Capacity Advancement Fellowships

Revenue Watch runs two fellowship programs with the goal of equipping pivotal individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to support monitoring, advocacy, and capacity building activities related to natural resource management in their country or region. The Capacity Advancement Fellowship in Extractives, known also as the CA Fellowship, is a year-long program aimed at mid-career civil society activists in newly producing countries or in countries that have just begun concentrating on the issue of natural resource management. The fellowship deepens participants' understanding of the extractive industries and broadens their skills to conduct local, national and international campaigns. 

The year-long fellowship has two components: a period of focused learning and research in New York City and a period of applying that learning in fellows’ home countries. RWI works with the CA Fellows to develop a tailored capacity-building program that corresponds to their particular interests, goals and the primary challenges they expect to face in their revenue governance campaigns upon returning home.  Throughout this program the fellows are supervised by RWI staff while under the guidance of an extractive industry expert serving as a mentor. The first year of the program RWI hosted two fellows from Uganda. This year's fellows, who began in August 2009, were from Southern Sudan and Mozambique. 

At the Revenue Watch Institute office in New York City, participants work alongside RWI staff to investigate international best practices, develop independent research projects, audit courses at nearby universities, attend capacity building workshops and participate in various networking events. CA Fellows receive full financial support for the duration of their term in New York, including travel, accommodation and a living stipend. 

During the second six months of the programs, the fellows return to their home country and implement a project based on their work and research in New York, with the continued support of their expert mentor.  Fellows are expected to bring specific knowledge and skills back to their home organizations and coalitions that will enable them to better meet current challenges and develop broader training, advocacy and research agendas. Financial support for the implementation of home country projects may also be available.