NOTICE

Call for Applications ** DEADLINE EXTENDED **

Writeshop to Support Developing Country Publications on Climate Change and Energy Systems

11-15 August 2014, Nairobi, Kenya

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is calling for applications from young scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and others from Africa who are working on the issue of energy and climate change to participate in a Writeshop from 11-15 August 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya. Through the Writeshop, participants will produce a peer-review, publishable quality article and they will gain enhanced awareness of the process of writing papers for academic journals. These skills will allow their work to generate new knowledge and inform policy making on key issues of sustainable energy, energy access and rural transformation toward climate-friendly energy systems.

The Writeshop will involve one-on-one work with facilitators to provide guidance and supplemental training on academic writing skills and argumentation, in order to help new authors reach a standard of writing suitable for publication in peer-reviewed journals. A maximum of fourteen participants will be selected.

Applicants should be aware that the Writeshop is not intended to provide training on the subject of climate change, energy and development – we expect that you already have these skills.

How it works
Selected participants will have carried out research on the general theme of Climate Change and Energy Systems (see list of possible theme topics at the end of this notice), and have suitable reasons for requiring improved writing skills. After having been selected, participants are paired with a mentor with whom they will work to improve their papers. Prior to the Writeshop, participants should prepare a draft of their paper to work on during the Writeshop. Writeshops run for 5 days, including plenary lecture sessions, small group discussions and independent work, to allow participants to draft a new version of their papers. Some follow-up work between the participants and mentors will be necessary to get the paper finalised.

Participation requirements
Participants must be committed to completing their paper. If mentors do not consider the paper to be of sufficient quality to be submitted to a peer-review journal, they will assist participants in ensuring that the output is at least at a level where it can be submitted to a magazine or a non-peer review publication. Participants must also recognise that involvement in the programme does not guarantee publication – this will be determined by the independent and objective peer-review process, which is set out by the journal selected for submission.

Selection Criteria and Applications
Applications in Word or pdf formats should be emailed to writeshop@sei-international.org by 31 May 2014. Please read the selection criteria carefully, as we cannot consider any exceptions. All travel costs and lodging will be covered by the organisers, including visa costs if applicable. Please ensure that you have the proper travel documentation (passport, national ID as appropriate) before applying.

Questions (not applications) should be addressed to Lisa Schipper (lisa.schipper@sei-international.org).

Participants will be selected based on the following criteria:

Ø You are carrying out or have carried out research or project that has provided you with new insights on energy and climate change.
Ø You are an early-career researcher, academic or practitioner working on issues related to energy and climate change, and expect to continue working in this field.
Ø You originate from, live and work in the following countries of East Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ethiopia.
Ø You are committed to working with a mentor during and after the Writeshop, to completing a paper, and to seeing it through the publication process.
Ø You can provide the organisers with a first draft of your paper by 20 July 2014.

The application should include:

Ø A brief biographical statement, explaining your background, current career hopes and rationale for wanting to be part of the programme, maximum 500 words. Please specify nationality, country of residence and gender.
Ø An extended abstract or summary of your proposed paper, including a brief description of the methodologies applied, the results of the work, whether the work was the result of research or project implementation, maximum 2 pages and minimum 500 words.
Ø Please do not include any other supporting material, such as diplomas, training certificates, etc. as you will not be evaluated on those.

Writeshop theme

The Writeshop will address topics that are relevant to sustainable energy in Africa in the context of climate change, including bioenergy, as well as meeting the objectives of the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative. Papers selected for the Writeshop can therefore focus on any of the following themes, but are not limited to them:

Innovation and diffusion
- What is the role of innovation in improving access to sustainable energy systems?
- How can policy makers support innovation and diffusion of sustainable energy technologies?
- How does culture and behaviour affect the diffusion of sustainable energy technologies?
- How can user perspectives be incorporated into the design of sustainable energy systems?

Governance
- How should sustainable energy systems be governed?
- How do you effectively scale up successful community-level initiatives?
- How can decentralisation facilitate the transition to sustainable energy systems?
- How can sustainable energy systems address social inclusion and equity concerns?

Rural transformation
- What role can sustainable energy systems play in catalysing rural transformation?
- How can local communities be involved in and benefit from the provision and management of sustainable energy systems?
- What business models are appropriate?
- What types of changes are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy production?

Dr. Lisa Schipper | Adaptation, Vulnerability & Development Consultant | Associate Editor, Climate and Development | lschipper@climate-adaptation.info | New Book: Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change
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