The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) is inviting students to submit applications for consideration of the Grassroots Development Fellowships for Graduate Students.
In a press release from the United States (US) Embassy the IAF said it is reactivating its fellowship support for dissertation work by candidates for PhD degrees from US universities. It expects to reward up to 11 fellowships supporting research in Latin America and the Caribbean undertaken between June 1, 2007 and May 31, 2008.
The IAF is accepting applications from students in the social and physical sciences, in the technical fields and the professions as related to grassroots development issues. The awards provide international transportation to the field research site and a monthly stipend for a maximum period of one year. Fellows must have advanced to PhD candidacy by the date they begin their IAF-sponsored research.
The release said the IAF fellowships are awarded based on both development and scholarly criteria. They are intended to help build a community of professionals and scholars knowledgeable about grassroots development. Before discontinuing its programme in 1999, the IAF had supported nearly 1000 fellows from the US and 28 other countries. Fellows conducting field research in 36 countries were associated with about 4000 development and applied research organisations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The embassy said the competition is open to US citizens and citizens of independent Latin American and Caribbean countries. For more details email pdurbin@iaf.gov and for more information about the awards, eligibility criteria and application procedures visit www.iie.org/iaf The US Congress created the IAF in 1969 to fund the self-help initiatives of the organised poor in Latin America and the Caribbean and the groups that directly support them.
