Applying for Scholarships

IPDET is grateful to several bilateral donors and development cooperation agencies that support the participation of worthwhile individuals from developing country governments, development agencies, and NGOs to attend IPDET. Each year, limited scholarship funds are available; the amount varies from year to year, subject to decisions by donor countries. Sponsors pay only for the direct costs associated with each individual participant: tuition, transportation, accommodations and food, and visas.

Eligibility

IPDET considers scholarships primarily for those who come from and work in a developing country. Under special circumstances and on an exception basis, IPDET may also consider offering awards to employees of UN agencies, but employees of development banks or other financial institutions are ineligible. Employees of private sector companies and private consultants are generally ineligible.

IPDET encourages applications for partial rather than full scholarships. Applicants and sending organizations are strongly encouraged to mobilize sources of funding and make a partial contribution, as they are able, to the overall costs of attendance. IPDET does not ask for financial records, but urges those only in real need to apply for support, as the requests for scholarships far outnumber the funds available.

Selection criteria

IPDET considers multiple criteria when awarding scholarships:

  • Individual works in a priority country for donor capacity development or meets specific criteria identified by a donor (e.g., works in a partner institution or priority sector).
  • Individual holds a position of influence that is likely to foster wider adoption of M&E practices.
  • Individual is willing to attend all four weeks of the program; transportation is a large part of the expense, and so all else being equal, priority goes to those who can commit to attending all of the program. That being said, where an individual has substantial training and/or experience in development evaluation, the condition can be waived and a scholarship offered to attend workshop weeks only.
  • Individual has direct evaluation responsibilities. Involvement in evaluating the country’s poverty reduction strategy paper or equivalent is an additional positive factor.
  • Individual holds a position of influence within a recognized and legitimate NGO.
  • Individual has not received prior scholarship assistance.
  • Individual comes from a country with limited prior IPDET attendance, where he or she is likely to disseminate lessons learned at IPDET or mobilize resources within his or her organization on behalf of improved evaluation practice.
  • Individual works in an organization with a long-term plan to build evaluation capacity and where IPDET training is an integral part of a more comprehensive plan.

Attention will be paid to ensuring an appropriate gender balance among the scholarship recipients.

Selection process

Each applicant is considered on a case-by-case basis. The Selection Panel consists of the two co-directors, as well as the program manager from Carleton University. Decisions are made on “batches” of scholarship applications, generally three times during the registration period. Early applications are highly encouraged, as the last review may exclude those who need a long lead time to obtain visas.

How to Apply

There is no separate scholarship application form.

You must first register on the IPDET web site and then complete the online application form. This form contains a section where you must indicate if you are requesting a full, partial or no scholarship funding.

Required Additional Documentation

If you request scholarship support, you will be asked to describe briefly how attending IPDET would benefit your organization. In addition, you must upload the following documents to the database as part of your online application:

  • Curriculum vitae (CV) limited to a maximum of two pages
  • Letter addressed to the IPDET Program Manager from your employer or institution supporting your application and detailing how your participation in IPDET would assist the organization in meeting its vision and mission. Your name should be clearly indicated.

The online application form will allow for the submission of these documents. Without these additional elements, scholarship applications will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered. Submissions must be written in English.

All submissions must be in Microsoft Word or PDF format and are restricted to 200 KB PER DOCUMENT.

Submission Deadline

Applications for scholarship funding will be accepted up to and including March 8, 2013.