• Travel fellowships will help support travel and expenses associated with attending conferences or undertaking internships hosted by local or international institutions focused on improving food systems in Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, or Nepal.
  • Examples of conferences eligible for reimbursement include but are not limited to the Africa Future Food Summit, International Conference on Food Safety and Management System (ICFSMS-24), or Global Food Security Conference.
• Travel fellowships may be used for conference registration fees and expenses related to travel to/from an in-person conference or internship. Please note the following:
  • Economy airfare must be booked through Tufts’ Travel Collaborative to be compliant with the Fly America Act, as required by USAID.
  • The fellowship award amount of $3000 USD is inclusive of economy airfare costs and is only considered a qualified expense if the conference or internship is far from the applicant’s town, city, or country of residence.
  • An advance will be sent to the fellow upon execution of the agreement. The advance will be based on the U.S. Department of State maximum per diem rates according to location (foreign per diem rates by location look-up tool: link).
• Conferences or internships must focus on one or more of FSN-IL’s technical areas:
  • Prevention of food loss and waste
  • Enhancing food safety
  • Improving the availability of, and access to, nutrient-dense foods
  • Metrics permitting a better monitoring of food systems impacts on nutrition
• Priority will be given to applicants who can also demonstrate that their activity will consider the following cross-cutting themes:
  • New or validation of existing metrics on food systems for nutrition
  • Support for improvements in the nutritional status of vulnerable populations, with a specific emphasis on gender and youth
• Funding will be awarded for activities between March 2024 to December 2024.
• In 2024, a maximum of five travel fellowships will be awarded.

• Emerging scholars working in food systems or health and nutrition in Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, or Nepal; or students (undergraduate, graduate, PhD, post-doc) enrolled in a food systems or health and nutrition program at an accredited university in Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, or Nepal; or students enrolled in a food systems or health and nutrition program at an institution designated as Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) by the United States government (list).
• Individuals who will be attending a conference OR individuals that will be completing an internship in Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, or Nepal. Activities and the accompanying applicant narrative must demonstrate substantive engagement with key food systems and innovation concepts.

Upon completion of the funded activity, applicants will be expected to submit a 750-word report summarizing key takeaways, lessons learned, and how the experience contributed to their professional goals.

• Deadline for application submission: March 30, 2024
• Selected Fellows can be expected to be notified by: April 30, 2024
• The first disbursement of funds will be 85% of the award and issued prior to the applicant’s timeline of events. The second and final installment will consist of the remaining 15% of the award and be issued upon receipt and approval of the final report.
• Final date to expend funds: December 31, 2024

Thank you to everyone who joined our information session on Friday, March 8th to learn more about FSN-IL’s training and travel fellowship opportunities. For those unable to attend, presentation slides and a copy of the webinar recording can be found below:

For any inquiries, please email foodsystemsnutrition@tufts.edu and address your message to Nour Elshabassi.