Applications for the 2024 Foundation/CPS Leadership Scholar are closed.

What is the Community Pharmacy Section (CPS) Early Career Leadership Development Scholarship ?

The FIP Foundation, in collaboration with the FIP Community Pharmacy Section (CPS), is pleased to announce the Leadership Development Scholarship for Early Career Community Pharmacy Professionals. This joint initiative aims to foster leadership skills among young professionals in the community pharmacy practice. The selected candidate, recognized as the “Foundation/CPS Leadership Scholar,” will receive funding to participate in the Leadership Development Workshop and the FIP World Congress.

Applications are submitted electronically through the FIP Foundation’s website. The deadline for submission is February 15.

Objectives of the scholarships

• To assist early career community pharmacists from low- or middle-income countries to attend an FIP World Congress.
• To provide an opportunity for the recipient to further develop his/her leadership skills and knowledge and to apply these skills in future professional organization leadership roles,
• To support the recipient in applying leadership skills to improve pharmaceutical practice, pharmaceutical sciences and/or pharmaceutical education in his/her home country and globally.

What does the Early Career Leadership Development scholarship include?

• FIP Congress registration
• Hotel accommodation
• Financial Compensation for travel will be based on the recipient’s region for the most economic travel relative to the location of the Congress.  Preapproval of travel is required from the FIP Foundation Office (foundation@fip.org) – by Submission of travel plan and expense amount prior to purchase of airfare. 
• One-year Individual Membership of FIP
• A meeting with the leaders of the FIP Foundation, FIP ECPG, Regional Forum ExCo, and FIP

Who is eligible to apply?

1. Applicants must be a community pharmacist owner or employee, under the age of 35 years (by 31 January of the year of the congress to which the application refers); 
2. Applicants must live and work or study in a country or territory with an income level classified as low, lower-middle or upper middle by the World Bank in the latest available classification. It is not mandatory that applicants are nationals of, or live in, countries or territories where FIP has member organisations.
3. Regardless of the nationality of the applicant, the application will be evaluated according to the WHO region of his/her country or territory of residence and work/study. 

How can applications be made?

Applications are submitted electronically through the FIP Foundation’s website. The application form is designed in a way that only eligible applicants can apply (in terms of age, country of residence, previous Foundation funding, etc.). A complete application consists of: 

1. A complete application form
2. A two-page (maximum) letter of interest by the applicant describing:
   • How attending the FIP Congress and the Leadership Development Workshop (LDW) will help him or her to further their engagement in a professional society in their country of origin and 
   • How the applicant intends to share and/or apply the leadership knowledge and experience gained through the FIP Congress, to advance their practice and community pharmacy.  
3. The applicant’s curriculum vitae (CV) not exceeding two pages, highlighting the applicant’s academic background, language skills, professional experience and development of their pharmacy practice, contributions in terms of leadership and innovation and any other elements the applicant considers relevant for the application. 
4. A letter of recommendation from, for example, the applicant’s supervisor, manager, employer, or dean of school.  
5. A letter of recommendation from a national professional pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences organization (the organization does not have to be an FIP member organization).
6. Proof of identity (e.g. copy of passport);
7. A recent photograph of the applicant.

What is the application deadline?

Complete applications must be submitted by 15 February of the year in which the FIP Congress takes place. All applications will be acknowledged. Any applications that do not comply with the formal requirements described in these guidelines will not be accepted/considered.

How are applications assessed and selected?

All applications will be evaluated and ranked according to a common set of criteria and pointing. The aim of this evaluation is to identify the applicants with the highest merit, using a scale from 1 (poor) to 25 points (excellent). 

Each member of the Selection Committee will assess and mark all applications. The average of the marks given by all members of the Selection Committee to each individual applicant will be his or her final mark. 

1. Academic and professional experience and achievement – up to 6 points
   

   Based on the analysis of the applicant’s curriculum vitae, classify this parameter on a scale from 1 (poor) to 6 (excellent). 

   Elements to be considered include academic degrees, professional expertise (quality and length), innovation in the work environment, research work and published articles (relevance, impact, number of publications), career and professional society leadership positions, awards and recognitions, and any other elements that indicate the merit of the applicant in his/her work, research or studies. 

2. Capacity to obtain the highest possible benefit of attending the FIP congress – up to 6 points
   

   Based on the analysis of the applicant’s curriculum vitae and letter of motivation, classify this parameter on a scale from 1 (poor) to 6 (excellent). 

   Aside from the applicant’s individual merit, this parameter will particularly assess the alignment between his or her personal knowledge/skills/expertise and that year’s specific congress topics and sessions, as well as his or her language skills, to ensure that he or she will be able to fully understand the sessions and interact with other participants.

3. Potential for affecting change –up to 7 points
   

   Based on the analysis of the applicant’s curriculum vitae and letter of motivation, classify this parameter on a scale from 1 (poor) to 7 (excellent). 

   One of the key objectives of these scholarships is to provide an opportunity for the recipient to further develop his/her leadership skills and knowledge and to contribute towards improving pharmaceutical practice, in his/her home country. Address the applicant’s capacity to affect change based on their position or practice environment of the applicant, his/her capacity to make decisions that impact the change, and his/her demonstrated leadership skills, and commitment.

4. Potential for professional engagement including third-party recognition of the applicant’s merit – 6 points
   

   Based on the analysis of the applicant’s letter of motivation and letters of recommendation, classify this parameter on a scale from 1 (poor) to 6 (excellent). 

   This parameter will provide an additional verification of the applicant’s merit through the appraisal by his or her supervisor, manager, employer, dean of school as well as from his/her national professional organisation. The quality of the applicant’s capacity for contributions or achievements as described by the author of the letters should be considered.

What about successful applicants?

Successful applicants need to register for the Congress with a special code that will be provided to them.

Successful applicants will receive 50% of the total amount in Euros (€) before the Congress by bank transfer upon receipt of a completed reimbursement form with as many original receipts attached as possible. The remaining 50% will be transferred after the Congress upon receipt of the final report (see paragraph below) and reimbursement form with the remaining original receipts/invoices attached.

What is expected from scholarship winners?

1. To attend the entire duration of the FIP congress 
2. To attend the Leadership Development Workshop (LDW) held by ECPG at the start of the FIP Congress and the Early Career Social Night hosted by ECPG during the FIP Congress. 
3. To be present at the Opening Ceremony of the FIP congress
4. To attend specified meetings and programmes during the congress, as defined by the Foundation Board of Directors and CPS.
5. To submit to the Foundation Board of Directors and CPS a brief report (maximum two pages) within 30 days of the FIP Congress, including the following elements:
6. A description of the applicant’s activities carried out during the congress and an evaluation of the objectives achieved; 
7. The occasions where the FIP Foundation for Education and Research and CPS was/will be acknowledged; 
8. A description of how the applicant proposes to use the experience and knowledge gained during the Congress; 
9. A detailed account of all relevant expenses incurred (including receipts). 

The report should be submitted electronically (foundation@fip.org) and it may be used in the International Pharmacy Journal (IPJ), for publicity purposes, and/or to report to the Foundation’s contributors accounting for the disposition of funds. It should be written with these objectives in mind. 

Note: By accepting a scholarship, the applicant automatically grants FIP and the FIP Foundation for Education and Research permission to use any materials associated with the application (including the applicant’s photograph) as described above. 

Other matters

• All unexpended funds must be returned to the Foundation;
• All financial transactions and reports may be subject to audit. In the event that the funds are not being properly administered, the Foundation reserves the right to ask for a refund, without prejudice;
• Funds accepted for specific purposes may be utilised solely for these purposes.