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Robert S.McNamara Fellowships Program |
Introduction The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program was established in 1982 to honor the former President of the World Bank. The Program annually awards Fellowships to support innovative and imaginative post-graduate research in areas of socioeconomic development - specifically focusing on issues critical to improving the lives of the most vulnerable in society. To date, 205 Fellowships have been awarded, spanning issues related to health and population, education of girls, environmental conservation, agricultural and infrastructure development, conflict resolution, the role of NGOs in development, trade and tax reforms, poverty reduction, and institutional and regulatory reform. The Program's funding comes from an investment income earned from an endowment fund set up by contributions from the World Bank and the governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Yugoslavia. Fellowships are open to applicants who are nationals of , and residents in, countries which are currently eligible to borrow from the World Bank. The research must be carried out in the applicant's own country, or country of residence at the time of application. This Program does not provide financial support for an advanced degree (this includes field work for a Ph.D. degree). Length of Fellowship:Fellowships are awarded for a period of twelve months and must be commenced within three months of the award being made. The fellowships cannot be extended or deferred. Amount of Award:The amount of the award is US57,500. This is a standard amount, intended to cover the cost of the research and its dissemination, and is not negotiable. No other costs will be considered. Research Theme for the 2001 Fellowships Cycle: Sustainable development Sustainable development poses important questions as to how economic growth is conceived and managed through incentives and regulation. Increasing the production of goods and services is imperative to meet our poverty alleviation objectives and the desire of populations everywhere to improve their standards of living. But current growth patterns have already placed a heavy strain on the environment that threatens the medium and longer term sustainabi1ity of these production systems (e.g., water stress, land degradation, harmful air and water pollution). Nearly all of the expected increase in the world's population of 2 billion in the next 25 years will occur in developing countries. If we succeed in our growth objectives, total production in these countries will more than triple and per capita consumption more than double. The stresses on the environment and on the fabrics of our economies and societie5 will greatly increase. The challenge is how to make sure that this development is sustainable: economically, socially, and environmentally. The Program invites research proposals (3-4 pages in length) that address one of the following aspects of this challenge: 1.Sustainable Technologies Recent revolutions in communications and information systems and strategic decisions by environmentat1y concerned companies (primarily in developed countries) offer exciting opportunities to increase output, jobs, and welfare while p1acing less stress on the environment and consuming fewer inputs. By adopting such technologies, developing countries have the opportunity to leapfrog over some of the more costly stages of development and move directly to higher quality and more sustainable development paths. In your country; what are the most promising opportunities to absorb sustainably oriented technological progress, what is needed to create the incentives and structure to encourage rapid adoption of these technologies, and how could 5uch Q pro8rQm be put in place? 2.Urbanization Populations of developing country cities will increase by about 2 billion in the next 25 years, and they will host the bulk of economic development. Most of these urban areas already face serious problems of congestion, lack of basic services, and pollution, which seriously impact the poorest. The expected increase in population and activity will require massive investments in infrastructure - roads, housing, and utilities - and provision of critical services - health, education, water and sanitation. These investments will, in turn, shape the activity and quality of life in those cities for a tong time. It is possible to make the cities more livable through effective planning and community action (e.g., Curitiba, Brazil), and improved urban life is essential to both poverty alleviation and sustainability. In your country or city, identify and Carefully analyze two or three cases where well-designed plans or programs are significantly improving the quality of urban life (particularly for the poor). What have been the requirements to design and build popular support for these programs, and how have they been implemented? Also identify how those successful experiences can be efficiently disseminated to other communities for replication and scaling-up. 3.Community-based Natural Resource Management The use of natural resources requires that such resources be managed sustainably and effective. Experience has shown that a sustainable and effective management of the natural resources cannot be attained without the participation of the communities where the resources are located. In your country, identify and carefully analyze two to three cases where initiatives on Community-based Natural Resource Management, that had been implemented in accordance with the country's overall policy framework, have proven to be beneficial to the community, especially in terms of economically, socially and environmentally sustainable development. Also identify how those successful experiences can be efficiently disseminated to other communities for replication and scaling-up. Output:Fellows are expected to issue two progress reports, a research abstract during the fellowship year and a final report containing the results of the research at the end of the fellowship year. The final reports are reviewed by World Bank staff. The World Bank has first fights on publication of these materials. Note: The final research product will be consider for publication in the Policy Research Working Paper Series at the World Bank and will be used as background material for the World Development Report 2002/03. Seminar Participation: A seminar is organized for the Fellows during the Fellowship year in Washington, DC. Eligibility Applicants must meet the following general criteria to be eligible for a fellowship award: 1. Be a national and resident of a World Bank member country which is currentlye1igible to borrow; 2. Normally, candidates should be 35 years old or younger. However, the Program has interpreted this requirement with flexibility in the past and will consider exceptional candidates up to age 40; 3. Must have completed and been awarded at least a Master's degree, or equivalent, at the time of application. Note: Applicants with a Master's, but working towards a doctorate, may apply, but must have been awarded the degree before being allowed to take up a Fellowship; 4. Must carry out the research under the auspices of an academic supervisor in a host institution. Application Procedures All applications must be submitted with the required documentation on the correct application forms. Forms for the 2001 cycle are available from all World Bank Resident Missions and from the McNamara Fellowships Program office at World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC. All requests for application forms should quote our reference: RSW/01/1. (Failure to do so may result in delays in receiving the forms). To be considered for the 2001 cycle, all completed application forms must be received in Washington, DC, by August 15, 2000. Late applications will not be considered.The awards will be announced in November 2000. Applications and correspondence may be sent to: Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program The Program Office can also be contacted at: fax: (202) 522-4036 |
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