Funding for Visiting Fellowships for African Scholars

Policy and Objectives

OReNGA runs a Visitor Programme for African scholars and practitioners who wish to contribute to, and participate in, the work of OReNGA and who have the active support of an academic sponsor from the OReNGA committee. Visitors have the opportunity to be involved in a wide range of activities organised by OReNGA and its associated departments and are encouraged to participate fully in the collaborative research culture of OReNGA.

Depending on the length of their stay, visitors will be asked to contribute to one or more of the following activities:
• present a paper in Oxford (as part of a seminar series, workshop or similar activity)
• co-organise an event (seminar or workshop) with a member of OReNGA
• contribute actively to OReNGA’s research programme,
• collaborate with one or more researchers involved in the OReNGA initiative.

Finance and Funding

OReNGA aims to provide modest amounts of funding to support African scholars’ visits to Oxford. OReNGA normally will fund up to two visitors per year to a maximum of £2900 each, comprising the airfare and an accommodation/subsistence allowance for the duration of the visit, not exceeding 10 weeks. OReNGA does not cover visa expenses or provide a salary. The relevant department will provide the visitor with a University card which will allow access to University buildings and libraries. At the discretion of the relevant department, a workstation and IT support may be provided. However a charge may be levied against the visitor for the provision of these services.

Applicants must demonstrate that they have approached alternative sources of funding prior to applying to OReNGA. Visitors should normally apply for research funding through their home institution. Visitors are also strongly encouraged to apply to a visiting fellowship grant scheme (or similar) in parallel with their application to OReNGA.

Please note that the following external funding agencies run academic visitor scheme competitions for visiting periods over three months:

• British Academy Visiting Fellowships (for overseas visitors)
• British Academy UK-Africa Academic Partnerships
• Leverhulme Visiting Professorships
• Leverhulme Visiting Fellowships – The Leverhulme Trust has a yearly rota of institutions for which it will accept applications
• A number of Oxford Colleges also offer Visiting Fellowships – details are available on their respective websites.

Applications to the above schemes must pass through and be submitted by the host institution, in this case a department of the University of Oxford. Applications to external funding bodies will need to be approved separately from the OReNGA visitor application by the relevant departmental committee. Departments require at least four working weeks to process applications for external funding so applications should be made well in advance of the awarding body’s deadline. Should you be interested in one of the external schemes, please approach the Research Support Team in the Department of Politics and International Relations to discuss your case.

Application Procedure

Before completing an application form, prospective visitors need to identify and contact a member of OReNGA willing to act as their sponsor. Please note that if the OReNGA member is not an established member of the academic staff of the University, applicants will also have to secure the active support of an established member of the University. Prospective visitors should discuss with their sponsor(s) the opportunities for contributing to OReNGA in their area of research (e.g. organising a seminar series, co-authoring publications, organising networking events, contributing to teaching, etc) and include this on their application form.

Applications should consist of four documents (if all four documents are not provided the application will be automatically disqualified):

• A completed application form which can be downloaded here word document or pdf document pdf
• A brief one-page research or activity proposal
• A CV of the prospective visitor
• A letter of support from an established full member of staff

Applications for Visiting Fellowships should be addressed to the Research Support Officer at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Manor Road, Oxford, OX1 3UQ. Applications must be submitted by noon on Friday of 6th week each term (Friday 16 November 2007; 22 February 2008; 30 May 2008). The OReNGA Finance Committee will meet in 7th week and will endeavor to announce funding decisions by the end of term. If applicants require decisions prior to the end of term they may contact the OReNGA Chair Jan-Georg Deutsch explaining why an urgent decision is required.