Civil Service Fellows
Technical Capacity Building
Civil Service Fellowships
MEDRC’s bilateral programing focuses on capacity building and professional development, aimed at increasing in-country capacity at universities and institutions across Palestine and Jordan. Our programing can be categorized into three distinct and mutually reinforcing modules—university capacity building, technical capacity building, and alumni professional development. The second pillar of MEDRC’s bilateral programing is technical capacity building through training and coursework that helps to bridge the knowledge and capacity gaps of institutions.
The MEDRC Civil Service Fellowship is offered to the water authorities of Palestine and Jordan, providing funding for research on topics of national importance through a mentored fellowship program. The Civil Service Fellowship targets mid-career professionals to develop and enhance their skills on topics related to water governance, and to conduct professional-level research in a consultancy project for the ministry.
Civil Service Fellows are trained to be the next generation of leaders in water governance for Palestine and Jordan, who will lead the coordination and implementation of water resource policy. Civil Service Fellows will work to bridge policy with practice, addressing identified barriers, and using evidence-based decision making towards more inclusive, informed, and accountable water governance policy.
Civil Service Fellows will produce professional policy papers intended for presentation to high level decision makers in the water authority, undertaking multi-scaled research aimed at enhancing ministry water governance policy and practice. The Civil Service Fellowship aims to catalyze more inclusive, informed, and accountable decision-making processes, ensuring that the water rights of all communities are recognized, including across genders. Project topics in water governance are selected in collaboration between MEDRC and the national water authorities to address significant issues of immediate need.
Civil Service Fellowship research topics on water governance may include establishing best practices in water policy, strategic planning of water resources, implementing decision-making frameworks, addressing barriers to water policy implementation, financing water infrastructure, sustainable and efficient management of water distribution systems and networks, achieving Integrated Water Resource Management—IWRM, or related cross-sectional topics such as water, energy, and land-use planning.
Just as water is not limited to political boundaries, selected projects may also cut across ministries and stakeholders as necessary, in order to best address problems in the broader water sector—including ministries for agriculture, environment, foreign affairs, and water, as well as the private sector.