2020 Fellows: A sooner-than-expected departure, but rewarding nonetheless
Each semester, CEGA’s Global Networks program hosts impact evaluation training fellowships for researchers from East Africa and BRAC International. Alexandra Wall, graduate student intern with the Global Networks team, spoke with this semester’s fellows to learn about their experiences at Berkeley and their aspirations for applying learnings at home.
CEGA’s Global Networks program invests in research capacity building to empower scholars from low and middle-income countries to sharpen their impact evaluation skills and become knowledge-generators in their home countries. Through the BRAC-CEGA Learning Collaborative (BCLC) and the East Africa Social Science Translation Collaborative (EASST), semester-long fellowships are provided for scholars to visit Berkeley and audit development economics courses, present their research at seminars, and receive faculty and peer mentorship. This semester, CEGA hosted five fellows, competitively selected from a pool of nearly 50 applicants. Though their time at Berkeley was abruptly cut short by COVID-19, they are continuing their fellowships remotely and still experienced considerable professional development, as well as challenges and laughter. Read on for stories and takeaways from their time with CEGA!
Eyoual Demeke (EASST fellow)
Home country: Ethiopia
Research focus: Financial Inclusion
Fun fact: I’m almost always happy and smiling even in the most difficult situations
Pallavi Prabhakar (BRAC fellow)
Home country: India
Research focus: Behavioral economics, livelihoods, and health economics
Fun fact: If I ever win a lottery, I would use the money to promote African music and talent! I love it :)
Saba Yifredew (EASST fellow)
Home country: Ethiopia
Research focus: Development and health economics
Fun fact: I like to travel and engage in volunteer work
Solomon Zena Walelign (EASST fellow)
Home country: Ethiopia
Research focus: Conservation, livelihoods, and climate change
Fun fact: I love playing football for fun and walking outdoors (e.g. in forests, beaches and mountains). I think this is one of the reasons why I enjoy doing fieldwork in rural areas of the global south.
Mary Namubiru (BRAC fellow)
Home country: Uganda
Research focus: Youth unemployment, early childhood development and agriculture
Fun fact: I’m an outgoing person and love to travel
Five Fellows, One Fellowship
CEGA’s fellowship program attracts researchers for a variety of reasons. Whether the experience will deepen their knowledge in development economics and skills in impact evaluation, or build collaborations with CEGA faculty affiliates, fellows’ excitement for the opportunities offered is reflected in their reasons for applying…
“The fellowship was a lifetime opportunity to explore collaboration with faculty who are pioneering leaders in their respective fields and to expand my professional network.” — Pallavi
“The program teaches us how to develop our research projects and to write strong proposals while taking the lead. This is the thing that I really like; CEGA wants us to take the lead in writing proposals.” — Solomon
“This experience directly contributes to building my research capacity, equipping me with impact evaluation skills, and receiving mentorship feedback on my Ph.D. papers. “ — Saba
“I believed obtaining knowledge and impact evaluation (IE) skills would enable me to support my country’s effort of evidence-based policymaking by giving IE to policymakers and students (who will be future policymakers).“ — Eyoual
Surprise!
For most visiting fellows, the semester-long fellowship is the first time living in or visiting the United States. Moving to a new country can be filled with many surprises and living in Berkeley is no exception. What was most surprising for fellows during their three months living in Berkeley?
“The rigor with which courses are offered. I’ve had the opportunity to study in India, Europe, and teach in Ethiopia. But UC Berkeley was strikingly different.“ — Saba
“There are cafes and restaurants, but people don’t go there to necessarily have a coffee. People bring their laptops to these places and basically they’re people’s offices!” — Solomon
“The ease of approachability towards faculty members and the CEGA staff was surprising and in general, there was an approach towards encouragement and constructive feedback.” — Pallavi
“I was surprised by the availability of free trainings offered by Berkeley’s D-Lab. I took eight classes on R and Python!“ — Eyoual
“It was a surprisingly welcoming and easy environment to adapt to. The weather was also amazing!“ — Mary
It’s Not All Roses…
From an overwhelming number of opportunities to choose from to COVID-19 evacuations, the fellows shared what has been most challenging for them during their time at Berkeley.
