2001 Annual Report - Ford Foundation

Ford Foundation Annual Report 2001
Outreach and selection processes combined knowledge of best practices
as well as new techniques designed to find hidden talent.
In Vietnam, for example, nominators sought out women and ethnic
minority people known to be good students and social innovators,
particularly those involved in rural economic and social development.
Each person who requested information was counseled about the
application and selection process. This was particularly important for
some of the most socially isolated applicants who initially believed
they had little to say about themselves and had seldom been asked what
they wanted to study and do with their lives. Counseling also helped
overcome worries about moving ahead of family and friends or gaining
government approval for study overseas. This unusual investment
in all applicants helped level the playing field for a very rigorous selection
process. An international five-member selection committee
reviewed the final applications, examining interview notes from the
semifinal rounds. They looked for evidence that the applicants had
overcome barriers to higher education, showed significant social
commitment and linked their study plans to community improvement
work after the fellowship.
Susan Berresford, left, with
Ambassador Donald McHenry,
Chairman of the International
Fellowships Fund (parent organization
of the International
Fellowships Program), and Joan
Dassin, Executive Director of
I.F.P., at an event to announce
the initiative.
In Mexico and Guatemala, partner organizations familiar with
indigenous communities made repeated visits to indigenous areas,
encouraging promising candidates to apply. In Nigeria,Senegal and
Ghana, NGOs and news media announcements helped reach women,
ethnic minority communities and members of poor families, especially
those in rural areas. Beyond academic ability, final selection
emphasized leadership potential as reflected in successful community
service. In Chile and Peru, selectors looked for academic talent
in “persons affected by social exclusion” such as poverty, residence
in remote provinces and education in public schools and universities
rather than the more prestigious private institutions. They
focused on performance in the last two years of the normal baccalaureate
program, recognizing that talented students often overcome
early academic problems with hard work, good instruction
and mentoring.
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In India, announcements in 15 major-language publications, Englishlanguage
dailies and the Internet were supplemented by sending
recruiters to rural areas to describe the program and by mailing more
than 1,000 letters to remote regional nominators. Selection emphasized
academic talent and social exclusion as assessed by factors such as
the type of schooling (language of instruction, rural, etc.), parental