Assessing the United States Institute of Peace Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Chapter 3
Views of Former Fellows
Chapter 3
Views of Former Fellows
Pages 35-60
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From page 35... ...
. Table 3-1 Distribution of respondents by year of Fellowship Fellowship Year Fellows Contacted Responded 1987 8 3 1 1988 10 6 3 1989 11 7 4 1990 12 5 4 1991 9 4 2 1992 17 12 4 1993 12 7 3 1994 15 9 4 1995 15 12 8 1996 14 11 10 1997 16 13 9 1998 10 9 4 1999 15 9 6 2000 11 8 4 2001 13 12 6 2002 10 9 10 2003 13 13 5 2004 12 11 7 2005 11 11 7 2006 11 11 4 2007 8 8 8 Total 253 190 113 SOURCE: Survey of former Fellows; data tabulations by staff.
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From page 36... ...
In all cases, findings are relevant only to the respondents and should not be extrapolated to USIP Fellows as a whole. Concerning item nonresponse, most respondents answered almost all questions; therefore, it does not appear that this is a source of error in the findings presented below.
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From page 37... ...
A few, however, mentioned giving media interviews, one mentioned advocacy on Capitol Hill, and one mentioned training diplomats. We then compared recent former Fellows to the earlier period of the program to see if there were any differences.
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From page 38... ...
? " More than half of respondents gave guest lectures, gave media interviews, conducted research aside from their proposed research project, appeared on TV or radio talk shows, and wrote book manuscripts.
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From page 39... ...
44% 44% Number of Fellows 72 41 SOURCE: Survey of former Fellows; data tabulations by staff. As Table 3-3 shows, Fellows in more recent years may be producing more products, as a higher precentage of these Fellows were conducting additional research, writing articles for non-referreed journals, writing special reports, and preparing book manuscripts.
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From page 40... ...
2 3 4 Excellent (5) Figure 3-3 Respondents' perception of the overall quality of the Fellowship program SOURCE: Survey of former Fellows; data tabulations by staff.
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From page 41... ...
Total 1987-2001 0% 0% 1% 27% 71% 70 2002-2007 0% 0% 0% 39% 61% 41 SOURCE: Survey of former Fellows; data tabulations by staff. Although earlier Fellows were more likely than later Fellows to assess the program as excellent, the percentage difference in Table 3-5 is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level.
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From page 42... ...
SOURCE: Survey of former Fellows; data tabulations by staff. NOTE: 115 respondents answered at least part of this question, but some respondents left some choices blank, so for an individual choice (e.g., "ability to publish your research")
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From page 43... ...
Next, the survey asked how useful the Fellowship was in enhancing the career of Fellows. As to be expected, the largest benefit was in increasing the Fellows' knowledge in the area of their Fellowship research project (see Figure 3-5)
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From page 44... ...
The finding that Fellows seemed to have fewer interactions with the media at first seems at odds with the findings in Figure 3-2 that about 52 percent of Fellows appeared on TV or radio talk shows and 69 percent gave media interviews. Presumably, Fellows mean a different kind of interaction vis-à-vis this question.
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From page 45... ...
The survey asked respondents whether they considered ten months to be an appropriate amount of time for the Fellowship. A majority of respondents said it was, as noted in Figure 3-7.
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From page 46... ...
Respondents consistently focused on a few basic themes, which are summarized in Table 3-8.3 It should be underscored that only half of the respondents chose to fill this question out, and several who did wrote some variation of "nothing." In addition to the comments in Table 3-8, some respondents commented on the library, which they felt had inadequate access to information -- though the reference point seems to be that of a university library, which often has very good access. Some respondents felt that they would have liked to receive more help in editing/publishing the results of their projects.
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From page 47... ...
• Promote post-conflict stability and development. • Increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide.
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From page 48... ...
I increased its visibility." Some Fellows felt that their work added to USIP's credibility. "My work provided knowledge of my research findings to USIP Fellows, to others coming to USIP meetings, and to the public.
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From page 49... ...
Thus, this percentage might be higher than what one might expect if one could have surveyed all Fellows. The survey then asked to what extent former Fellows maintained relations with other Fellows or USIP staff and continued to participate in USIP activities.
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From page 50... ...
They are from top to bottom: 113, 112, 110, and 112. There is a bit of a potential bias upward here, however, in that former Fellows for whom USIP had contact information were also probably more likely to stay in touch with USIP staff or to attend USIP events.
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From page 51... ...
This might be because earlier Fellows simply had more time to participate, or the ways in which USIP tries to engage its Fellows have changed. This might also reflect changes in the size of the USIP staff and the relationship between the staff and Fellows.
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From page 52... ...
They are, from top to bottom: 115, 113, 114, 114, and 113. The areas where there was the lowest agreement concerned the establishment of ongoing collegial relationships with USIP staff or other Fellows (average = 3.7)
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From page 53... ...
2 3 4 ly (5) judge Total My peers are very 1987knowledgeable 2001 3% 10% 34% 33% 16% 4% 70 about the 2002Fellowship 2007 5% 15% 29% 22% 20% 10% 41 I established ongoing collegial relationships with USIP staff 1987 or fellows as a 2001 4% 24% 15% 23% 31% 3% 71 result of my 2002 fellowship 2007 5% 2% 29% 27% 32% 2% 41 SOURCE: Survey of former Fellows; data tabulations by staff.
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From page 54... ...
and intergovernmental organization representatives, and academics) , about half of the Fellows reported that their contacts remained about the same while the other half reported that their contacts increased.
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From page 55... ...
They are from top to bottom: 112, 111, 113, 112, and 115. These findings bear further study, since they may help USIP reach out to larger networks through the Fellows.
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From page 56... ...
These findings suggest that some of the comments noted by respondents earlier in the chapter regarding the worst features of the program may have been the experiences of only a few respondents and are not shared among many former Fellows.
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From page 57... ...
"Probably one of the most fulfilling years of my professional life." "There is relatively little money available for research on conflict and peace issues, as the Jennings Randolph Program is perhaps the best known and most helpful program of support in this underfunded area available anywhere! " "A very successful program that provides excellent support to scholars who would like to take time off to pursue serious research.
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From page 58... ...
The expertise of the Fellows is a resource which the USIP should continue to draw on for the work it does." Additional suggestions included establishing complementary junior Fellowships, increasing resources, and improving mentoring/guidance. "While the Fellowship program targets and focuses on experts, USIP should consider expanding it to include providing more opportunities/Fellowships for people at more junior positions, e.g.
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From page 59... ...
, and about half or more of recent Fellows wrote op-eds, gave guest lectures, gave media interviews, or appeared on television or radio talk shows (Table 3 4)
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From page 60... ...
6. Most Fellows reported ten months to be an appropriate duration for the Fellowship, although some thought that the Fellowship should be longer (Figure 3-7)
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