“Having to accept the switch to a virtual fellowship with COVID-19. The idea behind the fellowship was to meet people in person and make greater connections over coffee and outings. All of that has been halted, but I am happy that we can still do some of that remotely as well.“ — Pallavi
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the opportunities. I wanted to do everything and be involved in many things this semester! For example, I wanted to attend D-Lab courses, meet most professors, take grad school courses, etc. So I had the challenge of focusing my time and effort.” — Solomon
…But It’s Been Rewarding
Though the in-person fellowship in Berkeley was cut short from five months to three months, it was still an enriching experience for the fellows. What was most rewarding?
“The lectures by CEGA faculty Ted Miguel and Paul Gertler.“ — Pallavi
“The opportunity to get feedback and work with faculty (Paul Gertler and Sean Higgins) on my research proposal.“ — Eyoual
“The academic environment is quite different for me! It’s welcoming, engaging, and there are lots of opportunities in terms of courses and seminars, networking, and funding.“ — Solomon
Capacity Building
The overarching goal of CEGA’s Global Networks program is to catalyze evidence-driven policy change around the world by investing in local research talent. With this in mind, EASST fellows are asked to conduct trainings and short-courses in impact evaluation methods in an effort to institutionalize rigorous evidence generation within local universities and governments, upon returning to their home regions and institutions. In parallel, BRAC fellows are expected to become research leaders and champions of evidence uptake at BRAC, the largest NGO in the world. This semesters’ fellows each plan to take what they have learned at Berkeley back to their home regions…
“I will develop a course syllabus for an applied impact evaluation course targeting both policymakers and graduate students and will closely collaborate with faculty affiliates of CEGA on papers and funding applications.” — Solomon
“I will share the knowledge I have gained in impact evaluation with fellow BRAC employees, specifically program staff and field supervisors.“ — Mary
“Taking advantage of there being several Ethiopian fellows this semester, we are discussing ways of developing curricula and offering trainings on what was learned to various stakeholders in Ethiopia. We hope to make use of the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA), formed by fellows.“ — Saba
Passing the Torch: Advice for Prospective Visiting Fellows
The visiting fellows program becomes a durable network of East African and BRAC researchers. Each year, CEGA accepts applicants for fall and spring semester positions and we encourage past and present fellows to share the opportunity and their experience across with their peers. Solomon, Saba, Pallavi, Mary, and Eyoual share their insights for prospective fellows:
“I would advise future fellows to join the fellowship without any responsibilities from their current job during the fellowship period, so that they can make use of the resources available at CEGA the fullest.” — Solomon
“It is competitive but definitely worth it to form professional relationships that are likely to stay active for a long time.“ — Saba
“If you’re interested in impact evaluation, it’s an excellent program that will equip you with knowledge, skills, and exposure to outstanding professors.” — Mary
“It is a wonderful opportunity to be involved deeply with the research work in development economics and offers an experience you will cherish forever!“ — Pallavi
“For future visiting fellows, my advice would be to make use of the free training and counseling offered by D-Lab, put yourself out there, and network both with PhD students and with CEGA faculty affiliates.” — Eyoual
What happens now?
Fellows are continuing their fellowship through remote meetings with their faculty mentors and PhD partners, focusing on completing their research proposals, joining weekly check-ins with CEGA staff and each other, and presenting at remote seminars with campuses they would have visited (USC, UCLA, UCSD). While they are greatly missed, the bonds formed at Berkeley are reinforced virtually and remain strong.
A durable network
This semester’s five fellows now join a network of over 45 CEGA fellows who are leading impact evaluations and institutionalizing evidence-based policymaking in their home institutions. Applications for 2020–2021 have closed, but please stay tuned for the following year, when we plan to host 6 of fellows!
