Highly experimental in both design and implementation, Ford IFP was intended as a demonstration project. It was funded for a specified time – a decade – and carried out in the world’s major developing regions.

The purpose was to benefit a large but finite number of Fellows and also to derive lessons about educational access, academic excellence and the ways in which equity-based scholarship programs could have a positive impact on individuals, institutions and communities.

We are pleased to share our outcomes with other scholarship providers, universities, scholars and education policy makers seeking to increase social inclusion in their own programs and institutions. *

96% of selected fellows received a university placement

91% of alumni attained their degrees

82% of alumni currently reside in their home country

80% report positive social justice impacts from their work

50% of alumni are women

Alumni Employment and Volunteerism

83% Employed
10% Continuing Academic Study
90% Social Commitment in Paid Professional Work
66% Volunteering

Alumni Applied Knowledge and Results

83% Applying knowledge gained to professional work
79% Applying knowledge gained to voluntary work
77% More authority/responsibility in professional work
70% More authority/responsibility in voluntary work

Current Residence

46% living in home community
36 % living in home country but not home community
18% living in a different country

* Sources: International Fellowships Fund and Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), University of Twente, the Netherlands. Data based on survey sample of 2,600 alumni, 57% response rate, August 2011. 

Of Note

• Approximately 3.4% of Fellows are persons with disabilities.
• In Latin America, 80% of over 1,000 Fellows are indigenous or afro-descendant.
• In Africa and the Middle East, almost two-thirds of nearly 1,450 Fellows come from rural areas or small cities and towns.
• In Asia/Russia, where rural poverty remains prevalent despite massive urbanization, almost three-fourths of just under 1,900 Fellows come from rural areas or small cities and towns.
• Fewer than 3% of 4,320 total enrolled Fellows withdrew or were terminated from the program.

Impact

Our quantitative and qualitative research shows that IFP alumni are successful in obtaining employment, and that many are continuing professional training or academic study. They are advancing into leadership positions; as professionals, they remain committed to social justice causes in areas such as education, community development, environmental issues and children, youth and family.

More than half are employed in the public sector, with the rest working either in the not-for-profit or the private sectors. They are based in a broad range of governmental and non-governmental organizations at the local, national and international level.

Several country-based studies of alumni reinsertion into their home countries -- along with numerous individual case histories -- document the social justice issues that dominate in particular communities, and how alumni are involved in them. Based on awards, prizes, promotions, publications and feedback from others, the alumni are confident that they are having a strong social justice impact.

We invite you to read alumni stories, in their own words, by visiting the Alumni Portraits page.