DHS Program Mentored Papers Program 2023

DHS Program Mentored Papers Program, April 28 2023- September 30 2023

The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program is now accepting applications for the 2023 DHS Mentored Papers Program. Alumni of past DHS analysis training programs are eligible to apply. The Mentored Papers Program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Each individual or team will be paired with a DHS co-author. Together, they will be expected to jointly complete a publishable-quality journal manuscript in English on one the following topics:

1. Population, Environment, and Development—Includes analyses of associations between climate change or environmental factors and demographic, health, or development outcomes. Proposals for papers that combine DHS data and geospatial covariates from GC datafiles are especially welcome.
2. Gender and Health—Includes analyses of relationships between gender and health factors or among gender measures. Papers in this topic area may address gender-based violence, women’s empowerment, men’s engagement, decision-making, gender disparities, and/or measurement considerations.
3. Health Systems Strengthening—Includes analyses of quality of care (service readiness and/or process quality), access or use issues, and effective coverage. The use of SPA data is highly recommended and proposals for papers that combine both SPA and DHS data are especially welcome. Proposals for papers that use both SPA and external HMIS data will be considered.

The 2023 Mentored Papers Program will be completely virtual.

Eligibility and Requirements

• We are accepting applications from the following countries – Nepal, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Angola, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Benin, Maldives, South Africa, The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Jordan, Zambia, Nigeria
• Applications are accepted from past DHS Fellows, Analysis Workshop Participants (DHS or SPA), and Health Data Mapping Workshop participants.
• Applicants have the option of applying with a colleague or alone. All applicants must be a DHS workshop alumni member.
• Applicants can not be government employee.
• If applying as a team, team members must be available for the entirety of the program (see anticipated timeline below).
• Papers will be developed with mentorship from and in collaboration with a co-author from the DHS Program. Applicants will be lead authors of the papers. USAID experts will also consult with the author teams on the relevance and priorities of each paper’s research question and implications of the results.
• The papers will be submitted to a relevant peer-reviewed journal and produced as a pre-print in the DHS Working Paper series.
• The language for the program is English.

Anticipated Timeline

Awards

Selection of participants will be primarily based on the merits of their proposal. Additional factors considered will be gender balance and previous experience in data use and statistical analysis.

Each participant will be awarded a $2,000 honorarium to cover research expenses which will be paid in installments based upon satisfactory completion of the deliverables. Incomplete submissions will be deducted from this payment.

Application Procedure

Each team should submit a single application that contains the following items in PDF format:

1. A completed team or individual application form 
2. A brief, original paper proposal (1 to 2 pages) with the following sections clearly described
   1. rationale and research question
   2. scope of analysis (including including DHS Surveys, variables and analytical approaches
   3. potential policy implications. Indicate if other data sources will be combined with DHS data in your analysis. Single country and multiple country analyses will be considered
3. In addition, the joint application should include the following from each team member: a curriculum vitae with complete contact information, and a list of publications.

If selected, each candidate will be asked to provide written confirmation of their availability throughout 2023. 

Contact Information

Please send inquiries to The DHS Program, ICF, 530 Gaither Road, Suite 500, Rockville, MD USA 20850. Email: [email protected].