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African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) News

Introducing the African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) Program

We are excited to announce that the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is officially launching the African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) Program—the newly rebranded initiative that brings together the strengths and legacies of the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) programs.

This rebrand marks an exciting new chapter in our collective work. APDD builds on over a decade of advancing African-led research on peacebuilding, governance, and development, while expanding the program’s reach and visibility.

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) News Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa

September 2025 African University Seminar Series, South Africa (AUSS-SA)

The African University Seminar Series, South Africa (AUSS-SA), was hosted from September 18 to 19, 2025, at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partnership with the University of Johannesburg. Under the theme “South Africa at the Crossroads: Reflections on Inequality, Peacebuilding, Security, and Development,” conveners invited current and former APN and Next Gen fellows based in South Africa to showcase their research and collaborate.

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) News Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa

Carnegie Grant Continues Transformative Support for African Social Science Scholars

The Council is excited to announce that a new grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York will support our African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (APN and Next Gen) program. Over 840 fellowships have been awarded since the program’s inception to support independent African research on peacebuilding, doctoral education, and knowledge dissemination on the continent, including 563 Next Gen fellowships and 277 APN fellowships.

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New Policy Brief from AI Disclosures Project

A new policy brief from the AI Disclosures Project, “MCP in Practice,” by Sruly Rosenblat, Ilan Strauss, Tim O’Reilly, and Isobel Moure, maps how Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) is reshaping the AI developer ecosystem and assesses emerging risks of concentration and gatekeeping.

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Social Science Research Council Launches Presidential Search

For more than a century, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) has been furthering research and building research capacity in the social sciences for the benefit of the public. At a moment when the social sciences are ever more important, the SSRC’s Board of Directors has launched the search for the Council’s new President, with an appointment expected to take effect in early 2026.

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2025 Abe Fellows Network Research Grant Awardees 

The SSRC and the Japan Foundation New York have awarded new research grants to four Abe Fellows leading cross-disciplinary, cross-national research teams working on better understanding important social issues. The projects address the development of transparency in parliamentary systems, international responses to bird flu, gender-based income shocks, and neurodiversity-inclusive learning.

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CJI Fellow Shinjini Pandey on Crisis Response Research

Recently, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), with support from Arnold Ventures (AV), launched the Criminal Justice Innovation (CJI) Fellowship program, which supports early-career researchers who are exploring what works to make communities safer and the criminal justice system fairer and more effective.

We spoke with current CJI Fellow Shinjini Pandey, who is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Economics at Duke University and a Visiting Research Scholar at NBER.

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New Policy Brief from AI Disclosures Project

A new policy brief from the AI Disclosures Project, “Protocols and Power” by Isobel Moure, Tim O’Reilly, and Ilan Strauss, argues that as AI models become commodities, tech giants are racing to lock in users by hoarding their data. Open protocols, backed by open APIs, can facilitate broad data sharing and healthier AI markets. This paper frames Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) as a potentially critical market-shaping device that can decentralize power through unbundling context. 

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) News Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa

July 2025 APN and Next Gen Research Proposal Development Workshop: Ébène, Mauritius

The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation (Next Gen) Social Sciences in Africa Program, in collaboration with the University of Mauritius, held a Regional Proposal Development (RPD) Workshop from July 11 to July 12, 2025. Over a dozen participants from universities in Mauritius and neighboring Madagascar attended the two-day workshop, which was designed to provide opportunities for producing high-quality, internationally competitive research proposals and improve their chances of winning grants and fellowship award, while expanding opportunities for professional development through mentorship by highly experienced mentors from different parts of the world. Mrs. Christina Chan

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) News Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa

July 2025 APN and Next Gen Research Methods Workshop: Ébène, Mauritius

The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation (Next Gen) Social Sciences in Africa Program, in collaboration with the University of Mauritius, held the 2025 July Research Methods Workshop in Ébène, Mauritius, from July 7 to July 10, 2025. The workshop brought together fifty-six (56) fellows from fourteen (14)  African countries, along with facilitators, guests of honor, and keynote speakers, for four days of field-based research methods development, peer-to-peer engagements and networking, and mentorship by highly experienced senior scholars drawn from North America, Europe, and African countries. The workshop also served as an opportunity for

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