1) What is the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program
The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) is a Ford Foundation-supported program of the New York City – based International Fellowship Fund. IFP provides fellowships for post – graduate study to individuals from groups or communities that lack access to higher education. IFP is financed by the largest single grant in the history of the Ford Foundation – $355 million. Through IFP, the Ford Foundation supports up to three years of formal post graduate study for Fellows from 22 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East Latin America, as well as from Russia. The program will assist approximately 4,300 Fellows during this period – 2001to 2010.
2) What is the program’s principal goal?
The program’s goal is to enable a diverse group of exceptional men and women from many parts of the world, who would otherwise lack opportunities for advanced study, to pursue post-graduate degrees. This education will help prepare the Fellows to become leaders in pursuing positive change on issues that further the Ford Foundation’s goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation, and advancing human achievement.
3) Why is the Ford Foundation making such a large investment in international higher education at this time?
The Ford Foundation has long believed that providing education opportunities to talented people who use their knowledge to improve their societies is one of the best possible philanthropic investments. Since the 1950s, the Foundation has granted an estimated $365 million to enable some 30,000 individuals from more than 70 countries to pursue graduate education. Over the years, Ford Foundation fellowships recipients have helped advance knowledge in the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Many former Ford Fellows have advanced to leadership roles in institutions around the world. It is now important to help prepare a more diverse generation of future leaders to meet the global challenges of the 21st century. IFP aims to broaden the talent pool of future leaders in selected developing countries by making a special effort to recruit men and women from social groups and communities that have been historically underrepresented in higher education.
4) Why is there a compelling need for this program?
Although both government and private sources support different types of fellowship programs throughout the world, the rapidly increasing need for higher education in many countries far exceeds available funding. Opportunities are especially limited for individuals who come from grounds or communities that historically have had little access to advanced education. This includes women, people who belong to particular ethnic, racial or religious groups, and those who live outside major cities or in countries in conflict or post-conflict situations.
5) Which countries and regions are included?
Since IFP works closely with the Ford Foundation’s overseas offices, the program is restricted to those countries and territories outside the United States where the Foundation conducts its field-based activities. The program began in November 2000 with four pilot sites. In Asia, the program was initiated in Vietnam. In Africa, the first competition was held in West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal). In Latin America, IFP began in the Andean Region as Southern Cone (Chile and Peru). Russia was the final pilot site. The first 96 Fellows from these countries were named in 2001. In February 2002, 173 new Fellows from the pilot site countries and from India, China, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mexico and Guatemala were announced. During 2002, the program expanded to seven additional countries and territories: Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Mozambique, Palestine, Philippines and South Africa. For the selections in 2003, the program expanded to Thailand.
6) How is IFP governed and managed?
IFP is a program of the New York City-based International Fellowships Fund. The Fund is an independently incorporated supporting organization of the Institute of International Education (IIE). A seven-person Board of Directors oversees the Funds financial and program operations for IFP. Within the Fund structure, IFP is managed by a Secretariat housed at IIE headquarters in New York City. In accordance with the policy guidelines established by the IFF Board and under the guidance of the IFP Executive Director, Joan Dassin, the IFP Secretariat is responsible for overall policy and program planning. The IFP Secretariat works closely with a number of national, regional and IFP International partner organizations that provide services to the program, including recruitment and selection of fellows in the participating countries. IIE headquarters in New York disburses Fellows‘funds, and provides university placement for many IFP Fellows. IFP also works closely with Ford Foundation filed offices, which have played a key role in the program’s development.
7) Who is eligible to apply for an IFP fellowship?
IFP is no longer accepting new applicants. The final cohort has been selected, bringing the total number of IFP Fellows to around 4,300. IFP will conclude its work by 2013. As Ford Foundation President Luis Ubiñas noted, “IFP’s impact has reached far beyond the Fellows…It is reshaping how governments, universities and other scholarship programs are thinking about building diverse and talented leaders committed to our most pressing global issues. And it is proving that leaders from marginalized communities can compete academically in the most challenging environments and return to their home countries to make a difference.”
