Africa Futures Research Fellowship
Applications open on 9 November and close on 14 December 2026.
Join a small team to research a question rooted in an African community, sector or place. Over three months, investigate how things work today, explore different futures and produce research that can inform decisions and future design work. The programme sits within the Futures Exploration Lab.
Your research journey
Learn to connect research, systems thinking and futures thinking. Your team will build an understanding of the issue, explore alternative futures and share grounded insights, implications and recommendations.
Weeks 1–5
Get to know your team and choose a question you can investigate in the time available. Review existing research, listen to people where feasible, and map the relationships, incentives and barriers that shape the issue.
Weeks 6–8
Look for signs of change and the forces behind them. Develop different future scenarios and consider what each could mean for the people and place you are studying.
Weeks 9–12
Bring together your evidence, systems analysis and future scenarios. Explain the insights, implications, limitations and questions for further work. Early design ideas may emerge, but a developed concept, model or prototype is not required.
Review points: question and ethics in week 2; evidence and system map in week 5; futures in week 8; interpretation and implications in week 10; final research synthesis in week 12.
Choose a primary area and an optional second, or suggest another question. You can propose work across all 13 areas. Initial support is planned for Livelihood and Work, Food, and Education and Learning. Teams and guidance will be confirmed before places are offered.
For example: a food and livelihood team might investigate how a local producer network could earn a decent income while improving access to nourishing food.
Support and outcomes
Designed for adults, including students, researchers and practitioners, who want to investigate African futures. Bring curiosity, a connection to an issue or place, and time to work with a team. Prior futures training and a finished idea are not required.
Six 90-minute workshops, reusable worksheets and peer exchange. Live session times and access arrangements will be published before applications open.
Work in a team of around five, with group guidance sessions and two structured reviews. Share progress, work through research questions and learn from other teams.
Produce a 6–8-page team research report or brief with supporting evidence, systems analysis, future scenarios, insights and recommendations. Make the methods, limitations and further questions clear. Publication is subject to review and permission.
For partners
Universities, community organisations, businesses, public institutions and funders can help shape a research question, connect teams with local knowledge, share expertise or support participation. Tell us what you would like to explore and the contribution you can bring.
Discuss a research partnershipPart of the same agenda
The six-month Africa Futures Fellowship takes research insights into concepts, models or prototypes and appropriate testing. Choose the programme that fits your goals on the shared application form. Both use the 9 November to 14 December 2026 window; participation in one does not automatically lead to a place in the other.
Explore the Africa Futures FellowshipStay connected
Applications open on 9 November and close on 14 December 2026. Use our shared fellowship application form and choose Africa Futures Research Fellowship. We will review applications before confirming places, team support and participation terms.
Applications open on 9 November and close on 14 December 2026.
Your application will be reviewed for the Research Fellowship and stored in our shared fellowship applications table. No applicant details are published. You can request a correction or withdrawal through the contact page. Privacy notice
Choose Africa Futures Research Fellowship for the three-month research programme. The form asks about your interests, the area you want to explore and how you could contribute to a team.
Open the application formApplications: 9 November to 14 December 2026. You can review the questions in advance.