Scholarship and fellowship programs for doctoral students and early-career researchers are essential for supporting the next generation of researchers and advancing contextually grounded knowledge. In international development fields, these scholarship and fellowship programs not only facilitate doctoral research but also provide vital fieldwork funding, which enables students to get directly involved with the people, contexts, or issues they study. By investing in academic training and hands-on research activities, scholarship programs foster a more equal, inclusive and globally networked research environment.
Early-career researchers and doctoral students, particularly those in under-resourced areas, often have significant financial concerns. This gap hinders their ability to conduct research, especially in regions where it is needed most. Without adequate funding support, talented students may struggle to pursue higher education or undertake effective fieldwork within their contexts, negatively impacting their contributions to development and global scholarship. This gap reflects broader structural inequalities across the global research environment, where access to funding disproportionately favours the Global North. To address this imbalance, there needs to be targeted investment in inclusive, regionally specific and long-term scholarship initiatives towards scholars who are based and/or conduct research in the Global South.
Since the early 1970s, IDRC has been at the forefront of efforts to support research and training for emerging, mid-career and senior researchers to help build research capacity in international development. Over the years, IDRC has funded several competitive awards, such as the IDRC Doctoral Research Awards (IDRA), the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) Early Career Fellowship, and the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships–Advanced Scholars-West Africa (QES-AS-WA).
The IDRA, established in 1997, provides doctoral students enrolled in Canadian universities with the opportunity to conduct field-based research in low- and middle-income countries. Scholars’ research addresses both global and local challenges and empowers them to contribute to pressing development issues.
Launched in 2018 with IDRC’s support, the OWSD Early Career Fellowship program helps empower women scientists in under-resourced countries to support research and its practical application in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This funding not only strengthens institutional research capacity but also promotes women’s leadership in science and innovation.
Similarly, the QES-AS-WA program — a regional stream of the broader QES initiative and managed through a unique partnership between the Rideau Hall Foundation, Universities Canada and Canadian universities — is supported with funding from IDRC. Doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and early-career researchers from Canada and West Africa receive support through the QES-AS-WA program to pursue research and specialized training, including non-academic placements with industry or civil society.
This program facilitates international research exchanges and collaboration between institutions in Canada and West Africa with a view to establishing research-focused partnerships and promoting applied research in the Global South. Such programs are an example of IDRC's commitment to developing global research networks, facilitating sustainable development and allowing scholars to become community change agents.
Karen Spring, IDRA 2024 recipient, visits the Chitomax Bridge in Cubulco, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, as part of her fieldwork. The Chitomax Bridge is currently the only means of crossing the Río Negro in the area. Local communities, in coordination with the Guatemalan government, are working to build a larger bridge nearby.
“My success story is rooted in my determination to pursue a research career, despite lacking the formal background to begin. Through collaboration with my team, I learned the intricacies of research — how projects are developed, coordinated and executed. Now, I am equipped to embark on my own research journey, supported by the foundation laid through these collaborations.”
One of the principal objectives of some IDRC-supported fellowships and scholarships is to transform research findings into practical tools and applications that extend beyond academia and have a profound effect on social and policy change. Scholars and researchers funded by these programs are in active engagement with knowledge-mobilization endeavours, such as writing policy briefs, organizing community forums and developing instructional materials — all of which have significant impacts on local and national decision-making processes.
For instance, Otuto Amarauche Chukwu, a 2023 IDRA recipient from the University of Toronto in Canada, shared: “My research goal is to document real-life experiences, including the burden of cancer treatment, accessibility to care, and the role of pharmacists in cancer care. I hope my research can provide evidence that will inform policy decisions and health-care interventions aimed at improving cancer care accessibility. Ultimately, I aim to contribute to a patient-centred approach to cancer management in Nigeria, ensuring that structural barriers are addressed and that patients receive timely, affordable and high-quality care.”
Similarly, Ria Jhoanna Ducusin, a 2023 IDRA recipient from York University, Canada, underscores the value of integrating grassroots perspectives into policymaking: “Through my research, I highlight the need to integrate grassroots perspectives into policy discussions to ensure more just and inclusive responses to flooding and urban development in rapidly changing coastal cities.”
IDRC-funded scholarships and fellowships look to strengthen scientific leadership and research capacity, particularly among researchers from the Global South. Since 2022, 71% of IDRA recipients have been from countries in the Global South, with research undertaken in 33 countries. The OWSD Early Career Fellowship program, which supports women scientists from less-resourced countries, has facilitated 112 fellows from 66 countries. In 2023, this funding facilitated the establishment of 11 new laboratories and helped propel early-career scientists into more advanced leadership roles.
“The fellowship helped me transition from being a scientist to an industrialist. Today, I am a national figure, with 11 media appearances, including an interview with Nature magazine.”
IDRC’s scholarship and fellowship programs aim to support research capacity in the Global South. By investing in hands-on experience, academic study and field-based research, we expect not only to support scientific leadership but also to make research locally relevant, globally connected and relevant.
The experiences of scholars like Otuto Amarauche Chukwu, Ria Jhoanna Ducusin, Hemu Kafle and Parvine Basimane Bisimwa, to name but a few, demonstrate the positive impact of these programs, which provide not only funding but also the mentorship and networks necessary to launch careers and inform meaningful social and policy change. As these scholars translate their research into action, they are creating more inclusive and sustainable solutions to global challenges.
A collective effort to close the funding gap in the Global South could help ensure that the research terrain is more level and reflective of the diverse challenges and solutions needed across the world. By enabling scientific research in resource-limited areas, IDRC supports individual researchers but also assists in developing a more connected, resilient and efficient global research community.
Contributors: Matilda Catherine Dipieri, knowledge-sharing officer, Education and Science program, IDRC; Phuong Mai Anh Tran, research award recipient, Education and Science program, IDRC.
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