The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program was established by a resolution of the Executive Directors of the World Bank in 1982. The Program annually awards fellowships to support innovative and imaginative post-graduate research in areas of socio-economic development.

Over the past 17 years, 205 fellows from 66 countries—selected from a pool of 9,099 applicants—have been awarded fellowships. Issues of focus have spanned a range of economic, social, environmental, health and humanitarian sectors. The Program has supported a broad mix of fellows, ranging from promising young men and women on the threshold of their careers to some of the most distinguished thinkers in the field of development. The Program's alumni include a number of eminent academics, policy makers, and leaders of civil society. The Program's Tracer Studies reveal a strong application of McNamara research in subsequent research initiatives of the alumni.

Nearly 170 research institutions from over 70 different countries have collaborated with the Fellowships Program. A publications program disseminates the research findings to share lessons of experience.

The Program's current financial resources come entirely from an endowment fund set up in 1982 with contributions from the World Bank, and eight donor countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Yugoslavia. The interest from this endowment allows the Program to award 15 or 16 fellowships each year.