Science, Technology, Policy Fellowship Program: Fostering Science Advisement Program Overview

The Science, Technology, Policy (STeP) Fellowship Program is an initiative by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) to bridge the gap between science and policy in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The program places early to mid-career scientists, particularly postdoctoral candidates, within government agencies and private sector host organizations to provide expert advice on global change challenges. The program is structured in five phases, moving from design and host organization selection to fellow placement, activity implementation, and long-term evaluation. Key goals include building institutional capacity for science-informed decision-making, promoting transdisciplinary problem-solving, and addressing the 'scientific diaspora' by creating opportunities for national scientists living abroad to return to their home countries.

• The STeP Fellowship Program's general objective is to build human and institutional capacities within IAI Parties to provide expert scientific advice for public policy regarding global change, specifically targeting government agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
• The program is designed to benefit early to mid-career scientists by providing hands-on experience in policy-making outside of academia, improving their science communication skills, and connecting them to an international professional network.
• A strategic goal for IAI Parties is to mitigate the loss of scientific expertise, known as the scientific diaspora, by encouraging highly-qualified national scientists living abroad to return to their home countries to work in government agencies.
• The program implementation is organized into five distinct phases: Program Design, Host Organizations, Fellows, Fellowship Activities, and Program Evaluation and Sustainability.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (n.d.). Science, Technology, Policy Fellowship Program: Fostering Science Advisement Program Overview. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop27-info-5.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Science, Technology, Policy Fellowship Program: Fostering Science Advisement Program Overview. n.d. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop27-info-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Science, Technology, Policy Fellowship Program: Fostering Science Advisement Program Overview |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop27-info-5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearchndscience, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Science, Technology, Policy Fellowship Program: Fostering Science Advisement Program Overview}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop27-info-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }