, Inclusive Economies, Technology and Innovation

DEADLINE

September 16, 2020 by 16:00 (EDT)

TOPIC(S)

RESEARCH

DURATION

January to December 2021 (12 months)

FUNDED BY

IDRC

BUDGET

Salary for one year in Canada: CA$42,033 to $48,659

STATUS

Open

TYPE

Student award

Eligibility

This call is open to Canadians, permanent residents of Canada, and citizens of developing countries enrolled in a master’s or a doctoral degree at a recognized university OR who have completed a master’s or a doctoral degree at a recognized university.

Please take note of the specific eligibility requirements outlined immediately below and in each of the six development outcome areas.

Who can apply

Six positions are available at IDRC’s head office in Ottawa, Canada.

This call is open to:

Canadians or permanent residents of Canada who are enrolled in a master’s or a doctoral degree at a recognized university OR have completed (within the last three years) a master’s or doctoral degree at a recognized university.

Citizens of a developing country who are enrolled in a master’s or a doctoral degree at a Canadian university OR have completed (within the last three years) a master’s or doctoral degree at a recognized university. In either case, applicants must already have a work permit valid for full-time work (37.5 hours per week) in Canada until December 31, 2021 prior to applying.

Please note: the expectation of receiving a post-graduation work permit is not sufficient.

Additional eligibility requirements

• The proposed research must focus on one or more developing countries.
• These awards may be part of an academic requirement.
• The specific eligibility criteria of each research theme must be satisfied.

Please note: Successful award recipients cannot receive any other Canadian government scholarship, award, subsidy, bursary, or honorarium, or hold any federal government contract in support of a research/work project for the duration of the award. This includes any other IDRC award and any award managed by another institution but supported in whole or in part by IDRC, such as the Queen Elizabeth Advanced Scholars program.

Research country exceptions

In principle, IDRC supports research in all developing countries. However, we do not currently offer awards for research that involves the following countries and regions:

Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, southern and eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South Caucasus.

You must follow all Government of Canada travel advisories while applying, when planning your field research trip, and while in the field. Note that there is currently an “Avoid all travel” outside of Canada advisory because of COVID-19, and this advisory must be followed for the duration it is in place. However, thinking forward to when it is lifted, we are asking applicants that at the moment of submitting an application, they should refer to and follow “Avoid all travel” advisories set by country for non-COVID-19 related reasons, e.g. security risks. IDRC will reject any application that proposes travel to a country or region for which there is such an advisory to “Avoid all travel” at the time of application. 

Countries subject to approval

You may apply for research in the following countries and territories or for any other country for which the Government of Canada travel advisory is to “Avoid non-essential travel”. However, if you are recommended for an award, your application may be subject to a further stage of approval within IDRC and there is no guarantee your award will be approved:

Congo (Democratic Republic of), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Maldives, Micronesia, Monserrat, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Sudan, Suriname, Tunisia, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Zimbabwe, some small island states (including Comoros, São Tomé and Principe, Saint Helena, and Timor-Leste), and the Pacific Islands (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna).

Please prepare to be flexible in the design and implementation of your proposed research, given the strong possibility that COVID-19 and/or its after-effects will complicate and even prevent field research in many regions in 2021.

Scope

Research award recipients will join IDRC for a one-year paid program to undertake research on the topic they have submitted. They will receive hands-on experience in research and program management and support, grant administration, and the creation, dissemination, and use of knowledge from an international perspective.

For payroll purposes, awardees are considered full-time employees of IDRC. Benefits include employer contributions to employment insurance, employer health tax, the Canada Pension Plan, and paid vacation leave. Some travel and research expenses are also supported, up to a maximum of CA$15,000.

Six awards will be offered. There is one award per development outcome area listed below. You may choose only ONE of the following:

• Climate resilience and sustainable food systems
• Education and innovation systems
• Ethics in development research
• Health equity
• Inclusive governance
• Sustainable inclusive growth

Evaluation criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications:

Research component

• relevance of the proposal to IDRC’s mission;
• relevance of the proposal to the chosen development outcome area;
• clarity and quality of the proposal;
• clarity and appropriateness in addressing the ethical considerations and gender dimensions of the proposed research; and
• applicant’s capacity to conduct the proposed program of research, including academic training, local language capacity, and related experience.

Program management and support component

• Applicant’s capacity to conduct program of work, including related employment experience.

More details

Please read the following documents before applying:

Checklist of documents required for this call

General FAQs

Technical FAQs

If you still have a question after reading all of the above, you may contact us at awards@idrc.ca.

NB: Inquiries will be answered up until two working days before the call deadline. Technical inquiries about difficulties encountered in the online application system should also be directed to awards@idrc.ca. Please note in your subject line that you are applying for the IDRC Research Awards 2021.

Announcement of results

We thank all applicants for their interest, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Due to the large volume of applications received, we will not inform the non-recommended candidates on the status of their application. Results of the recommended candidates will be available by late November 2020 at the bottom of this call page.

We recommend using Firefox or Chrome as your browser for the online application (you may encounter technical difficulties with Internet Explorer).

Meet some of our former IDRC Research Awardees.

Interested in applying?

If you are eligible for this opportunity we welcome you to submit an application.Apply online (Official Link)

Related content

Applications open for the IDRC Research Awards 2021

Applicants are invited to apply for the IDRC Research Awards 2021 call.View moreApplications open for the IDRC Research Awards 2021 

Evidence to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income countries

IDRC supports research to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 in developing countries and to promote recovery.View moreEvidence to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income countries 

Webinar series on gender, COVID-19, and work

This webinar series explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls.View moreWebinar series on gender, COVID-19, and work 

Using AI and data to combat COVID-19 in the Global South

IDRC and Sida launch CA$10 million initiative to assist the Global South’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.View moreUsing AI and data to combat COVID-19 in the Global South 

Call for expression of interest launched: Catalyzing change for healthy and sustainable food systems in eastern Africa

IDRC launches new funding opportunity with call for expressions of interest.View moreCall for expression of interest launched: Catalyzing change for healthy and sustainable food systems in eastern Africa 

Mobilizing an African research response to the COVID-19 pandemic

IDRC joins international partners in an open call to researchers, science journalists, and science advisors.View moreMobilizing an African research response to the COVID-19 pandemic