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The University of Melbourne, as part of the Bloomberg Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, conducts a Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Fellowship Program to build technical capacity in both individuals and institutions to enhance the quality and sustainability of CRVS systems.
The Program provides eligible applicants the opportunity to work on a CRVS project and receive intensive, one-on-one mentoring by University of Melbourne technical experts, to learn more broadly about CRVS systems and to establish networks within the international CRVS community.
Who are we looking for?
Applicants should be from low-to-middle income countries and have established working relationships with one or more of the institutions responsible for the operation and development of their country’s CRVS system. This can include, for example, staff working in a government institution that is part (or potentially part) of the CRVS system, or people from a university or research institution (e.g. school of public health, medical college) who collaborate closely with stakeholders responsible for the CRVS system.
Fellowship activities and outputs
Fellows spend six weeks at the University of Melbourne, where they:
- Work on their chosen project supervised by University of Melbourne CRVS technical experts
- Receive more generalised training in CRVS systems via a CRVS Bootcamp
- Interact with and learn from global experts at University of Melbourne and benefit from the establishment of networks with other Fellows and CRVS specialists.
The Fellowship project must have direct application to CRVS activities in the Fellow’s country. The supervisor oversees the project design (including regular contact in preparation for the Fellowship), activities and outputs, and provides post-Fellowship mentoring. Fellows are expected to work full-time on their project while in Melbourne and to work independently.
Prior to arrival in Melbourne, Fellows must have an agreed outline of their project, as well as all relevant data available to be used for their project. Each Fellow is expected to complete a Fellowship report or draft research paper prior to leaving Melbourne, which will be included on the University of Melbourne CRVS Gateway or potentially published in an academic journal.
Fellows are presented with a certificate at the successful conclusion of their Fellowship.
Potential project topics
See below for a range of potential project topics for Fellows to choose from. Priority topic areas include, but are not limited to:
- Evaluation of CRVS interventions, including:
- Notification of community deaths
- Face-to-face and online training programs (e.g. medical certification training)
- Verbal autopsy cause of death data
- Empirical research on barriers to notification/registration of deaths in the community
- Analysis of quality of mortality and cause of death data using ANACONDA
- Estimation of registration completeness and development of national and subnational mortality indicators from adjusted CRVS data
- Quality assessment of medical certification and ICD coding
Following the completion of the Fellowship, Fellows are expected to apply their learnings to support CRVS activities in their country. To facilitate this, the Fellow and their supervisor develop a detailed plan for post-Fellowship activities. Fellows are expected to comply with requests for information on impact of the training received.
Travel funding
Fellows spend six weeks at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Funding is provided for travel to and from Melbourne, accommodation, and an allowance to cover meals and incidentals during their stay in Melbourne. Please note that funding is not available for return trips to their country of origin during the Fellowship or for family members’ travel.
Application process
If you have previously applied but were unsuccessful, we will reconsider your application for the next intake. You do not need to re-submit an application unless you want to update your application documents.
Fellows are selected through a competitive selection process and, after receiving application instructions from University of Melbourne, are required to submit a Fellowship project proposal. Preference will be given to applicants from countries that are part of the D4H Initiative, however applicants from other low-to-middle income countries will also be considered. Fellows are required to meet academic and English pre-requisites.
All applicants for the CRVS Fellowship Program should submit an application online with the following information:
- An application covering letter addressed to Dr Tim Adair, Principal Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne that details:
- Your current employer, roles, responsibilities, qualifications and English language proficiency (length: 1/2 page)
- The topic (for example: verbal autopsy, medical certification of cause of death) and specific aims of the Fellowship (length: 1/2 page)
- A statement outlining how you anticipate the Fellowship to contribute to strengthening CRVS systems in your country (length: 1 page)
- A letter of recommendation from a CRVS stakeholder (length: 1/2 page) that explains how the Fellowship would contribute to CRVS development in your country. A CRVS stakeholder is an institution responsible for the operation and development of a country’s CRVS system.
- A curriculum vitae (CV) (length: 2 pages)