2023 Andrew E. Rice Award for Leadership and Innovation by a Young Professional in International Development

Application Deadline: Friday, September 15, 2023

Each year, we present the Andrew E. Rice Award for Leadership and Innovation by a Young Professional in International Development. Established in 2003, the Rice Award (formerly named the Truman Award) recognizes the achievements of an exceptional young professional committed to advancing the field of international development. The recipient of this award will demonstrate strong leadership, innovation, and commitment to sustainable, people-centered development.

The Rice Award will be presented at the 2023 Annual Dinner on November 15 in Washington, DC. While there will be only one winner, other notable candidates may be mentioned at the award presentation ceremony. 

Apply Now! Access the application form here.

Award 

The award includes:

• an inscribed plaque;  
• $1,000;
• a one-year honorary individual membership to SID-United States;
• and the opportunity to present your work at a SID-United States event.

Application Timeline

• Applications and all materials due: Friday, September 15, 2023 by 11:59 PM ET
• Winner notified: October 15 2023 (Note date change)
• 2023 Annual Dinner: Wednesday, November 15, 2023

If you have any questions while filling out the application form, please contact [email protected] or call 202-331-1317.

To be eligible for the Rice Award, applicants must meet these requirements:

1. Age: 22 to 32 years old
2. Have at least two years of experience as a volunteer or paid professional in international development, demonstrating exceptional commitment to improving the lives of people in developing countries.
3. Provide application and all supporting materials by Friday, September 15, 2023.
4. Be available to accept the Rice Award in-person or remotely at the SID-US 2023 Annual Dinner on November 15, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Application Instructions 

If you meet the criteria above, please submit the following materials by September 15, 2023.

Rice Award applicants must submit:

1. Application form. Please click here to access the form.
2. A three-page maximum, single-sided resume or CV 
3. A two-page maximum (12 pt. font), single-sided personal statement responding to the following: 

• How have you demonstrated creativity and innovation by developing new ideas and/or adapting successful solutions to problems and challenges, or optimizing unique opportunities, in advancing international development? 
• Describe your vision and experience leading people and change. 
• What are some qualitative and/or quantitative measures of the impact of your work in international development? 
• Demonstrate your commitment to upholding the ideals of sustainable, inclusive, just, equitable and participatory development. 
• How have you committed to advancing the profession of international development? (e.g., through knowledge advancement, participation in relevant professional organizations, institutional development, etc.)

Rice Award Application Deadline: Friday, September 15, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET

Optional with your application:

In addition to your personal statement and resume or CV, you may submit the following: 

1. Up to two one-page letters of recommendation/support describing: 

• How long and in what capacity the reference has known you. 
• The qualities and experiences that make you distinct in the criteria areas. 
• Why you should be selected for the Andrew E. Rice Award. 

Letters of recommendation must be received by September 15, 2023. Please submit letters of recommendation on this form. If not included with application materials, letters of recommendation may be emailed to [email protected] with "2023 Rice Award Application" in the subject line, or mailed to:

Rice Award Selection Committee 

Society for International Development - United States Chapter 

2300 N Street, NW, 3rd Floor 

Washington, DC, 20037 

USA 

No letters of recommendation arriving after the application deadline will be reviewed. Please ensure that your full name appears on the personal statement as well as on the letters of recommendation.

2. A short, 1-minute maximum video explaining how your experience using innovation and creativity can lead to more sustainable international development.  Video submissions must not exceed 1 minute. Submissions longer than 1 minute will not be considered. 

 

Unfortunately, we cannot review any additional information provided beyond those described above. We also cannot consider any incomplete applications.  

Please submit application form, personal statement, resume or c.v., letters of recommendation, and short video via this online form no later than Friday, September 15, 2023.

Click here to access the online application form!

 

Accessibility   

To request an alternate application format, please email [email protected].