IFP Fellows selection
Applications are submitted to the IFP International Partner organization in the applicant’s country or region. International Partner organizations in each region convene selection panels of the highest academic and professional standards and ensure that IFP selection criteria are applied in a consistent manner. These panels of scholars, practitioners and other experts assess applications and make the final selection.
9) IFP Selection criteria
Fellows are chosen on the basis of their leadership potential and commitment to community or national development, as well as for their academic promise and achievement. Successful candidates must hold baccalaureate degree or its equivalent and have demonstrated excellence in their undergraduate studies; have experience in community service or development-related activities; intend to pursue formal masters or doctoral training that will enhance their leadership skills in fields related to the Foundation’s program interests; present a plan specifying how they will apply their studies to social problems in their own countries; and commit themselves to working on these issues following the fellowship period. Priority is given to people from groups or communities that have historically lacked opportunities to pursue higher education.
10) IFP Leadership potential and social commitment assessment
Many of the most promising applicants identified by IFP selection panels are individuals who have demonstrated a high level of civic engagement in their communities or countries. Among the Fellows selected in early rounds are individuals who have: founded civil society organizations dedicated to social action; been active in student affairs; and become positive role models in their societies.
11) IFP Placement process
Fellows may apply to study in an appropriate high quality graduate degree program at any university worldwide. IFP International Partner organizations and IIE will offer placement assistance to Fellows who have not yet been admitted to graduate school.
12) What types of support are provided for IFP Fellows?
In addition to financial assistance for travel, living expenses, tuition and related costs, IFP offers individuals selected for fellowships short-term pre-fellowship training, including language study and courses in research and computer skills. The program will also facilitate informal networks through which Fellows may share information and experiences.
13) How does IFP encourage Fellows who study abroad to return to- or work on behalf of –their home communities or countries?
IFP selects Fellows on the strength of their clearly stated commitment to serve their communities and countries of origin, among other key selection criteria, and expects that they will honor this obligation. In addition, IFP support allows Fellows to pursue professional activities in their home countries during the fellowship period. Working through its partner organizations, IFP will assist Fellows after they have returned home to stay connected to various IFP networks and remain current in their respective fields.
14) How will IFP connect to the broader higher education community?
The IFP Secretariat and various partner organizations expect to share the program’s experience- especially the results of its efforts to reach talented individuals from groups and communities that are underrepresented in higher education- with a range of individuals and institutions concerned with developments in the international higher education field. To this end, IFP will commission research and contribute to relevant policy debates.
15) How does the Ford Foundation assist talented students and potential leaders who have limited access to undergraduate education?
The Foundation has created a complementary program called Pathways to Higher Education. The Pathways program will spend US$50 million through 2010 to support projects that increase access to higher education for members of educationally underrepresented groups in countries outside the United States where Ford has active grant-making programs. While IFP supports individuals directly, the Pathways program seeks to strengthen the ability of educational institutions to help students attain a quality undergraduate degree.
16) How will IFP experience be documented and evaluated?
The IFP Secretariat will assess the program’s educational effects, including the Fellows’ academic placements and performance, completion rates and subsequent employment, with particular emphasis on Fellows’ contributions to their home communities and countries. In addition, the Ford Foundation will document how IFP was designed and implemented, for the benefit of Foundation staff, other grant makers, and the broader higher education community.
17) How does one apply for a Ford Foundation IFP fellowship?
IFP is no longer accepting new applicants. The program’s focus is now on how to create a new program based on the worldwide success of IFP.Our challenge now is how to create a new program based on the worldwide success of IFP. This will require us to think creatively about what “sustainability” means in each of the participating countries and regions. The Ford Foundation has invested nearly $350 million over a decade to design and develop a model for extending the benefits of world class higher education to leaders from marginalized communities, who then contribute to their countries’ development. How can we build on that investment and our successful track record? IFP is building is Legacy, how can we do this using the alumni and other partners?
