IFP provides potential leaders from the world's disadvantaged communities with higher education so that they can contribute to development in their own countries. How does the IFP counter the tendency for “brain drain” to draw educated people to the West, away from their countries of origin?

Fellows are selected on the basis of their commitment to, and ongoing engagement with, their communities, in addition to their academic credentials. For the 65 percent of Fellows who study abroad, IFP provides resources that enable them to remain connected to their home countries as well as incentives for them to return home and become involved in alumni activities upon graduation.

Approximately 80 percent of nearly 1,800 IFP graduates now live and work in their home countries and regions. Of those still abroad, nearly all are completing doctoral degrees or enrolling in doctoral programs. These numbers show that IFP's focus on members of disadvantaged and excluded communities who have leadership capacity and a strong commitment to promote change in their home countries is a powerful antidote to "brain drain."

For these individuals, an international fellowship is not primarily a path to individual career enhancement; rather, it is the beginning of a new stage in their work for social justice at home.