OUR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
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THE PROGRAM
Our fellowship program provides financial support, exposure to global discourse and developments in the policy landscape, and mentoring to people with disabilities from low- and middle-income countries who are actively working on issues of inclusive policy or policy research in support of the rights of people with disabilities as put forth in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We believe that successful advocacy and policy change hinge on the ability to gather and analyze all types of data – quantitative, qualitative, legislative, financial – to provide a strong evidence base for policy change and that it is of fundamental importance that people of disabilities from low and middle income countries be at the center of these efforts.
The official language of the program is English.
OUR OFFER
- Mentorship to develop the fellow’s work plan and achieve their deliverables
- Sponsorship for a week-long training on social protection policies or a similar training program
- A fellowship grant of US$ 900 / month to help cover the time they spend on their projects.
- Involvement of fellows in the projects of CIP as per their interests and expertise. This will enrich the fellows experience and will offer exposure to a global perspective.
- Additional time can be compensated based on the terms of the contract or grant under which it is carried out.
- Involvement of fellows in CIP meetings where fellows will have the opportunity to learn from other members of the organization and different country contexts.
- Check out the kind of projects our past and current fellows have been involved with below.
WHO
We are looking for persons with disabilities in the early or mid-stages of their careers, from the Global South, who have already begun undertaking research and policy analysis in disability inclusion, or who have worked as advocates or organizers but want to transition to more analytical work. It is highly preferred if these people already have connections with the disability rights movements in their countries.
This year, our particular focus is in two areas: inclusive social protection policies, and policies and programs aiming to create community support systems for independent living.
Please note that rather than looking for people who are engaged in training programs or service delivery, we are looking for people with a desire to engage in:
- legal research
- quantitative or qualitative research
- policy analysis
- budget analysis
NO LONGER ACCEPTING:
Fellowship Applications for 2023-2024 are now CLOSED
HOW TO APPLY
The call for applications closed at 5pm US Eastern time (GMT-5) on July 31, 2023. The fellowship will begin in September 2023 and end in August 2024. Applicants may submit ONE (1) application.
Short listed candidates will have to pass through an online interview. Reasonable accommodations based on the request from the candidate will be provided during the interview and through the fellowship period.
NOTE: Applications that do not contain all required elements will not be considered.
Submit CV, cover letter and the application form
Verification and selection
Online interview of short listed candidates
Start of fellowship
Meet our Current Fellows
Samaneh Shabani
During her fellowship, Samaneh is working on defining law mechanisms to provide community support services to fulfill the right to independent living for persons with disabilities.
Francisca Valdebenito-Acosta
During her fellowship, Francisca is working on identifying gaps in access to and quality of housing for people with disabilities, including sanitation, building materials and their state of repair. This study is part of Chile’s monitoring of the CRPD which, although it has been a step forward in the definition of housing policy, in terms of implementation still contains important gaps that have to be established with people and their families.
Agus Hasan Hidayat
2022-2023 Fellow
During his fellowship, Agus is working on mapping the needs and barriers of persons with psychosocial disabilities for community-based support program to support deinstitutionalization in Indonesia.
Past fellows
Don’t just take our word for it!
“I was involved in documenting and understanding the social protection programs for persons with disabilities globally.
As a part of the program I could support different DPOs in India in conceptualising and finalising various reports and activities of the organisation.
Overall it was a rich learning experience for me personally….”
Fellow // 2019-2020
” I participated in the discussion exploring the concept of standards for advisory services to ensure disability inclusion and accountability.
CIP supported me in developing the policy paper on disability support allowance which is now a proposed law in the Congress.
I facilitated the partnership of CIP with Persons with Disability Affairs Office of Batangas Province to implement the pilot Disability Data Management System which lead to additional support from UNPRD-ILO-UNICEF and UNESCAP.”
Fellow // 2019-2020
“ I participated in and undertook different activities like supporting the writing of a policy paper on support services, doing desk research and interviews on challenges in DPO participation, developing the content for an online on accessibility; being a regional researcher for research commissioned by WHO on the impact of COVID19 on support services. I also got an opportunity to participate at the Social Protection Week 2019 organised by the Asian Development Bank and attended a workshop on “Strengthening advocacy for social protection reforms that promote inclusion of persons with disabilities exchange and learning week.”
Fellow // 2019-2020
During her fellowship program, Esma was working on mapping of social protection system and evaluation of the inclusivity of the system. She was doing the comparative analysis of information obtained in Georgia to those on international practice regarding allocations. She was also supporting CIP work on cost of disability.
Fellow // 2021-2022
During her fellowship Alimata was working on reviewing the 3% District Assembly Common Fund allocated by the Government of Ghana for the use of persons with disabilities in order to reduce poverty among them. The aim was to evaluate the impact of the Fund in the lives of persons with disabilities as well as to gather information on the extra cost of disability and the types of support people need.
Fellow // 2021-2022