Research Consortium

  1. Home

Research Consortium

About          IFS          Research Consortium          Partners          Contact Us    

The Impact Fellowships Network (IFN) Research Consortium is expanding the work conducted under the Fellowship Alumni Network Study (FANS) initiative to create a community of practitioners dedicated to strengthening the impact of fellowships via research and evaluation. This consortium will bring diverse fellowship practitioners together to facilitate a coordinated and collaborative research initiative about the impact fellowship participants have at all levels of society, and the role fellowship programs play in supporting them. Some of the benefits of participating in this research consortium include the following: 

  • Access to data, insights, and learning experiences that can help inform improvements to your fellowship programming.
  • Network and community building with other fellowship practitioners. 
  • Technical support and skills building with staff to conduct research.
  • Recognition as contributors in published reports and promotional activities.
  • A stipend to mitigate administrative burdens from participation.
  • Free admission for up to 2 staff to the 2026 Impact Fellowships Summit.

To participate, eligible fellowship programs must be currently active, have a mission that includes creating positive social change, and have a least 3 years of implementation experience. 

Eligible and interested in joining the IFN Research Consortium? 

IFN has three engagement tracks for eligible consortium research partners – Network Partners, Co-Design Partners, and Impact Grant Partners. All tracks require research engagement with your organization’s fellowship participants and alumni communities, and staff commitment for a 1-year period beginning March, 2025. Below are the details of each track and their associated level of effort over that 1-year period.

Network Partner: Organizations will engage as research leads in a collaborative study with the IFN Research Consortium – contributing their experiences to inform the research focus and approach and serve as liaisons with their fellowship community to facilitate data collection activities. They will commit an estimated 15 to 20 hours over the 1-year period. Engagement will entail the following: 

  • Sharing experiences, resources and considerations about your program with the consortium.
  • Attending at least 2 meetings from March to June, 2025 to contribute to design discussions.
  • Connecting with IREX staff for a 1-1 consultation on facilitating a data collection initiative.
  • Disseminating key data collection activities to program alumni.
  • Participate in sense-making and analysis activities as available.
  • Attend (in-person or virtual) the 2026 Impact Fellowships Summit - attendance fee waived for up to 2 people. 

Network partner organizations will receive a $1,000 stipend to support the administrative burdens associated with their participation.

Co-design Partner: Members organizations will engage as design leads in a collaborative study with the IFN Research Consortium – shaping the research focus and approach and serving as liaisons with their own fellowship community to facilitate data collection activities. Co-design Partners will commit an estimated 40 to 50 hours over the 1-year period.  Engagement will entail the following:

  • Sharing experiences, resources and considerations about your program with the consortium.
  • Attending at least 4 meetings from March to June, 2025 to contribute to design discussions and inform research approach.
  • Connecting with IREX staff for a 1-1 consultation on facilitating a data collection initiative.
  • Disseminating key data collection activities to program alumni.
  • Contributing to data sense-making and analysis with the IREX team.
  • Collaborating on sharing findings throughout the fellowship industry.
  • Attend (in-person or virtual) the 2026 Impact Fellowships Summit - attendance fee waived for up to 2 people.

Impact Grant Partner: Member organizations will be provided with a grant between $5,000 and $15,000 USD to develop and facilitate a distinct study with their fellowship community. Impact Grant Partners will commit to conduct all research and reporting activities, and they will share their experience and findings with the IFN community at the 2026 Impact Fellowships Summit. Impact Grant Partners will commit an estimated 200 to 5000 hours over the 1-year period depending on the scope of their proposal.  Engagement will entail the following:

  • Designing and facilitating a research initiative with your program participants and/or alumni.
  • Connecting with IREX staff for consultations, technical support and progress updates.
  • Synthesizing methodology, findings and insights into a published report to share with the IFN community.
  • Attend and share your experience (in-person or virtual) at the 2026 Impact Fellowships Summit - attendance fee waived for up to 2 people.
  • Impact Grant Partners will receive $5,000-$15,000 of grant funding based on the scope of their proposal. It is important to note that the application at this stage will only request a brief 1-2 paragraph description that includes 1) what you would like to research, 2) how you anticipate facilitating the research, and 3) how you anticipate the findings will help your program improve its impact. IREX will follow up in February, 2025 to invite selected organizations to apply based on this entry and their fellowship program details. All invited applicants will have 21 calendar days (3 weeks) to complete the full application.