Fulbright Public Policy Fellow
The Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship provides opportunities for U.S. early and mid-career professionals and practitioners to serve in professional placements in a foreign government ministry or institution in partner governments around the world. Fulbright Public Policy Fellows build mutual understanding and contribute to strengthening the public sector while cultivating public policy experience in their desired area of expertise. The Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship also includes an independent research component that focuses on an issue that is beneficial for the host ministry and the Fellow.
The Fellows will have an opportunity to build their knowledge and skills, provide support to partner country institutions, and promote long-term ties between the U.S. and the partner country through this flexible and innovative Fulbright program.
Fellows will work with ministry officials as “technical specialists” where they will assist by immersing themselves in ongoing assignments and new initiatives, at the direction and under the supervision of host government officials, related to their sector and contribute to public policy-related projects that benefit the host country. In addition, Fellows will undertake a self-directed independent research project related to their area of expertise.
Fellows will be hosted by their relevant ministry and spend approximately 80% of their time carrying out ministry-directed projects. Approximately 20% of their time will be dedicated to their independent research project. Fellows must work with their ministry supervisors to agree upon a schedule to carry out the required time commitment. The schedule will be determined on an individualized basis and will take different forms depending on the country and responsibilities in the placement.
The research project is expected to be an independent project proposed during the application phase, but should be focused on a field or sector and relate to the ministry placement and be adaptable to correspond to the work done in the ministry.
In addition to being a prestigious academic exchange program, the Fulbright Program is designed to expand and strengthen relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of other nations and to promote international understanding and cooperation. To support this mission, Fulbright Scholars will be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host community, in addition to their primary activities.
Grant Length: Minimum length of the total grant is four months and the maximum is nine months
Grant Dates: Earliest start date is July 2020; latest start date is May 2021. Grants for the Fulbright Public Policy have a flexible start date and also flexible timeframe of a semester or academic year (4-9 months), with sufficient time to carry out the goals of the project.
Locations: Peru, Ukraine, Côte d'Ivoire, Burma
Language Requirements:
- Peru - Advanced (superior) Spanish is required. Applicants must submit the Language Proficiency Report: Self Evaluation and Language Proficiency Report: External Evaluation. Native speakers need only to complete the Language Proficiency Report: Self Evaluation.
- Burma- Burmese language fluency is not required but helpful. Fellows communicating in English are strongly encouraged to use simple, clear English spoken slowly with counterparts until their facility with English is clear.
- Cote d’Ivoire - Proficiency in French is required. Applicants must submit the Language Proficiency Report: Self Evaluation and Language Proficiency Report: External Evaluation. Native speakers need only to complete the Language Proficiency Report: Self Evaluation.
- Ukraine – Level of Ukrainian depends on ministry placement. Preferred: basic level of Ukrainian or Russian language skills for some specific ministries; others work in English on a regular basis. For research, language proficiency sufficient to complete the proposed project is required. For applicants without local language proficiency, feasibility of conducting the project must be demonstrated in the project statement.
Fulbright Public Policy Fellows will be required to carry out a position in a foreign government ministry effectively and seamlessly. Meeting the language requirements is critical for completing the daily requirements of the professional placement. For research grant activity, language fluency sufficient to complete the research project is required. For applicants without local language proficiency, feasibility of conducting research must be demonstrated in both the project statement and the language self-evaluation form of the Fulbright application. Non-native speakers who have local language abilities will be asked to also register an external evaluator within the application.
Eligibility:
Successful candidates will include early to mid-career entrepreneurial and self-starter professionals with a graduate degree in a public-policy related field (e.g., JD, MPA, MPH) and a minimum of three to five years of full-time work experience. Postdoctoral candidates and practitioners active in the academic, public, or private sectors with a record of experience and accomplishment in a public policy related area are encouraged to apply. Candidates with field-specific background applicable to public policy (e.g.., Energy, Agriculture, Engineering) are preferred.
PhD is not required. Doctoral degree holders are eligible as long as they have three to five years of public policy relevant experience – as a professional/practitioner outside of the classroom. Candidates enrolled in a PhD are eligible as long as they have a MA degree AND three to five years of experience. Candidates who have gone directly from undergraduate to PhD and have completed the PhD, but do not have any work experience are not eligible.
For more information, visit https://www.cies.org/program/fulbright-public-policy-fellowship.
Please e-mail FPPF@iie.org with your questions.