The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2022
2022 Girish Sant Memorial Fellowship
Applications for the 2022 Girish Sant Memorial Fellowship are now open for motivated journalists, lawyers, engineers, social scientists, economists, statisticians, researchers, and activists / advocates who want to engage in detailed exploration of some relevant topic of public interest in the energy and environment sector to apply before the deadline (July 15, 2022).
Girish Sant, a trailblazing energy policy researcher and public interest advocate, died unexpectedly in February 2012. Prayas, along with Girish’s friends and well-wishers, have established a fellowship program to encourage researchers and professionals to adopt his values and approach of high-quality analysis, commitment to social equity, and emphasis on policy impacts.
The topic of the fellowship
Fellowship applicants are free to suggest any relevant research topic in the wide field of boosting public interest in the Indian energy sector as a topic for the fellowship. Any combination of desk research, field work, primary data collecting, interviews, and surveys could be used. The fellowship will not support actions such as implementation or mobilization because it is meant to assist research and exploration. The Girish Sant Memorial Committee reserves the right to approve or reject any or all topics.
Purpose
The fellowship’s goals are to inspire Indian experts to pursue public-interest work in the Indian energy sector while also providing financial and professional assistance for such research.
The fellowship’s specifics
- In 2022, one fellowship will be given. The fellowship will be worth a total of Rs. 5 lakhs. Funds would be distributed on a quarterly basis, with 20% awarded at the start of the fellowship and 20% awarded at the conclusion of each quarter after that.
- The selected fellow is expected to work largely on his or her own.
- A chosen fellow may be affiliated with a different organization. In this scenario, the respective organization should accept the fellowship request and commit to mentor and guide the fellowship activities as needed.
- The fellowship will last for a year and a half.
- Even if he or she is affiliated with another organization, the selected fellow is expected to work full-time on the fellowship during the fellowship period.
- Prayas (Energy Group) urges the fellow to visit Prayas or similar institutes to interact and engage with the researchers.
- Prayas (Energy Group) will gladly coach and guide the chosen colleague.
- The fellow is required to provide a final report based on his or her research that will be freely available in the public domain, including on the Prayas website.
- The fellowship would be given to a single person.
- The Girish Sant Memorial Committee would oversee the fellowship program, which would be administered by Prayas (Energy Group). In terms of fellowships, the Girish Sant Memorial Committee’s judgments are final and binding.
The application procedure for fellowships – 2022 Girish Sant Memorial Fellowship
- The applicants should submit an application electronically for the fellowship to [email protected]. Applications should reach us by Friday, July 15, 2022.
- The application – in Microsoft Word or pdf format – must contain the following details:
- A complete bio-data giving the candidate’s date of birth, contact details, details of education, work experience, research and other professional interests, and list of publications or relevant writing samples.
- A detailed fellowship proposal (not exceeding five pages in single spacing 11-point font) which should contain
- A description of the research problem or issue to be explored
- Relevance and importance of the problem / issue
- Approach / methodology to exploring the problem including approximate timelines
- Name and details of the associated organization(s) where the work would be conducted, if applicable
- Names, email addresses and phone numbers of two respected individuals from the energy and/or development sectors who can be contacted for references
- Applicants are encouraged to ensure that the fellowship proposal states the problem clearly and succinctly.
- Incomplete applications will be rejected.
The selection procedure
- Applications will be evaluated based on the applicant’s bio-data and the fellowship proposal. A commitment to public interest and sustainability, clarity of thought and expression, novelty and relevance of the problem, analytical rigour, ability to do justice to the problem, and appropriateness of the problem for the fellowship budget are all qualities that would be considered in the application.
- Applicants who are currently enrolled in an academic program, including a PhD, are ineligible to apply for the fellowship.
- Applicants who pass a preliminary evaluation of their bio-data and fellowship proposal will be interviewed in person, by phone, or via the internet. The suggested referees may also be contacted in order to learn more about the applicant.
- A formal letter from the associated organization, where applicable, stating its agreement to the proposal and willingness to support and mentor the applicant should be submitted upon notification of selection as a fellow. To complete the selection process, the selected applicant must sign an undertaking agreeing to the terms of the fellowship.
- The evaluation process could take up to two months.
For more information, go here.
