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UNDP Ethiopia Country Office (CO) has launched a Research Fellowship Programme since 2022 to support the implementation of priorities in its Country Programme Document (CPD: 2020 – 2025). The CPD aims to support Ethiopia to overcome its structural challenges as it strives to become a democratic, peaceful and prosperous middle-income country by focusing on three key thematic areas: i) supporting a successful transition to a democratic polity by addressing the drivers of conflict to consolidate and build peace; ii) fostering the creation of enabling conditions for shared prosperity through financial inclusion, jobs creation and private sector development (especially of micro, small and medium enterprises); and iii) helping to sustain development gains by accelerating the transition to a green economy that is resilient to climate change. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are also central, cross-cutting themes that will be embedded across all three focal areas of the CPD.
To support the implementation of the CPD, UNDP Ethiopia is strengthening the capacity of its development research, analysis, and policy advisory team to provide the evidence base for its programmatic interventions in the key focal areas. To this effect, the Development Policy and Research Hub (DPRH) of the Country Office is overseeing the delivery of a multi-year funded research agenda to ramp up the generation of top-flight knowledge and policy advisory products. The aim of this research agenda is to transform UNDP Ethiopia into a dynamic, learning organization where policy and programmatic decision-making are knowledge-driven and backed by evidence-based research.
The Research Fellowship Programme will contribute to this vision by attracting bright, young, and highly qualified Ethiopian researchers to produce cutting-edge, original development research aligned with the policy interests of the CO’s programmatic work. Selected Fellows will be embedded within the CO’s programmes, working with teams to bring fresh and forward-thinking perspectives to UNDP’s work, grounded in data and evidence. The Programme’s annual research agenda is therefore designed in collaboration with programme teams to ensure that it addresses the most pertinent policy questions and provides solutions that will advance the implementation of the CPD, its contribution to government’s long-term development agendas and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In turn, Fellows will be given the opportunity to: (i) hone their research skills in a world-leading development organization; (ii) gain practical experience in developing actionable policy solutions that can deliver real impact at scale; (iii) work closely and collaboratively with seasoned development professionals; and (iv) develop professional skills such as public speaking, leadership, and teamwork.
This year’s research theme is Transitioning from Trading to Manufacturing, which requires an in-depth understanding of the anatomy of the private sector, factors behind investment/trading engagement decisions and what it would take to transit from trading/services to Manufacturing.
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