What is the USAID Democracy Fellows and Grants Program?

Beginning in September 2012, the Institute of International Education (IIE) assumed management of USAID’s Democracy Fellows and Grants Program, under a five-year cooperative agreement with USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG). Building on IIE’s established ties to US universities at the forefront of research in DRG sub-sectors and decades of experience managing fellowships and information exchange, DFG is designed to:

• Develop a pool of committed DRG professionals at the junior, mid, and senior levels
• Strengthen relations between USAID and academic, think tank, and research organizations in the DRG fields
• Promote research and innovative solutions to DRG programs by accessing and applying the learning and innovation among DRG scholars, research institutions, and practitioners.

USAID’s Democracy Fellows Program was initiated first in 1995 to promote democratic practices in emerging and transitional democracies by placing experienced DRG professionals within USAID. The current iteration of the DFG program is the first to offer grants to research institutions, as well as fellowships to DRG professionals.

Learn more about the Democracy Fellowships and Research and Innovation Grants.