News
Outstanding 'miniature research' award
Dereje Yiman, a PhD candidate from Ethiopia, has been awarded the third prize in the Global Outstanding Research on Development (ORD) Award 2024 to conduct research into knowledge co-creation in Ethiopia.
This competitive research grant programme identifies and funds outstanding research proposals that have a high potential for excellence in research and clear policy implications for addressing development issues in low and middle-income countries.
Dereje, who is attached to the Forest & Nature Conservation Policy Group of Wageningen University, received a prize money of US$10,000 at a ceremony in Fiji, Suva, during the Global Development Conference in November 2024. The award is given by the Global Development Network (GDN), the Government of Japan, and the World Bank Group.
The research will be conducted from June to August in Ethiopia, where Dereje will supervise a team of four members from the Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC).
The award will also enable Dereje to work with a world-class scientific advisor, gain access to GDN’s resources, platforms and network. Once the preliminary findings demonstrate promise and feasibility, the plan is to scale up the project with more support from the Government of Japan and the World Bank Group, as part of a longer-term project.
The ORD research will be conducted alongside Dereje’s ongoing 4-year PhD project at FNP, which focuses on the interaction and influence between international frameworks and local realities. While the ORD research is distinct, it aligns closely with his PhD project; Dereje hopes to integrate insights and findings into his doctoral work without him having to take time off.
The Global Development Awards Competition (GDAC) is GDN’s largest and longest-running programme that brings together researchers and development practitioners. The award is divided into two categories: Most Innovative Development Project (MIDP) and Outstanding Research in Development (ORD).