The Fellowship Scheme has two specific goals:
- To provide governments of developing countries with high calibre junior professional economists where gaps in local expertise exist.
- To provide recent postgraduate economists with practical work experience in a developing country.
Governments often face capacity problems and view the Scheme as an effective means of employing well-qualified and highly motivated economists. Fellows become line employees within the civil service making this a highly flexible form of technical support.
The host government draws up Terms of Reference for each two-year posting. The success of the Scheme and the respect it has gained from governments is demonstrated by the consistently high demand for Fellows and by the degree of responsibility often entrusted to Fellows.
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| The Fellowship Scheme was established in 1963. Since then, over 800 ODI Fellowships have been awarded, and the Scheme has worked in over 30 countries.
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Most Fellows are assigned to government ministries where they work as
economists or planning officers. The posts call for a wide variety of both economic
and administrative skills.
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How the Scheme is funded |
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Details of the responsibilities of ODI and the local employer in supporting Fellows sent abroad through the scheme.
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The costs of employing each Fellow are shared
between the recipient government and ODI, making this
a unique form of technical support. ODI has secured
funding for the Scheme through grants provided by
the Department for International Development (DFID) in the UK, AusAID and the World Bank Trust Fund.
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'I'll be staying on in Abuja and in the President’s Office after my Fellowship to help coordinate a new initiative to help Local Governments achieve the MDGs. The experience of working with Hajiya Amina Al-Zubair, the Nigerian President's Senior Special Assistant on the MDGs, has been unparalleled. Thank you for the opportunity the Fellowship Scheme has provided.'
Jonathan Phillips, ODI Fellow, Nigeria 2008-10
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