Program objectives:

1. To promote full and equal participation of women in developing countries' economic and social transformation.
2. To assist USAID in reflecting gender considerations in the Agency's work by contributing to the advancement of USAID's policies and organizational capacity to address critical gender issues.
3. To continue the expansion of a cadre of international field-experienced professionals committed to enhancing women in development (WID) activities; consequently, to increase the number of people with gender expertise working in the field of international development.

Program Description:

The principal purpose of the IWID Fellows Program is to provide Missions and USAID/W units with experienced, mid-level professionals who, in addition to gender analytical skills, offer technical expertise and assistance in the following areas of concern to USAID: economic growth and agricultural development, information technologies, environment, democracy and governance, gender, and education and training. In September 1999, a "Leader with Associates (LWA) Cooperative Agreement" was awarded to the Institute of International Education (IIE) to support its Investing in Women in Development (IWID) Fellows Program.

Deployment of IWID fellows thus far has seen placements in USAID/Armenia, USAID/Moscow and the bureau and offices in USAID/W. For example, IWID Fellow Chris Pannkuk developed a Water Management and Gender project in Armenia, while Fellow Macol Stewart has been serving as the gender issues advisor for the crosscutting USAID IT project called the DOT-COM Alliance, through the Women in Development (WID) office. The IWID Fellows program covers a range of integrated gender projects that support USAID's overall objectives. IWID anticipates the placement of up to seven fellows in each fiscal year.

Selection Procedure:

The program targets U.S. citizen mid-level professionals holding a graduate degree. The IWID Fellows Program recruits through both general publicity and through special recruitment and advertising to fill specific positions in USAID field missions. Other desired qualifications include previous international work experience and proficiency in a foreign language. This is a demand driven program; selection as a qualified candidate with the IWID program does not guarantee a placement. Placements can be made in an overseas USAID mission or at USAID/Washington.

Applicants to the IWID program are screened for eligibility then forwarded to a National Screening Panel, where a final list of qualified candidates are chosen. It is from this list that qualified candidate profiles are sent to interested USAID missions. Candidates are then notified of a mission's interest, if chosen, before the process of placement begins. All selected fellows undergo a security clearance process, and are deployed to their assignments only after their clearances are granted at the Secret level.

Before deployment fellows are given a 4-week orientation in Washington, DC that includes gender-training analysis, IIE program policies as well as USAID policy and guidelines governing fellows' activities.

Length of Fellowship:

The length of IWID fellowships is one year, with a second year option contingent upon concurrence of the sponsoring Mission/Bureau, the fellow and IIE.

Investing in Women in Development (IWID) Fellows Program of the Institute of International Education (IIE) (1999)