In 2020 we welcomed our first cohort of research fellows, supporting scholars from academia and industry to research topics relevant to our mission. The success of our initial cohort of fellows encouraged us to continue the programme, and in the last few years, we welcomed further fellows to help us widen our networks and build rich ties with academia, industry, governments and civil society. The research has explored a wide range of topics, including data institutions in China, anonymised personal data, health data, economic models for valuing data, privacy-enhancing technologies and more. Recently, fellows have looked at evaluating AI for public information tasks and assessing the impact of games one understanding data ethics.
Research fellowships offer researchers the opportunity to work with the ODI team, connect with our networks and draw on our expertise. This helps them to widen their influence beyond traditional academic or industrial settings with help from the ODI’s peer support and impact-focused outreach.
Join our fellowship programme
The ODI continues to extend an invitation to more researchers (MSc / PhD-level and beyond), in both research and policy roles, to join our ever-expanding community of fellows and help us further explore our emerging areas of interest. We encourage prospective fellows to secure funding to cover their time and expenses during the Fellowship, for instance by applying for support from relevant funders in their country or through their employer/ academic institution. We will only be able to fund a Fellowship if it is closely aligned with ODI strategic priorities or makes a substantial contribution to ongoing ODI work.
The primary value of an ODI research fellowship comes from gaining access to the ODI’s expertise as well as the opportunity to connect with our expanding network of current and former researcher fellows and our vibrant network of ODI members. Fellows will be assigned a supervisor from the research team, and will be embedded in the relevant project or programme team. Fellows also benefit from the potential for collaboration and overlap with research conducted by us and our partners in academia, industry, government and civil society. Research conducted through an ODI fellowship is richer as a result, and can create impact well beyond a researcher’s primary circle.
We welcome applications on an ongoing basis. To apply, please fill in our application form. As well as your basic details, you will need to provide:
- Your CV
- Details about your ideas and plan for the fellowship – including a research plan you want to carry out, potential outputs and your suggested start date
- References of published work, in academic publications or otherwise
Fill out the ODI research fellowship application
We aim to accept two fellows in 2026. We particularly welcome applications from the Global South and underrepresented backgrounds.
Fellows are selected based on the topic fit of their work to existing ODI research; the potential impact of outcomes of the research; and their personal fit into the organisation. We recommend exploring the ODI’s recent research to understand the topics we’re interested in, and the type of research we do. You can find an overview of our current research programmes and projects here. We’re particularly interested in research topics that intersect with policy, and welcome applications in this space.
We are ideally looking for researchers in established roles in academia, research institutes or industry, who are looking to build on their existing work. This fellowship is for researchers with 1-2 years of professional or academic experience, and is not suitable for undergraduates or recent graduates.
Shortlisted fellows will be asked to meet to present their plan in a short meeting to understand how their project fits with the ODIs' work before a decision is made. An offer of a fellowship place will be contingent on jointly agreeing a project plan, with tangible outputs and timelines. We may ask for a letter of recommendation from a senior colleague before offering a place.
Our preference is for fellows to join us in our offices in London, at least for part of their time with us, but we understand that that may not be possible due to funding or travel restrictions. Please indicate in your application whether and for what duration you would like to work with us in person.
It may be that you want to collaborate with the ODI in another capacity beyond a fellowship, if that is the case or if you have any other questions, please do get in touch [email protected].
Work by our fellows
Over the last few years, ODI Fellows, work placements and secondments have produced an impressive body of work, ranging from blogposts, think pieces, lectures and applied tools to research articles published by academic journals and NGOs. Below is a sampling of those outputs to demonstrate the range of outcomes and outputs that a collaboration with the ODI can lead to.
