The Mawazo Fellows Fund offers grants of up to US$2,500 to current Mawazo Fellows and Mawazo Connects Fellows to support their research activities. Each grant application will only support one specific research activity so as to encourage our beneficiaries to identify and prioritise their needs. Research activities supported by Mawazo Fellows Fund include: laboratory tests, support fieldwork, conference travel, specialized training, research translation activities, as well as support cross-sector collaborations (including placements at non-academic institutions).

The research activity must be related to the Fellow’s or Connect Fellow’s research (doctoral or postdoctoral) and they must be able to provide a clear justification on how the grant will support their research and/or further their professional development.

The call for applications will run quarterly, in January, April, July, and October, of every year.

Mawazo Fellows and PhD Scholars Alumni are eligible to apply under the following conditions:

1. Limit of US$2,500 per application

2. Current Fellows can apply up to 3 times within the Mawazo Fellowship Programme term (note: priority will be given to Fellows who have not received funding)

3. Mawazo Connects Fellows can apply once post-fellowship

Eligibility 

In order to be eligible for the Mawazo Fellows Fund, applicants must be either (1) Beneficiaries of the Mawazo Connects Fellowship Programme or (2) current beneficiaries of the Mawazo Fellowship Programme that:

1. Have completed all MLEx coursework and submitted all assignments 

2. Submit an application within respective dates of the selected funding cycle (please see details of the applications cycles below) application window

3. Are able to spend the grant within six months of receiving the grant

Application Process

Interested candidates are required to fill in and submit their applications via an online application form and attach a completed research budget template. Applications will not be accepted by email or in hard copy.  

Please note that the online application form is a Google Form. We, therefore, recommend saving your responses on a separate document just in case the Google Form times out. We would also recommend completing the research budget template before completing the Google Form application.

Current Mawazo Fellows are allowed to apply up to 3 times within the fellowship programme term. Alumni are allowed to apply once post-fellowship.

All applications will be reviewed by the Mawazo Institute staff. Successful applicants will demonstrate that they can do the following:

Meet all eligibility criteria

1. Submit an application with: 

   1. A description of the research activity funds will be used for

   2. A justification on the need for the funding, how it relates to the applicant’s research and how it meets their research goals

   3. A timeline on when funds will be used 

2. Provide a clear research budget with completed: 

   1. Timeline sheet 

   2. Assumptions sheet

   3. Budget sheet

   4. Budget narrative that describes the budgeted costs

   5. Expense tracker sheet

• Please use the following link to view the Mawazo Fellows Fund Budget Template and Guidelines document: https://bit.ly/3GTzdhH

• Once you open, go to File —> Download —> Microsoft Excel(.xlsx) to edit and interact with the document on your computer.

Special First Application Cycle in 2022 (Cycle 2022-0)

We are aware that some of our Fellows require immediate research funding support and so we have included a special first round of applications to those beneficiaries with an urgent need for financial support (i.e., requiring funding for activities taking place before 31 March 2022). The deadline for applications for the first round is 23:59 PM on Friday 7 January 2022.

To be eligible for this initial first round of applications, applicants must be in a position to fully use funds between January 2022 and March 2022 such that:

1. Funds must be used and a budget with an expense tracker submitted by Friday 25 March 2022

2. Receipts & invoices for equipment must be dated before Friday 25 March 2022

3. Events must have taken place before Friday 25 March 2022

Application Cycles for 2022 and Important Deadlines

Overview:

1. Applications open on the first Monday at the start of every quarter (except Cycles 2022-0 and 2022-1)

2. Applications close on the last Friday of the first month of the quarter

3. Approvals are made before the end of the 2nd month

4. Disbursements are made before the end of 3rd month

5. Reporting (narrative and financial reports, including proof of expenditure) are due six months after the disbursement of the grants (with the exception of the first cycle of 2022)

Cycle 0 of 2022 (2022-0):

Call for applications opens: Friday 17 December 2021

Call for applications closes: Friday 7 January 2022

Decision made before: Friday 28 January 2022

Grants disbursed before: Friday 4 February 2022

Reporting deadline: Friday 25 March 2022

Cycle 2 of 2022 (2022-2)

Call for applications opens: Monday 4 April 2022

Call for applications closes: Friday 29 April 2022

Decision made before: Friday 27 May 2022

Grants disbursed before: Friday 24 June 2022

Reporting deadline: 30 December 2022

Cycle 4 of 2022 (2022-4)

Call for applications opens: Monday 3 October 2022

Call for applications closes: Friday 28 October 2022

Decision made before: Friday 25 November 2022

Grants disbursed before: Friday 30 December 2022

Reporting deadline: Friday 30 June 2023

Selection

The Mawazo Institute is committed to non-discrimination in the application review process, and all applications will be reviewed by at least three Mawazo team members using a scoring system based on a clear selection rubric.

Reporting

All successful grantees must provide a completed budget with expenses, receipts and report on use of funds to be submitted 6 months post disbursement (within 3 months for cycle 2022-0)

1. Provide a detailed report on the use of funds 

2. Submit a detailed budget with an expense tracker on the use of funds 

3. Provide receipts proof of use of funds

Deadline for Applications

The deadline for applications is dependent on the cycle you are applying for. Please see the “Application Cycles for 2022 and Important Deadlines” section for further information.

The deadline for the first cycle of 2022 (2022-0) is 23:59 EAT on Friday 7 January 2022.

For questions pertaining to the Fund, please contact our programme staff at fellowship@mawazoinstitute.org.