European Fund for the Balkans in cooperation with the Think Tank Fund will select up to ten twelve young, talented researchers from the region of Western Balkans for a six month Fellowship – 3 months of which will be spent in one of the leading think tanks in the EU member states
Deadline
European Fund for the Balkans will accept the fellowship applications until November 30, 2010 .
Eligibility
- Applicants are required to be permanent residents in one of the countries of Western Balkans.
- Applicants must be full-time employees at a think tank, policy centre or NGO with strong policy research component in the region of Western Balkans for at least for one year at the time of application and plan to stay for at least one more year. This requirement can be a subject to the sending organisation's Human Resource policy;
- Applicants should be between 24 and 35 years of age at the time of application;
- Applicants must be fluent in written and spoken English.
Prospective fellows can choose a think tank, research institution or policy centre based in an EU member state or in another country in the Western Balkans. Prior to submitting their fellowship proposals, applicants should directly contact an organisation(s) of interest to develop ideas for the Fellowship that would be mutually beneficial to both parties. If the applicants need advice or recommendation on the host organisation they can contact European Fund for the Balkans designated staff personnel.
For a non-exhaustive list of think tanks in EU, consult the Think Tank Fund website or the following web-sites: Policy Association for an Open Society-PASOS or The Think Tank Directory Europe or Notre Europe List or The Freedom House Directory.
Terms of the Award
The maximum duration of the period to be spent in the selected organisation/institution should be within 3 months between February – May 2011
Regular monthly salary is maintained by the sending organisation during the full period of the Fellowship. If requested and justified, the Fellowship could provide for compensation of up to 50% of the full salary.
To Apply
To be considered for the Fellowship Programme for Policy Researchers from the Western Balkans Region, applicants should submit the following documents in English (as .doc or .pdf attachments) to email: policy@balkanfund.org:
• Motivation/cover letter
- This letter should describe the applicant's interest in the Fellowship, the objectives of the fellow, his/her skills and qualifications and the value he/she aspires to contribute both to the hosting and sponsoring organisations.
- The letter should also include a brief action plan with clear evaluation indicators for the proposed work and a draft budget in EUR (budget template is available for download below).
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- The CV should include academic and professional background, a detailed description of the applicant's current job, and a list of recent policy projects in which the applicant has been involved.
• Support letter from a sending organisation, written in the name of the Executive Director /or President.
- This letter should describe the rationale, the expected outcomes and the value of the Fellowship to the sending organisation.
- The letter should be accompanied by a committal statement that the sending organisation will cover the salary costs during the Fellowship period.
• Support letter from a host organisation in the name of the Executive Director/or President / or Department Head.
- This letter should explain the interest and benefits of the Fellowship to the host organisations.
- The letter should be accompanied with bio(s) of assigned mentor(s) and job description for a visiting fellow.
- The letter should also include a committal statement that the host organisation will secure supervision from a senior policy analyst (mentor) up to 30 hours/a month; and will render necessary support to the fellow in obtaining a visa. . A brief mentorship plan should also be attached.
Reporting Requirements
At a host organisation, fellows are expected to engage in ongoing policy research projects and develop concrete policy products.* Fellows should deliver their final policy product upon completion of the Fellowship together with the final report until November 2010.
*Policy product refers to:
- Research study or survey (fellows are expected to formulate clear tangible outcomes at the end of the study/survey)
- Policy papers, briefs, or newsletters
- Organised event or conference (fellows should contribute to thematic development of an event organised within the fellowship term)
- Any other policy-related product or activity that benefits both the visiting fellow and the host organisation (e.g. designing and hosting policy blogs
Contact Information
European Fund for the Balkans
Resavska 35 Belgrade
Tel: + 381 11 3033 662
Email: policy@balkanfund.org
