Postdoctoral Fellowships on Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA Fellowships)

IMMANA Fellowships aim to create a cadre of emerging leaders in Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health research.
This workstream of the IMMANA programme will consist of four annual rounds of six Fellowships each year.
Download the call (closing 10 January 2015)
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who is funding the IMMANA Fellowships?
This programme is part of a larger project on Innovative Metrics and Methods for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA), a DFID funded initiative whose goal is to accelerate the development of a robust and coherent scientific evidence base which will support effective policy and investments in agriculture for improved nutrition and health. The Fellowships are a central component of the IMMANA activity, which has three inter-related objectives:

• Strategic Engagement with the research community to fill knowledge gaps in measurement and understanding of agriculture’s role in nutrition and health, implemented through IMMANA Grants;
  
• Capacity Building for a cadre of early career researchers who are developing, adapting and applying these new methodological approaches, implemented through IMMANA Fellowships; and
  
• Strengthening Collaboration across national, institutional and disciplinary boundaries, mobilizing the research community to deliver the best metrics and methods for evidence-based policy making and program design through IMMANA Academy.
  

What kind of research can be supported by this Fellowship?
The programme’s goal is to advance innovative methods and metrics regarding the most cost-effective actions for sustainable, large-scale improvements in agriculture, nutrition and health. Most of the Fellowships awarded will focus on fieldwork in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to evaluate specific interventions. Favourable consideration will be given to projects with linkages to other IMMANA activities, and for proposals addressing changing gender roles, climate change, and dietary transition, but the programme welcomes strong proposals for any kinds of research on the relationship between agriculture, nutrition and health in developing countries. Projects may address knowledge gaps involving crops, livestock, water or other natural resources affected by agriculture, and cover nutrients, pathogens and care practices affecting nutrition or any aspect of care, prevention and treatment affecting health outcomes.
What kind of applicant can be supported by this Fellowship?
Eligible applicants will have completed a doctorate (PhD, DPhil, DPH, MD, DVM or similar terminal degree) in any field related to agriculture, nutrition and health within three years of the proposed Fellowship start date, and be seeking a career in research, education and engagement at the intersection of two or more of these fields. IMMANA strongly encourages applications from female candidates who are citizens of low- and middle-income countries. Selection will give preference to applicants who have research or faculty appointments in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but applicants may be of any nationality and have earned their doctorate anywhere.
What do you mean by “host” and “home” mentor?
These Fellowships are intended to help bridge institutional and disciplinary boundaries, by funding a year of research supported by at least two different mentors. The “home mentor” represents one of the applicant’s previous employers or educational institutions, and the “host mentor” represents the institution where the applicant proposes to conduct their fellowship-supported research. At least one of the two mentors must be located in Africa or Asia.
What combinations of host and home mentors are likely to be successful?
We anticipate that “host mentors” will be project directors or programme officers in implementing agencies, senior faculty members or leaders of agriculture, nutrition and health institutions in a position to guide the Fellow’s work on a week-to-week basis during the year. We expect “home mentors” to be the candidate’s doctoral thesis advisor, employer or a senior researcher or administrator in an institution associated with the candidate before and/or after the Fellowship year. In many cases, we anticipate that the candidate will go on leave from their current employer for the Fellowship year, and return to continue working with their home mentor. We are particularly interested in applicants who are junior faculty members at African and South Asian universities, and who might use the Fellowship for a year of professional development elsewhere, if necessary in the US, UK or other high-income country, as well as candidates from high-income countries doing fieldwork in Africa and South Asia.
What is the level of honoraria provided to mentors?
Each host and home mentor will receive a £1,750 honorarium for the support they provide to the Fellow. We expect that each mentor will spend 40-50 hours over the course of the year supporting the Fellows on research and career development. Honoraria will be paid in two instalments, on submission of a mid-term mentorship report and an end-of-year evaluation detailing the mentor’s contribution to the Fellowship project. The payments are contingent on successful fulfilment of the mentor’s responsibilities as detailed in the Fellow’s own quarterly progress reports, as well as submission of the mentor’s own mid-term and final Fellowship project reports which will be made public on the IMMANA website.
What is the salary, travel, and fieldwork allowance provided to the Fellows?
Fellows will be provided with a stipend of £34,000 (approximately $55,000) for the 12-month period, plus a research allowance of £7,500 to cover local travel and other research expenses (such as translation, hardware, software supplies, etc.), as well as participation in IMMANA Academy conferences, trainings and workshops. All payments will be made in as lump sums against completion of program milestones.
What are other benefits of being an IMMANA Fellow?

• Fellows will be part of the global Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy, giving them access to a community of researchers and institutions from various disciplines working together to develop methods and metrics for the design and evaluation of agriculture programs for improved nutrition and health. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in working groups and trainings offered by the Academy, as well as attend annual global conferences, meetings, and trainings including peer review to improve publication quality and research impact.
  
• Fellows will be affiliated with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), giving fellows access to the expertise of scientists from various disciplines.
  
• Fellows will have access to Tufts University’s facilities and resources available to faculty and staff, including electronic access to the Tufts’ library’s collection of 19,000 journals and other online materials.
  

What are the reporting requirements for Fellows and mentors?
Each Fellow will be required to submit brief quarterly progress reports and a detailed final report, as specified in the award agreement. Each Mentor will be required to submit a mid-term mentorship report and an end-of-year evaluation detailing the mentor’s contribution to the Fellowship project. The final reports from each Fellow and their two mentors will be shared with the IMMANA Academy and published on the IMMANA website. The project is expected to lead to peer-reviewed publications in international academic journals.
http://www.lcirah.ac.uk/sites/default/files/IMMANA_PostDocFellowships_CompleteCallWithFAQ_0.PDF