Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship 2022

Under the flagship of Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF), Daayitwa offers the Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship (DNPPF) program to conduct evidence based policy research, as well as the Daayitwa Nepal Public Administration Fellowship (DNPAF) program to provide administrative and technical support to the government partners. DNPSF competitively selects and places young professionals and students in public agencies and with parliamentarians for 3-6 months, builds their technical and adaptive capacities and enables them to provide research or implementation support to their public partners. During the past eleven fellowship cycles (2013-2021), Daayitwa has supported 141 young Nepali policy professionals from 30 countries to conduct research projects for 51 government organizations as well as 24 parliamentarians at federal, provincial and municipal levels on policies related to access to investment, women’s economic empowerment, enterprise value chain, youth employment and economic governance.

Mission

The mission of Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship is to ignite self-responsibility for public service in Nepali youth by nurturing their collaborative leadership towards an enterprising Nepal. It has three major goals:

Support the government and political representatives in addressing critical needs of priority projects
Strengthen innovation and leadership capacity of youth through engagement in government projects
Build a collaborative community of young policy entrepreneurs, action-oriented policy-makers and policy experts in promoting innovation in the governance system

This collaborative initiative has become an action-platform for Nepali students and young professionals, both inside and outside the country. In addition to the immense learning through a rare and close-up engagement with the public partners, the fellows also partake in a leadership course provided by Dr. Pukar Malla, former Senior Fellow at Harvard Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University, and research training sessions provided by experts (in 2021, Dr. Charity Troyer Moore, Director for South Asian Economics Research at the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University). The fellows will also receive a public administration course along with mentorship provided by researchers at the Governance Lab.

FAQs

What is Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship?

The Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship is a program where young professionals collaborate with the government to conduct economic policy research and promote evidence-based policy decisions. The fellowship program competitively selects and places young professionals and students in public agencies for 6 months, builds their technical and adaptive capacities, and enables them to provide research support to their public partners.

What are the qualifications required to be a Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellow?

The applicants are expected to have completed a bachelor's degree in public policy, international relations, economics, business or a related field with high academic achievement (accredited university, GPA, coursework rigor). Applicants must have research experience, preferably in the field of public policy analysis or implementation. Masters' or PhD candidates are preferred. The fellowship is open to Nepali citizens only.

What are the benefits of the fellowship program?

In addition to the immense learning through a rare and close-up engagement with the public partners, the fellows will receive a monthly stipend of NPR 16,000 to support them during the program. The fellows also partake in a leadership course provided by Dr. Pukar Malla, former Senior Fellow at Harvard Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University, and research training sessions provided by experts (in 2021, Dr. Charity Troyer Moore, Director for South Asian Economics Research at the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University). The fellows will also receive a public administration course along with mentorship provided by researchers at the Governance Lab.

Who are the Public Partners for this year’s fellowship?

This year Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship is offering 7 fellowships, where 3 youths will be placed at government agencies and 4 will be placed with parliamentarians. Below is the full list of government agencies and parliamentarians along with the research topics:

National Planning Commission - 2 Fellows

Topic 1: Analyzing the Effectiveness of Subsidy Loan Programs to Boost Agricultural Productivity

Topic 2: Studying the Effectiveness of Micro-Enterprise Development Programs in Increasing the Graduation Rate of the Entrepreneurs

National Planning Commission and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology - 1 Fellow

Topic: Studying the Possible Frontiers of Optimum Utilization of Rural Telecommunication Development Fund (RTDF)

Honorable Gagan Thapa - 1 Fellow

Topic: Strengthening Knowledge Infrastructure in Nepali Congress to Accelerate Policy Impact

Honorable Gokarna Bista - 1 Fellow

Topic: Promoting Enterprise-led Youth Employment for Sustainable Development of Nepal

Honorable Kamala Roka - 1 Fellow

Topic: Promoting Herbal Entreprises to Boost Youth and Women Employment in Remote Nepal

Honorable Mohammad Istiyak Rai - 1 Fellow

Topic: Boosting Employment Among Minority Youth for Inclusive Growth of Nepal

What is the location and duration of the Fellowship Program?

The fellowship program is a full time commitment that will take place from June 6, 2022 to December 6, 2022. The fellows are expected to be available in Nepal during the entirety of the program.