The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program 2019

The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (RSMFP) provides support to developing country citizens who are current PhD candidates studying in developing countries, funding up to $25,000 to conduct PhD research on a development topic in a World Bank member country other than the Fellow's home country or country of residence.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the most promising developing nation researchers to advance their doctoral work with the best international advisors and host institutions in their fields of study.

The call for RSMFP fellowship applications from PhD candidates is now open until the application deadline of May 2, 2019.

RSMFP was established in 1982 with $2.8 million in funding from the World Bank and the governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and former Yugoslavia.

What are the RSMFP Benefits?

RSMFP provides up to $25,000 (U.S.) for developing country nationals to travel abroad to conduct development-related PhD research under the supervision of a host advisor at a university, research or development institution in a World Bank member country. The Scholarship covers a 6 to 10 month period. Details on eligible expenditures are provided in the Application Guidelines.

What is the Selection Process?

The RSMFP uses the following process to review completed applications, with the aim to identify eligible candidates with the most innovative and relevant research proposals in the area of development.

Two qualified reviewers independently review each eligible application to assess the following:

Quality of the proposed fellowship (70%)
Prospects for a productive career in research on development post-PhD (30%)

Information provided by your PhD thesis supervisor and your host institution research advisor are particularly important elements of your application.

The World Bank Robert S. McNamara Secretariat uses the average score of the two reviewers and the following other aspects to select the finalists:

Maintaining a reasonably wide geographical distribution of awards;
Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender;
Giving fellowships to those applicants who, other things equal, appear to have limited financial resources;
Giving preference to applicants currently employed as lecturers or researchers at an academic or research institution in a member developing country of the World Bank;
Giving preference to applicants who have not received a JJ/WBGSP scholarship for a master’s degree program.

The finalists are presented to the World Bank Robert S. McNamara Steering Committee (composed of some members of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management) for final review and selection of the winners of the award. The RSMFP Secretariat notifies the public on this website that the selection is made and individually informs the winners of the Fellowship.

Learn how to apply on the World bank website.

Eligible countries:

Afghanistan,Albania,Algeria,Angola,Antigua and Barbuda,Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Rep., Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Rep. of Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, Arab Rep Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Islamic Rep. of Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Republic of Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's D.R., Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, FYR of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, F.S. Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Rep. Bol. de Venezuela, Vietnam, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Other.

Development topics:

FINANCE, COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION

Financial Stability & Integrity
Financial Inclusion & Access
Firms, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Markets, Technology & Digital Economy
Long-Term Finance
Climate & Risk Management
Gender Nexus with Ownership and Control of Assets- including:
- land
- housing
- financial services / inclusion
- access to finance and lending to women-owned SMEs

GOVERNANCE, POLICY MAKING AND MANAGEMENT

Strengthening Public Policy Processes
Promoting Effective Resource Management
Reinforcing Public Service Delivery
Strengthening the Public-Private Interface
Understanding the Underlying Drivers and Enablers of Policy Effectiveness
Nexus with Gender

MACROECONOMICS, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Designing and applying country-based diagnostics, development strategies, policy analysis and other analytical products for decision-making by Ministries of Finance, Trade, Economy and Production in their pursuit of reform agendas conducive to strengthening inclusive growth led by the private sector
Nexus with Gender

POVERTY REDUCTION AND EQUITY/SHARED PROSPERITY

Identifying key constraints that limit opportunities for productive employment, capital accumulation and investment in human capital by the poor and vulnerable households.
Using data on poverty, equity and welfare for evidence-based public policy making and implementation
Designing and implementing fiscal and social policies that can enhance the capacity of those at the bottom to contribute more actively to economic growth
Developing and adopting effective risk management strategies and systems that contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and shared prosperity
Nexus with Gender

EDUCATION

For primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education: devise practical solutions for issues related to design of curricula, curriculum reform, instruction and pedagogy, and learning/measurement of learning and learning outcomes
Organize, strengthen and manage an education system, and the delivery of services
Examining and devising options for improvements to quality assurance mechanisms in primary, secondary, and tertiary education
Designing and implementing cost‐effective and sustainable Early Childhood Development interventions
Designing and implementing skills‐driven education, particularly for the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector
Managing and developing an effective teacher workforce
Designing and applying emerging innovations in the education sector, including but not limited to those enabled by the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs)
Designing and implementing reforms aimed at improving the effectiveness, equity, and efficiency of country education financing systems
Designing and implementing reforms aimed at issues of access related to disability and/or Inclusive Education
Developing new ideas and mechanisms for engaging the private sector and labor market in reforms to curriculum and qualifications frameworks for all levels of education
Nexus with Gender

GENDER

Health Sector
Education Sector
Social Protection
Employment
Ownership and Control of Assets
Agriculture and Rural Development
Financial Inclusion
Enhancing Women’s Voice and Agency and Engaging Men and Boys
Gender-Based Violence

HEALTH, NUTRITION AND POPULATION

Health Financing
Public/Global Health
Nutrition
Population and Development
Delivery of Health, Nutrition and Population services work for the poor
Nexus with Gender

SOCIAL PROTECTION AND JOBS

Skills Development
Social Insurance and Pension
Social Safety Nets
Nexus with Gender
Social Safety Net Programs’ Delivery Systems

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD

Climate Smart Agriculture
Food Quality
Rural Livelihoods and Agriculture Employment
Value Chains and Agribusiness competitiveness and commercialization.
Gender Nexus

CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy
Transport
Climate-smart Land Use, Water and Food Security
Finance
Small Island States Resilience initiatives
Nexus with migration/conflict

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

Environmental Economics
Pollution Management and Environmental Health
Environmental Standards
Fisheries
Forests, Landscapes and Ecosystems
Watersheds

SOCIAL, URBAN, RURAL & RESILIENCE

Community-Driven Development
City Management, Governance and Finance
Land / GeoSpatial
Disaster Risk Management
Social Inclusion
Social Sustainability and Standards
Labor Influx and Labor Management
Stability, Peace and Security
Sustainable Urban Infrastructure and Services
Territorial Development and Productivity
Urban Poverty and Housing

WATER

Hydropower & Dams
Water in Agriculture
Urban Water Supply and Sanitation services delivery
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation services delivery
Water Security and Integrated Resource Management
Water, Poverty and the Economy – policies, institutions, and governance – related to the role of water in an economy.
Social Inclusion in Water.
Nexus with Gender Issues

ENERGY & EXTRACTIVES

Clean Energy
Energy Access
Energy Economics, Markets and Institutions
Extractives Industries
Hydropower & Dams
Power Systems

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure Management & Finance, including Public Private Partnerships & Guarantees
Development Corridors & Regional Integration
Roads
Air Transport
Railways
Transport & Digital Development
Urban Transport
Resilient Transport in context of Disaster Risk management

DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT OF FRAGILITY, CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE