Call for Proposals: Funding Research Projects in the Field of Violent Extremism – Tunisia

The call is aimed at the final production of scientific articles that support the design of action and advocacy strategies useful for public action, and it is intended for:

• Researcher attached to a public research or higher education institution (doctoral student, doctor or postdoctoral researcher);
• Independent researcher (doctoral student or doctor).

As such, the research fund targets the following sub-objectives:

• Strengthen knowledge of the social, cultural, economic and political dynamics that can fuel violent extremism, based on contextual and verified empirical data;
• Identify and promote innovative approaches to preventive interventions that are relevant to the Tunisian context, based on development and human rights promotion responses and which promote inclusive and collaborative strategies;
• Support the structuring of a community of experts, bringing together researchers and practitioners in the field of ENP, around a framework for exchange.

Concerned Research Themes

• The research projects submitted must correspond to the following priority research areas and themes:
  • Specific case studies about shapes and vectors violent extremism
    • Social representations and reconfigurations of forms of violent extremism specific to Tunisia;
    • Biographical reconstructions of individual journeys of radicalization leading to violence;
    • Resonances of violent extremist discourse with evolution trends in Tunisian society;
  • Evaluation d’interventions prevention of violent extremism (PEV)
    • Evaluation of the strategies of associative, private and state actors in terms of PEV;
    • Action research on PVE programs through education (formal and/or informal);
    • Action research on PVE programs through art, culture and/or sport.
  • Disengagement rehabilitation and reintegration
    • Assessment of the impact of reintegration programs for common law prisoners on the PEV;
    • Action research on disengagement interventions rehabilitation and reintegration targeting former prisoners in the context of terrorist offences;
  • Socialization process and violence
    • Dissemination of speeches promoting violent extremism in online and on social networks;
    • Gender relations, socializations and male identities in relation to violence;
    • Iterative processes between hate speech online and real harm, offline, in terms of violence and social cohesion.
• Research projects are encouraged that:
  • Demonstrate potential for practical utility in supporting strategies for the prevention of violent extremism;
  • Involve one or more public, private and/or civil society partners. The technical committee of the research fund (MESRS, CNLCT and UNDP) can facilitate partnership with public institutions;
  • Integrate a multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of the problem of research.

Amount of Grants

• The financial support allocated under this call for proposals is capped at 24,000 TND per research project.
• Duration: The duration of the research project must be 12 months, writing included.

Geographical Area

• The financial support offered by the UNDP within the framework of this call for proposals is intended for research projects that will be carried out throughout the Tunisian national territory. The evaluation of proposals will encourage the selection of research projects which also focus on the dynamics and regional and transnational phenomena.

Eligibility of Applicants

• The applicant (researcher) must meet the following conditions to be eligible for a grant:
  • Be a researcher attached to a public research or higher education institution (doctoral student, or postdoctoral researcher);
  • Be an independent researcher (doctor).
• The application of young researchers is strongly recommended and will be prioritized during the evaluation of applications. Specifically, the beneficiaries targeted by the extremism research fund are young Tunisian researchers, residents of Tunisia, doctoral students or (aspiring) postdoctoral researchers:
  • Doctoral student – Researcher in doctoral training and attached to a higher education and/or scientific research establishment in Tunisia. Their doctoral thesis must focus on a research theme relevant to the ENP.
  • Aspiring postdoc – Researcher who has successfully completed a cycle of doctoral studies but is not attached to either a higher education establishment or a scientific research establishment (laboratory or unit).
  • Postdoctoral researcher – Contractual researcher attached to a laboratory or research unit in Tunisia. His current research work must focus on a research theme relevant to the ENP.
• The collaboration of researchers with public institutions and/or socio-economic partners (civil society organizations and/or international NGOs with a physical presence in Tunisia, private sector) is strongly encouraged.

For more information, visit UNDP.