 

About the Rice Award

The Rice Award is named for Andrew E. Rice, a visionary and founder of the Society for International Development (SID). Andy built SID into a major global network, established the first newsletter and journal on international development, and helped start a number of development initiatives, including the U.S. Peace Corps. He was also a tireless advocate of promoting and mentoring youth in development.

Building on Andy’s strong championship of young professionals in development, SID-US presents the Rice Award to a young professional who demonstrates leadership and innovation, as well as tremendous promise for advancement in the field of international development as a means of service to those who are most in need, and will work towards sustainable, people-centered development.

 

Congratulations to our 2022 Rice Award recipient: Nasrat Khalid

 The recipient of this award demonstrates strong leadership, innovation, and commitment to sustainable, people-centered development. We were pleased to present the 2022 Rice Award to Nasrat Khalid, Founder of Aseel App.

In 2017, he left the World Bank and founded the Aseel platform, a US tech startup striving to create a massive impact by supporting global humanitarian and artisan efforts using technology. Nasrat is passionate about the inclusion of countries in the Global South and global talent in the digital economy. He has helped over half a million people through his platform with emergency support items in the Afghanistan crisis, and his platform, Aseel, has also helped sell over ten thousand handmade items from Afghanistan and Turkey in international markets.

 

 

Data on Rice Award Applications Over the Years

Applicants come from every continent around the world and their work focuses on a wide range of sectors. To see a graphic depicting the variety of applications we have received, please click here.

To see the full list of past Rice Award recipients, please click here.

 

About Andrew Rice

Andrew E. Rice helped create the field of international development. In the decades following World War II, decolonization and the Cold War necessitated a new relationship between the Western and developing worlds. That’s when Andy began thinking and writing about the nature of this new relationship and organizing others to do the same.

Andy was introduced to internationalism early on, spending part of his childhood in Geneva, where his father was the U.S. representative to an agency of the League of Nations. After serving in intelligence during the War and obtaining his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard, he moved to Washington to begin a 60-year career crafting public policy.

He began by joining or helping to form a series of advocacy organizations dedicated to an internationalist foreign policy incorporating aid for the underdeveloped world. These included Americans for Democratic Action, the American Veterans Committee and the Point Four Committee (this last named for foreign aid’s position in President Truman’s list of diplomatic priorities in his 1949 inaugural address).

He also began publishing a newsletter, “Doorway to the 20th Century,” to report on this brand new discipline. His longtime friend and colleague Bob Berg recently recalled, “In the pre-Internet age it was THE place to find the news--crisply written…with never a hint of bias.”

After stints as a staffer on both sides of Capitol Hill and obtaining his PhD from Syracuse University, Andy served on the academic committee that gave birth to the Peace Corps. He then joined the Kennedy Administration as an aide to Chester Bowles, a prominent diplomat to the developing world and early UN official.

Andy was a founder of the Society for International Development (SID) in 1957 and in 1962 became executive director, a position he held for 15 years. Bob Berg has described the scene from that era: “SID's office was filled with young people beavering away. Andy, always cool, friendly, professional and kind, kept it going in highly productive and effective ways.”

Andy’s career both reflected and shaped changes in the idea of international development. As the need for environmental sustainability grew clearer, he became board chair of the environmentally-focused Worldwatch Institute. Seeing the need to better educate the public on the importance of internationalism, he became an active member of the United Nations Association, serving as chair of the national capital chapter.

Alina Zyszkowski, one of countless young professionals Andy mentored over his career, said of him: “Andy Rice was a true visionary and a real friend to so many of us…Today we hear a lot about knowledge sharing and networking. Andy was making that happen through SID over 50 years ago.”

Andy once summed up his approach to international development: “I believe that the right path to a better world is expanding individual freedom combined with cooperative endeavor.” Through his ideas, hard work and, to quote a colleague, “friendly, humble and generous” personality, he moved us all down that path.

 

Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected] or call 202-331-1317.

Donations  

Please contact us if you would like to donate to the Rice Award. We thank you for your generosity for donations received.