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
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. (500 word minimum)
3) Fellowship Project
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 are your project goals and how will your time at NED help you to achieve them? What methods will you use to carry out your project (library research, personal interviews, site visits, etc.) and what is your timeline for completion? How do you plan to evaluate your progress and what will be your benchmarks for success? Will your project have broader implications for other countries and regions? (1500 word minimum)
4) Fellowship Product
Describe what product will result from your project (article, essay, book manuscript, handbook or training manual, report, policy memorandum, etc.) and why you have chosen this particular product as the best conduit for your ideas. How will it be disseminated (journal or newspaper publication, electronic media, blog, etc.) and in what language(s)? Who is the target audience and how will you know that your product will reach them? (300 word minimum)
5) Outreach and Presentation
With which organizations do you hope to interact and why? Please include specific names of institutions and individuals concerned with the political, social, economic, legal, or cultural aspects of democratic development, located in Washington, D.C., and explain the expected benefits of these meetings. As you envision your fellowship presentation, please suggest a tentative title and identify your target audience. (250 word minimum)
6) Fellowship Impact
Elaborate on how your time in Washington, D.C., will enhance your ability to promote democracy in your country or region of interest. In what ways would your time at the International Forum contribute to your professional development and enhance the work of your organization? Looking ahead to the post-fellowship period, how do you anticipate that your product will resonate in your home country and beyond? How will you measure its short-term and long-term impact? (300 word minimum)
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. How do you see yourself contributing to and benefiting from the collegial life of the program? (75 word minimum)
8) Optional Question on Democracy Work
The Reagan-Fascell program is mindful of the personal costs that can be associated with democracy-related activities. If you have been politically targeted on account of your work, please elaborate on the nature and timing of the intimidation you have experienced. Any information you share will remain confidential and will not affect the outcome of your application. (Optional)
