Research and Innovation Fellowships Quarterly Report (FY 2017)

The Selection Committee, comprising representatives from the Master of Development Practice, the College of Natural Resources, the Haas School of Business, and the Blum Center for Developing Economies, reviewed the applications and approved thirty of them. Two additional applications were received from the UC Davis RIFA program, bringing the total number of approved Fellowships to thirty-three. Twenty-six students decided to proceed with the Fellowships, with the remaining seven declining due to various reasons, including health issues, competing offers, and residency status concerns. The new Fellows represent a diverse range of graduate programs, including Development Practice, Public Policy, Engineering, Public Health, Environmental Design/City Planning, Environmental Policy, and Social Welfare. Five of the new Fellows are PhD students, while the rest are pursuing Masters-level degrees. The program's marketing efforts, which included an earlier start and outreach to departments and centers housing likely candidates, were successful in increasing applications by almost 50%. However, the number of students declining the offer was higher than in previous years, with seven students citing health issues, competing offers, and residency status concerns as reasons for not pursuing the Fellowship. The Selection Committee rejected one application due to a record of problematic support of previous Fellows by the suggested host. The pre-departure preparation program will continue with three more sessions in April, and the all-UC RIFA/GDF Conference will be held at UC Davis on April 8th. Grant funds will be disbursed into the students' accounts in late April/early May, and students will begin their Fellowship experiences during the quarter. The program plans to conduct brief check-in conversations with Fellows 3-4 weeks following their arrival at their GDF assignment. The required USAID funding for this year's GDF program will be $120,000 lower than planned due to the smaller number of Fellows to be funded by USAID. However, the program has secured an additional $35,000 contribution from the Chevron Corporation, which, combined with the roll-over funds, would translate into a possible $155,000 for GDF in 2018. The program plans to use this funding "on-ramp" to garner additional matching support from new long-term donors and launch a major fundraising drive based on that leverage and highlighting the significant accomplishments of the program since its beginning.