Roma Policy Research Fellowship – Roma kutatási ösztöndíj

Roma Policy Research Fellowship: Call for Roma Graduates.  Organized by the Roma Initiatives Office and the Think Tank Fund, this program supports young Roma MA and PhD graduates in social sciences and humanities to develop new skills under the guidance of experienced research staff at mainstream think tanks. The program provides young Roma researchers with an opportunity to gain 6-12 months of firsthand research and advocacy experience in leading think tanks in their home countries.

Roma Policy Research Fellowship: Call for Roma Graduates 

Application Deadline: August 11, 2013

What is the Roma Policy Research Fellowship for young Roma MA and PhD graduates? 

The Open Society Foundations support the empowerment ofyoung Roma graduates and  professionals to demonstrate leadership in the civicand political spheres. The Roma Policy Research Fellowship combines the experience and commitment of young and highly educated Roma with on-the-job training in policy research and advocacy. In doing so, the program aims to equip young Roma researchers with the skills and knowledge to influence public policy processes.

Our long-term vision is that these young Roma develop as effective public policy advocates contributing to positive changes in the lives ordinary citizens of Roma origin, among others.

The Roma Policy Research Fellowship Program is organized by the Think Tank Fund and the Roma Initiatives Office of the Open Society Foundations. It supports young Roma MA and PhD graduates in social sciences and humanities from  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia to develop new skills under the guidance of experienced research staff at mainstream think tanks. The fellowship program gives an opportunity to young Roma researchers to gain first-hand research and advocacy experience over a period of 6-12 months  in a leading think tank in their country. In doing so, the program intends to build new capacity among young Roma and help facilitate their entry into the policy world as think-tank professionals or contributors to policy research and advocacy in other capacities. At the same time, the program aims to assist the think tanks working on or aspiring to take on topics relevant for local minorities to recruit new talent into their ranks and reach out to new constituencies. Individual programs at host organizations can start from December 2013.

Eligibility Criteria 

Candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

• Be of Roma origin.
• Have graduated in the past three years from MA or PhD studies in economics, international relations and European integration studies, legal studies, political science, public policy and administration, social work or sociology.
• Demonstrate interest in social science research, without necessarily having previous experience with policy research and advocacy.
• Be a permanent resident or citizen of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia or Slovakia.
• Applicants must be acceptably fluent in written and spoken English in addition to full proficiency in the local language.

The Roma Policy Research Fellowship Program was first piloted in 2011-12.

What is expected from fellows? 

After the selection of the fellows and their host organizations, the Think Tank Fund expects fellows to assume a full-time position in host organizations for an initial period of six months. Each fellow will work full-time at the hosting think tank’s office and will become a part of the organization. (This commitment resembles a full-time paid internship.) Throughout this period, the hosting organization is expected to engage the fellow in ongoing policy research projects and offer a structured mentorship on mainstream policy development in the agreed thematic area. The fellow’s  work will be guided by the director or a senior policy staff member of the hosting think tank.

In the initial six months the fellow will also develop a proposal for a more independent policy research project guided by the mentor and have an opportunity to apply for a program extension in the host organization. In addition to general policyissues, this proposal may also focus on issues that particularly affect the Roma population. If the research proposal is approved by the fellowship organizers, then the host organization will continue to mentor the fellow in undertaking the agreed research activities and developing concrete analytical products for up to six more months.

Depending on the final product, the host organizationmay choose to publicize the fellow’s research results and further advocate for the recommended policy solutions. Both fellows and mentors will be requested to send structured progress reports after each three months of the fellowship program.

We expect the fellow to be engaged in more than one  of the host organization’s projects and, if feasible, in the development of several policy products of the following types:

• A full research or baseline study (fellows are expected to formulate clear tangible outcomes/recommendations at the end of the study);
• Policy papers, briefs, or newsletters;
• An organized event or conference, where fellows contribute to thematic development of the event;
• Any other policy-related product or activity that benefits both the fellow and the hosting organization (e.g. designing and hosting policy blogs).

How can young Roma graduates apply? 

To be considered for the Roma Policy Research Fellowship,applicants should submit the following documents in English by August 11, 2013 to ttf.fellowships@opensocietyfoundations.org:

• Motivation/cover letter
• Fellowship application form
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Download documents

Call for Application

Application Form

Information

Oktober 6. u. 12.
Budapest 1051, Hungary
Tel: +36-1-882-3121
Fax: +36-1-882-3101
ttf.fellowships@opensocietyfoundations.org

Web: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org