Open Society Foundations: Applications Open for Leadership in Government Fellowships!

Deadline: 15 July 2016

The Open Society Foundations is currently inviting applications from senior-level government officials and staff in the United States for its Leadership in Government Fellowships with an aim to reflect on their time in government and to undertake a project that advances policy ideas and inserts their unique perspectives about driving change from within government into the public dialogue.

Open Society’s U.S. Programs will award individual grants in 2016 to people who have played a significant role in advancing social change from within government in the United States at the local, state, or federal levels.

The fellowship is a pilot grant-making program in 2016 and is part of a larger effort within the Open Society Foundations to invest in new voices that inform and challenge collective thinking about advancing open society in the United States.

Priorities Areas

• A project might identify a problem in the implementation of policy that has yet to be fully recognized or discussed, offer new strategies on how to work with government and advocate for policy change, or highlight a different approach for legislative or executive action.
• Project that offer unique insights and perspectives into how government implements programs and policies with an eye towards their effect on low-income communities, communities of color, immigrants, and otherwise historically marginalized communities in the United States.
• People who see themselves serving as change agents within government again in the future or are looking to apply their public service knowledge and experience to an advocacy career.

Funding Information

Fellows will receive funding (in the general range of $100,000 to $133,000) depending on work experience, seniority, and percentage of time committed to the project, which will range from 12 to 18 months in duration.

Eligibility Criteria

• All projects must relate to one or more of U.S. Programs’ central goals:
  • A more inclusive and accountable American democracy;
  • A fair criminal justice system;
  • Full political, economic, and civic participation of communities of color and immigrants;
  • Equitable economic growth.
• Projects can focus on a particular issue or cut across these broad areas of interest.
• People of all political parties, ideologies, and levels of government (i.e., city, county, and state, federal) are encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Completed applications must be submitted via email, with “Last Name, Proposal Name” as the subject line.

Eligible Country: United States

For more information, please visit Leadership in Government Fellowships.