Deadline: 4 January 2016
The Open Society Fellowship is currently open for applications to support individuals pursuing innovative and unconventional approaches to fundamental open society challenges. The fellowship funds work that will enrich public understanding of those challenges and stimulate far-reaching and probing conversations within the Open Society Foundations and in the world.
The fellowship considers applicants from all parts of the world. Its fellows are from a diverse pool of applicants that includes journalists, activists, academics, and practitioners in a variety of fields. Applicants should possess a deep understanding of their chosen subject area and a track record of professional accomplishment.
Areas of Interest
- A fellowship project might identify a problem that has not previously been recognized, develop new policy ideas to address familiar problems, or offer a new advocacy strategy.
- Project themes should cut across at least two areas of interest to the Open Society Foundations. Among these are human rights, government transparency, access to information and to justice, and the promotion of civil society and social inclusion.
- The Open Society Fellowship is open to funding projects that focus on “seeding” new campaigns or organizations. “Seeding” means conceptualizing, researching, planning, and laying the groundwork for a new organization or campaign.
- The fellowship will not provide direct operational support for the campaign or organization itself.
Programme Structure
Fellows are expected to take full advantage of the foundations’ expansive reach and work to bring new people and fresh ideas into the organization’s ambit. Fellows may produce a variety of work products, including publications such as books, reports, or blogs; innovative public-education projects; or the launch of new campaigns or organizations. They may also engage in activities such as hosting panel discussions, traveling to conferences, participating in policy debates, and aggressively promoting their ideas in public venues.
Fellowship Support & Benefits
- Full-time fellows will receive a stipend of $80,000 or $100,000, depending on work experience, seniority, and current income. Stipends will be prorated for part-time fellows.
- In certain cases, fellows will receive additional financial support to enable them to meet the residency expectation.
- In addition to the stipend, fellows will receive a project budget. That budget may include expenses such as travel (including airfare and hotel), visa costs, part-time research assistance, conference fees and health insurance.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Open Society Fellowship accepts proposals from anywhere in the world.
- Applicants should possess a deep understanding of their chosen subject and a track record of professional accomplishment.
- Past and current fellows have included journalists, activists, academics, and practitioners in a variety of fields. Successful applicants will be eager to exploit the many resources offered by the Open Society Foundations and be prepared to engage constructively with our global network.
- Ideal fellows are specialists who can see beyond the parochialisms of their field and possess the tenacity to complete a project of exceptional merit. Proficiency in spoken English is required.
- The fellowship does not fund enrollment for degree or non-degree study at academic institutions, including dissertation research.
- This is a fellowship for individuals only; proposals from two or more applicants will not be accepted.
How to Apply
- As a first step, all potential applicants are required to submit a one- to two page, single-spaced, letter of inquiry that outlines the topic of the project and proposed work product in accordance with the guidelines above, accompanied by a CV.
- Letters of inquiry should address the following questions:
- what is the central argument of your proposed project
- who is/are the intended audience/s
- why is now the time for this project
- what are the potential outputs?
- Letters of inquiry will be reviewed within 6 weeks. Applicants showing promise will be invited to submit a full application.
For more information, please visit Open Society Fellowships.
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-fellowship
