Road Traffic Injuries Research Network

Notice of Availability of Fellowships for Senior Researchers

Application Deadline: December 31, 2008

Introduction

The network recognizes the importance of peer-to-peer exchanges between developing countries and is now making available some funds to support capacity building in road traffic injury research targeting mid-career and senior researchers from low- and middle-income countries. The grants will support three road safety researchers from LMICs to spend at least three-months at a centre of excellence in either an LMIC or in a high-income country to exchange ideas and learn from other experts.

These fellowships are made possible through the funds from the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility Grant that RTIRN received earlier this year.

Award Information

A total of three fellowships will be available with a maximum award of USD 15000 each.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for these awards, the applicant must be:

1. an existing RTIRN partner. If not a partner yet, they should sign up for partnership by clicking here. before sending in their applications;
2. a national of a low or middle income country;
3. a researcher with at least at least 5 years of independent research experience and at or above the level of Assistant Professor or equivalent;
4. a researcher with at least 5 peer-reviewed research publications in the area of Injuries, preferably road traffic injuries;
5. affiliated with a research institution, academic center or registered non-governmental organization willing to accept and disburse funds.

Fellowship funds utilization

The one time fellowship funds may be used by the recipients to pay for travel to and from selected country, accommodation and living expenses for the duration of the sabbatical.

The funds may NOT be used for attendance of conferences, tuition or any other academic fees.

After award of the funds, the RTIRN will establish a contract with the successful applicants' home institution. Funds will be dispersed to the recipients through their institution and the recipients are expected to adhere to the fiscal policies and regulations of their respective institutions.

Unless otherwise authorized through the RTIRN board, the funds granted must be used within 10 months from the date of the award.

The recipients of the fellowship awards will be required to submit a final report on their sabbatical within three (3) months of its completion. The recipients are also strongly encouraged to publish their work in peer-reviewed journals.

Application Process

All applicants must fill out and return the application form with the supporting documents in MS Word or PDF format, to the address fellowships@rtirn.net by December 31, 2008.

The supporting documents must include all of the following:

1. Curriculum vitae or resume of the applicant
2. A scanned copy of the most recent degree acquired
3. Proof of affiliation with institution at level defined in eligibility criteria (Job identity card)
4. Letter of support from institute where sabbatical is planned
5. Letter of support from home institute
6. A 5 page proposal outlining the planned sabbatical, including the following components:
   
   • Proposed Institution and country for sabbatical
   • Timelines for planned sabbatical
   •   Reasons / justification for selecting proposed location
   • Relevance of proposed sabbatical to road traffic injuries research
   • Outcomes expected from the proposed activity
     
   7. A budget for the proposed activity using the following template:

Category of Expense	Amount in USD
1. Travel
2. Accommodation
3. Living expenses
Total Sabbatical Budget
Amount Received From Other Sources
Total Requested from RTIRN

Applications received after December 31 will automatically be deleted and will not be considered for award.

Review process

Complete applications will be reviewed by a panel of reviewers consisting of RTIRN board members who do not have conflict of interest, and / or external reviewers.

Criteria for Selection

In making the selection for the awards, all of the following will be considered:

To ensure a fair and objective review process, it is RTIRN policy not to comment on the deliberations of its awards panels. Thus, the Network is unable to provide written or oral evaluations of applications.

Calendar

For any additional queries, please write to the RTIRN Secretariat at secretariat@rtirn.net . Please do no t send applications to this address. Applications must only be sent to fellowships@rtirn.net .

To Download Application Form, Please click Here [word Doc]