Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI selected to host Ford Foundation-funded NGO leadership transition program
The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI have been selected as the inaugural hosts of the Ford Foundation–funded ARNOVA-AROCSA NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (LTFP) in Africa. The fellowship will allow 10 senior NGO leaders from Southern and West Africa to spend the spring 2018 semester in Indianapolis engaged with faculty in philanthropic studies and nonprofit management as well as civically engaged Hoosiers.
The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) and the Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA) bring together scholars and practitioners interested in advancing research on nonprofit, NGOs, philanthropy and civil society and strengthening professional practice in those fields.
The NGO leaders will use their semester in Indiana to write and reflect on their careers as change makers, broaden their networks through meetings with civic and academic leaders in Indiana, and prepare for a new chapter in their careers – as professors of practice in African universities, where they will take on new teaching, research, and other leadership roles that will allow them to impart their lessons learned in the field to a new generation of students of philanthropic studies and nonprofit management. In addition, each fellow will write a reflection on their work that will be compiled and published as a resource for emerging African civil society leaders.
This opportunity for the fellows to reflect and write will provide a powerful tool for nonprofit organizations to improve understanding of what works and why, allowing them to emerge stronger and more prepared for the coming decade.
After the fellows create a plan with their faculty mentors in January, the schools will collaborate to arrange a series of site visits to local nonprofits and meetings with senior civic leaders who have transitioned careers, selected to suit fellows’ individual interests. The meetings and visits will facilitate reflection on the sector and specific areas of work for each fellow.
The spring 2018 Leadership Transition Fellows are:
Mutuso Dhliwayo, Zimbabwe, Natural Resources Governance
Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, Nigeria, Gender-Based Violence, Women’s Rights
Hannah Forster, Gambia, Democracy and Human Rights
Ngozi Iwere, Nigeria, Social Justice Advocacy
Tunji Lardner, Nigeria, West African NGO Network (WANGONeT)
Bhekinkosi Moyo, Zimbabwe, Southern Africa Trust
Nontando Zintle Ngamlana, South Africa, Human Rights and Social Justice
Mina Margaret Ogbanga, Nigeria, Development, Policy, and Evaluation
Kelechukwu Jasper Okezie, Nigeria, Natural Resources Governance, Public Health
Jimmy Wilford, Zimbabwe, Youth Empowerment, Public Health
The Leadership Transition Fellowship program represents an opportunity to build on both schools’ longstanding relationships with organizations and researchers across Africa, and to engage faculty with expertise in not only philanthropic studies and nonprofit management, but also in issues specifically related to governance, development, public health, the regulatory environment for nonprofits, and global/transnational issues that impact Africa in particular.
“It’s an honor to be selected as the inaugural hosts of these NGO leaders,” said SPEA Dean Thomas Stucky. “We are excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the process of establishing a supportive infrastructure for leadership transition within the NGO movement in Africa.”
“We are thrilled to be welcoming such accomplished colleagues to join us through our partnerships with ARNOVA-AROCSA,” Amir Pasic, the Eugene R. Tempel Dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy said. “Our faculty, students and staff look forward to sharing our knowledge and to learning together with our Leadership Transition Fellows. This is a wonderful opportunity for the communities of IUPUI, Indiana University, and our state.”
The schools have a long history of collaboration and are uniquely positioned for this program. Most recently, the schools have collaborated for the past two years to host 25 emerging leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa through the Mandela Washington Fellows program, part of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative.
Through this and other international programming the two schools have developed substantial government, business, and nonprofit community contacts in Bloomington and Indianapolis who are enthusiastic to make connections with civic leaders from sub-Saharan Africa. The presence of 10 senior NGO leaders for the spring semester will provide an opportunity for the fellows to make deep connections within both collaborating institutions and the local community, and provide junior faculty and students the opportunity for learning directly from experienced practitioners.