**********Workshop Call for Early Career Researchers************
Workshop Title: “STRENGTHENING RESEARCH CAPACITIES AND NETWORKS FOR SOCIAL POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAN (MENA) REGION”
Disciplines: Social Policy, Sociology, Politics, Social Work, International Development and Public Policy
Date and venue: 20-22 February 2014 at the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Rabat, Morocco
The British Council and CNRST (Morocco) have launched a new five-year programme to encourage international research collaboration between ambitious young researchers from the UK and eighteen countries around the world.
The programme, ‘British Council Researcher Links’ provides opportunities for early career researchers from the UK and internationally to interact, learn from each other and explore opportunities for building long-lasting research collaborations.
The aim of this workshop call is to support the development of academic expertise and networking capacities among PhD-level and early career researchers in the areas of social welfare, social policy and social protection in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. This 3 day workshop will be include presentations by early career researchers, information sessions on pursuing a research career, talks by keynote speakers from World Bank and Ministry of Social Affairs in Morocco. Full details of the 3 day programme will be made available to selected delegates.
Issues of social injustice and social inequality in MENA and what public interventions are in place to deal with them have received little attention in the academic literature. Yet, both government discourses and the policies of international development institutions are increasingly grappling with the meaning of social protection and how to deliver it in the socio-economic context of MENA, particularly in the post-Arab spring era. Moreover, social welfare provision in the region is an area of social life in which religious organisations are very active, rendering social policy a deeply contentious issue related to the possible politicisation of social welfare and the radicalisation of segments of the Arab population due to issues of political disenfranchisement and social disadvantage.
There will be four main workshop discussion sessions to address these questions:
1. Research and the policy process: discusses ways in which academic research can be developed to help advance policy making. It will look at strengths and weaknesses of the current context and how early career researchers can contribute to the future of social policy in the region
2. Social Rights and Social Protection: explores what these two key concepts mean for social policy in the region and how academic research can advance scholarship in these areas in ways which are culturally relevant to MENA
3. Children and Youth Policy: explores the critical topic of child and youth policy in the
region. The so-called youth bulge is considered to be one of the key challenges facing the region so this session will explore how research can deal with these challenges.
4. Gender and Female-Headed Households: explores the role of gender issues in the region and the phenomenon of female-headed households as a key client group in social welfare.
Papers based on new empirical research especially from North Africa are particularly welcome. We also welcome abstracts that are relevant to the topic of the workshop but fall outside of the above pre-identified themes. If you are unsure, please discuss with the mentioned contacts above before submission.
The British Council and CNRST will cover the costs related to the participation to the workshop, including: travel (both international and local), accommodation and meals. Costs for the visa will be covered; however participants will be responsible for making all the necessary arrangements. Although this cost will not be covered by the British Council, participants are encouraged to purchase an adequate travel and medical insurance. The British Council accepts no responsibility for any problems which may occur when the participants are in-country.
Application Process and Deadlines
The full application below must be completed and submitted by Sunday 5th January 2014 to [log in to unmask] for Moroccan applications and to [log in to unmask] for UK (and other countries) applicants. Successful applicants will be notified by Friday 10th January 2014.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications must be submitted using the Researcher Links application form
- Application must be submitted before the above deadline
- Participants must be early career researchers: Early Career Researchers are defined as holding a PhD (or having equivalent research experience) and having up to 10 years post-PhD research experience.
- Participants must have a research or academic position (either a permanent post, research contract, or fellowship etc) at a recognised research institution either in the UK or in Morocco.
Participants should already be based in the UK or Morocco (regardless of nationality of origin). A small number of places will be available to applicants from other countries if there is an insufficient number of applicants from UK and Morocco. Interested participants are advised to please contact Rana Jawad to check this.
Quality Assessment
- Experience and relevance of the applicant’s research area to the workshop
- Motivation and contribution to the aims of the workshop
Selection Procedure:
- Eligibility check
- Quality assessment
Notification of results:
Applicants will be notified by email at least one month prior to the workshop.
Application Form
1. Applicant
Name and title
Gender (to monitor statistic participation – this will not be considered during assessment)
Position and institution
Postal address
Email
Phone number
Brief CV (academic career, publications, – no more than ½ page of A4
Abstract - Please give a summary of your area of research
3. Please describe your motivation to attend the workshop and how the workshop matches your professional development needs
4. Please describe the expected impact of your participation to the workshop on your personal and professional development
6. Workshops will take place in English as standard, translation from and to English in French and Arabic will be available. However, please indicate your ability to work and communicate in English
Native speaker Good
Excellent Need support
7. Please use this space to give any additional information that you feel is relevant for the application.
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