Introduction to Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship

Nepal recently held its second round of local, provincial, and federal-level elections after introducing the federal system of governance in 2015. However, the nation is still grappling with the challenging social, political, and economic aftershocks and long-term appendages left behind by the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of trust between youth and the government remains a hurdle to achieving a prosperous Nepal. Unemployment among youth demographics further hinders the implementation of good governance, as many youths lack access to social, economic, and political resources to actively participate in democratic civic engagement. In order to address some of these issues, the Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF) works to mobilize talented Nepali youth in research and advocate for evidence-based policymaking and strengthen youth-government collaboration.

With a key motive of “My Government, My Responsibility,” the Government of Nepal and Daayitwa have been partnering to identify and apply innovative policy ideas to promote economic growth and strengthen the governance system in Nepal. 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, a public administration course, research training sessions, statistical software training, analytical skills and project management sessions, an introduction to qualitative research skills, research mentorship sessions provided by Ph.D. experts in the various fields covered by the fellowship, and networking events with various public, private, and social stakeholders.

Mission

The mission of the 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 the critical needs of priority projects.

Strengthen the innovation and leadership capacity of youth through engagement in government projects.
Build a collaborative community of young policy entrepreneurs, action-oriented policymakers, and policy experts to promote innovation in the governance system.

DNPAF

Enable local youth to understand priorities of local government and local communities
Support implementation of municipal policies and programs
Strengthen trust and accountability between communities and the government