Proposal Guidelines for Practitioner Track

Your project proposal is the most important part of your fellowship application. It should be clear, concise, and comprehensible to individuals outside your own field or concentration. As you look through the questions that follow, please note the word counts provided as guidelines for the length of your response to each question.

A practitioner proposal will be stronger if it exhibits the following characteristics:

  • offers a clear focus & rationale, with practical or policy relevance for democracy promotion
  • outlines a well-defined product, with tangible benefits to colleagues/counterparts in your field
  • offers comparative potential with other countries or regions
  • explains why this fellowship in Washington, DC is necessary to achieve your project goals
  • contains a realistic work schedule

Project proposals must be the applicants' own original work and not someone else's. The program maintains zero tolerance for plagiarism of any kind. Applicants are expected to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in the submission of their written materials, including scrupulous regard for copyright and intellectual property rights. 
 

Through the Online Application System, please be prepared to address the following questions:

1) Fellowship Project Title

Provide a title for your proposed fellowship project.

2) Personal Background and Professional Experience

In approximately 500 words, provide a narrative description of your professional and personal experiences, with a particular focus on your activities and achievements as they relate to the promotion of democracy and human rights.

3) Fellowship Project

In approximately 1500 words, describe the project you wish to pursue during the fellowship period. What topic relating to democracy do you propose to examine and why is this issue important? What methods will you use to carry out your project (library research, personal interviews, site visits, etc.) Will your project have relevance and implications for other countries or regions? How would a fellowship at the International Forum for Democratic Studies help you achieve your project goals?

4) Fellowship Product

In approximately 250 words, describe what product will result from your project (article, essay, book manuscript, handbook or training manual, report, policy memorandum, etc.). How will it be disseminated (journal or newspaper publication, electronic media, blog, etc.) and in what language(s)?

5) Outreach

With which organizations do you hope to interact and why? You may wish to include the names of institutions and individuals concerned with the political, social, economic, legal, or cultural aspects of democratic development, located in Washington, D.C.

6) Fellowship Impact

In approximately 250-500 words, elaborate on how your time in Washington, D.C. will strengthen your ability to promote democracy and human rights in your country or region of interest. In what other ways would your time at the International Forum contribute to your professional development and enhance the work of your organization?

7) International Exchange

Through its calendar of seminars, roundtable discussions, field trips, presentations, and other opportunities for international exchange, the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program encourages an active and ongoing dialogue among fellows on matters of mutual concern. In no fewer than 75 words, provide a description of how you see yourself contributing to and benefiting from the collegial life of the program.