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May 2003 Training Population Scientists Over the last five decades, population studies have expanded beyond describing population growth and the decline of fertility and now encompass making critical contributions to such areas as HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, population aging, and migration. Recognizing that approaches to training need to be updated regularly to remain relevant, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a grant to the Population Council to assess how best to train and support the next generation of population scientists from developing countries. Advancing the development of population scientists has always been central to the Population Council’s mission. Since 1953, an average of 30 men and women a year—approximately 1,500 social scientists in total—have benefited from Council fellowships. Many past fellows are now in influential positions at leading population research and training institutions and in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations throughout the world. Most developing countries lack strong, university-based graduate training programs, increasing the demand for Council fellowships that allow study overseas at a time when resources to sustain—let alone expand—the program are scarce. The 2000–2001 Mellon-funded study was conducted by an international panel led by Jane Menken, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and the director of the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado. The Population Council’s director of social science research, Cynthia B. Lloyd, served on the panel and co-edited the report of the study findings with Menken and demographer Ann K. Blanc of Blancroft Research International. Current practices related to recruitment, training, funding, and employment were examined, with information gleaned from discussions with population scientists at professional meetings in Brazil and Washington, DC, and from commissioned case studies in China, India, and Uganda. Study researchers also spoke with current and former Council fellows and gathered published and unpublished data from leading social scientists worldwide. The panel has made specific recommendations applicable to universities, professional associations, and potential donors. Suggestions range from establishing transnational collaborations for training and research to creating and enhancing virtual libraries. “The potential of web-based libraries and archives for expanding access to [critical] information in developing countries,” the panel stressed, “has just begun to be tapped.” The full report, Training and Support of Developing-Country Population Scientists, is available in English at http://www.popcouncil.org/opportunities/fellowships.html. The summary report containing all the recommendations is available in English, French, and Spanish on the same page. See Also
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