ILRI Graduate Field Research Fellowship in Rangeland Governance

Project: Community-Based Rangeland Management in East Africa: NRM, Land Tenure and Land Use Planning Dimensions
Location: Field based: Ethiopia and/or Kenya and/or Tanzania
Duration: Ten to fifteen months

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, www.ilri.org) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 Centres of the CGIAR Consortium, a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future. www.cgiar.org.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is interested in deepening knowledge on community-based approaches to rangeland management in dryland developing country settings. Much of the thinking around community-based natural resource management (NRM) in developing countries, and many of the models for it, are based on management of local, village-level resources such as a community forest. Applying such models in dryland settings has often proven challenging in that pastoralist and dryland farming and livelihood systems tend to take place over much larger areas than farming systems in humid climates. In dryland contexts the relevant scale for management may be more at a landscape or rangeland level.

It is also important that natural resource and environmental management is, by nature, a process that occurs at multiple levels. The multi-level nature of NRM is also particularly pertinent for extensive dryland systems where, for instance, pastoralist management of rangelands at different levels intersects and overlaps in complex ways with administrative boundaries at different levels and with jurisdictions that tend to be based on permanent settlements rather than on pastoral ranges. The importance of livestock corridors is a case in point. Livestock corridors exist at multiple levels from the local up to the national and even international, and are crucial both for coping with highly variable climate and for engaging in livestock markets.

A related challenge concerns the intersection in pastoralist and rangeland settings of systems and approaches for NRM with land tenure and land use planning. The “paradox of pastoral land tenure” is the notion that formalization of property institutions may be necessary to protect pastoralist production from competing land uses but may at the same time undermine the spatial and social flexibility that are intrinsic and essential characteristics of resource use patterns for pastoralists.

A fellowship will be provided to a PhD student to carry out field research on these topics in Kenya and/or Ethiopia and/or Tanzania.

Purpose

The successful candidate will carry out doctoral dissertation field research that contributes to the following overall purpose:

• To analyze the institutional, political and management challenges and dynamics of NRM in developing country rangeland settings, and to identify concepts and principles for the development of appropriate NRM, land tenure and land use planning policies and frameworks.

Indicative Scope of Research Issues and Questions

The successful proposal, in pursuing the above objectives, will address one or more of the following research issues and questions:

• What kinds of governance structures and processes can effectively address the challenges of multi-level planning and governance in East African rangeland settings?
• How do existing land tenure and land use planning frameworks facilitate or constrain community-based rangeland management?
• What have been the successes and challenges of attempts to secure livestock corridors in East Africa?
• How can external agents (government, civil society, donor agencies) promoting rangeland management in pastoralist settings conceive of the policy and program design choices that exist for relating with traditional and community institutions?
• How might land use planning frameworks in rangeland settings be informed by systems-based methods and approaches?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Notwithstanding this guidance, the successful proposal will be one that integrates the above purpose and questions with the PhD student’s own research objectives and agenda in a thoughtful way. Proposals that simply paraphrase and repackage the above purpose and research questions will not be rated highly.

Research Site(s)

ILRI has ongoing projects and partnerships around rangeland management at a number of sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania each of which involves elements of research, stakeholder engagement, and development interventions. The primary site(s) for this PhD dissertation research will be at one or more of these locations, the exact choice of which will be negotiated between ILRI, the successful candidate, and his/her thesis committee.

See attachment for a brief description of some of the possible sites/case studies.

Other Practical Information

This fellowship will contribute to ILRI’s research within the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems. It will build on current ILRI research that unpacks, documents and analyzes land use in rangeland settings, community-based approaches to rangeland management, and landscape level management.

The Research Program on Dryland Systems is committed to using systems approaches that go beyond individual components and that treat systems holistically. Innovative partnerships and appropriate policies are seen as key to achieving its aims. The successful proposal will be one that is compatible with this philosophy. Also, ILRI will help connect the student to key government, civil society and community partners, and applicants for this fellowship are encouraged to work collaboratively with these partners.

The field research should last between ten and fifteen months and should begin no later than October 2015.

This fellowship will cover only field research expenses in Kenya, Ethiopia and/or Tanzania. It is assumed that the successful candidate will have his or her tuition and living expenses covered from some other source such as a scholarship. Funds may be used for living expenses in Kenya/Ethiopia/Tanzania but not for stipend or salary for the student. Candidates will submit a budget as a part of their application to this fellowship; once a successful candidate is chosen, however, ILRI may ask for modifications to the budget.

Requirements and Qualifications

The candidate should:

• Be enrolled or accepted in a PhD program in a recognized university in a discipline such as Natural Resources Management, Environmental Studies, International Development Studies, Rural Development or similar discipline.
• Be fully fluent in English with excellent writing skills
• Have no health or other restrictions that would prevent them from carrying our field research in rural East Africa.
• Experience in one or more of the following would be an asset: rangeland management, rural development in African settings, land use planning, community-based approaches to research and development.

Applicants need not have completed all university requirements for commencing field research (coursework, oral/comprehensive exams, etc.) at the time of application, but these should have been completed and the student admitted to PhD candidacy by the time of starting the research.

How to Apply: All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com by the deadline of 30 November 2014. The following documents should be included in the online application:

• A cover letter. The cover letter should describe the candidate’s interests in and qualifications for carrying out the research, referring to his/her CV as necessary. It should also describe at what stage the candidate has reached in his/her PhD program (i.e., course work completed? Comprehensive/oral exams completed?)
• A CV including three references with contact information, one of whom should be the candidate’s academic supervisor
• A research proposal, maximum 10 pages doubles spaced, including:
  • An abstract (max. 250 words)
  • Background on the key issues
  • Purpose and objectives
  • Proposed methodology
  • Tentative schedule of field activities including other milestones in the PhD program such as actual/anticipated date for completing coursework and for completing comprehensive/oral exams, etc.
  • Expected results and potential use of results
  • Budget for anticipated field expenses of up to USD 22,500. This may include one round trip airfare to East Africa from the candidate’s university base.
  • As the final choice of research site(s) will be negotiated between ILRI, the successful candidate, and his/her thesis committee, the candidate may decide whether and how much background on the particular research site(s) to include in the proposal.
• A reference letter from the candidate’s academic supervisor indicating that he/she has read the candidate’s research proposal, his/her endorsement of the candidate’s application to this fellowship, and any other remarks on the candidate’s suitability and capacity for carrying out the research. (The other two references will be contacted by ILRI during the assessment of applications.)
• Transcripts of the candidate’s most recent degree program.

After a successful candidate is chosen, ILRI, the candidate and his/her thesis committee will together make a decision on the research site(s), after which the proposal can be developed further.

Applicants can expect to be notified by 15 December 2014.

To find out more about ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer. Suitably qualified women and citizens of developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply.