RESEARCH ROSTER
A call for researchers who have lived what they study
Zonge Research International is building a researcher roster across Southern Africa. We are inviting researchers to enrol — starting with this targeted call for researchers who bring personal lived experience to their work. Your experience is not a footnote. It is the qualification.
Zonge Research International
Call for Researchers with Lived Experience
Zonge Research International is building a researcher roster across Southern Africa. We are inviting researchers to enrol — starting with this targeted call for researchers who bring personal lived experience to their work. Your experience is not a footnote. It is the qualification.
About the Roster
Our roster is a pool of researchers we draw on for calls for proposals that match their expertise and availability. Enrolment carries no financial obligation on either side. When a relevant opportunity arises and you agree to participate, we will issue a separate contract setting out your role and payment.
Researchers on the roster work alongside Zonge's core team across Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and South Africa.
Who We Are Looking For
This call is open to researchers who have personal, lived experience in one or more of the following areas:
Refugees and asylum seekers — people who have personally navigated displacement across borders.
Displacement — including those affected by xenophobia attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.
Gender-based violence (GBV) — researchers who have directly experienced GBV in any form.
Disability — researchers who live with a physical, sensory, psychosocial, or cognitive disability.
Statelessness — individuals who have experienced being without recognised nationality or documentation.
Child labour or youth exploitation — those who experienced early forced or exploitative work.
Poverty and economic exclusion — researchers with lived experience of extreme hardship or food insecurity.
LGBTQI+ discrimination or persecution — those who have faced exclusion or harm based on identity.
If your experience does not fit neatly into any of these areas but is equally compelling, we encourage you to apply and describe it in your own words.
What Enrolment Means
- You join a regional pool of researchers matched to relevant calls.
- You decide whether to participate each time an opportunity arises.
- There is no obligation on you or Zonge until a specific contract is signed.
- Your lived experience will be recognised as a methodological and ethical asset in how we design and conduct research.
- Participation supports research that is grounded in the realities of the communities it seeks to understand.
Minimum Requirements
Applicants should hold at least a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and have some experience in research — whether academic, applied, or community-based. We value diverse research backgrounds and welcome early-career researchers.
No Fixed Deadline
Enrolment closes when all available spots are filled — not on a set date.
How to Apply
Complete the online enrolment form on our website. You will be asked to upload your CV and provide a brief statement describing your lived experience and research background.
For questions, contact us at: