Various Countries: 2006-2007 International Policy Fellowships

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

INTERNATIONAL POLICY FELLOWSHIPS, 2006-2007

New Frontiers for Open Society

The International Policy Fellowships (IPF)program is calling for applications for 2006-2007 fellowships. Launched in 1998and affiliated with the Open Society Institute and the Center for PolicyStudies (CPS) of the Central European University in Budapest, these fellowships support analytical policy research in pursuanceof open society goals such as the rule of law, democratic elections, diverseand vigorous civil societies, and respect for minorities. Each year the IPFprogram invites research proposals that address critical issues in thedevelopment of open societies. Successful applicants will demonstrateoriginality, sound project design and the strong likelihood that their projectmay lead to significant impact on policy.

The IPF program seeks to enhance the quality of policy research in thecountries where the Soros Network operates. It places strong emphasis onindependent research that is both rigorous and appreciative of practicalimplications. Analysis and evaluation of existing policy contexts should bebased on explicit criteria and fellows should be able to communicate theirideas and findings in a variety of professional and public settings.

IPF projects are expected to complement andenhance existing OSI activities. OSI programs will have already shown interestin some fellowship topic areas, such as Roma Exclusion, while OSI interest inother topics may be more recent and under development, for instance Combatingthe Resource Curse. IPF projects should not duplicate existing work, andthrough effective coordination and communication, IPF projects can strengthenexisting OSI fields and contribute to the development of new ones.

Fellows carry out individual research projects within small research teams ofbetween 3-5 fellows. Under the guidance of a senior policy analyst, fellowswill collaborate and share findings and where possible, create individualwebsites, and organize joint meetings to promote and disseminate their work.Each fellow will be expected to produce a substantive policy study and at leasttwo policy briefing papers during the course of their fellowship. All paperswill be published electronically with the Policy Documentation Center (http://pdc.ceu.hu), while outstanding papers will bepublished in hardcopy and translated into other languages.

Fellowships will begin April 1st 2006 and finish March 31st 2007.

General Framework: New Frontiers for OpenSociety

The increasingly global nature of international politics and society raisesseveral fundamental questions with respect to democratic reform. What is thereach of democratic ideas and what is the possibility of meaningful policychange across borders? How might the process of European enlargement promote amore expansive open society? Which are the principal actors and forcesspearheading changes? Reconceptualizing international integration andgovernance issues as they confront social, cultural and political barriersrepresents a key challenge to establishing new frontiers of democraticpolitics. These "new frontiers" are not only geographical. To be sure, we seekthe expansion of democracy to regions and countries where it does not yetexist. But we also seek its advance where it is as yet only formal or nominal.Through the investigations carried out in the following topic areas, IPF hopesto generate new policy ideas that will offer innovative ways forward.

(1) The Challenge of Wider Europe

With the last enlargement of the European Union, the borders have been redrawntoward the East and South. A host of new neighboring countries stand to gain fromthe institution's expansion of democratic norms and practices. Bulgaria andRomania are already on track for EU membership in 2007, negotiations onTurkey's long-term prospects for EU accession are due to begin soon, and thefuture integration of states in the Western Balkans is the object of intensedebates. The "orange revolution" in Ukraineposed the problem of a long-term European perspective for that country and alsoraised questions about transition in neighboring states. Research and policystudies are sought that would examine questions such as the following:

What could be, given the new circumstances, a broader multilateral EU policy with respect to its new neighbors?
What kinds of conditions and incentives can be placed on new neighbors to encourage reform in areas of governance, human rights, information policy, etc.?
To what extent should cultural factors (e.g. Islam) be considered in the design of a new neighborhood policy?
How active and engaged can and should new member states be in the Wider Europe process?
What kinds of challenges are faced by new member states within the larger Union?
Is the idea of a European political project diluted by means of a Wider Europe policy?
What impact can the atmosphere in some countries of the Union of fear of globalization and further EU enlargement have on future enlargement policy and the Wider Europe process?

(2) Open Society Promotion in PredominantlyMuslim Societies

The cultural, intellectual and religious struggle around the promotion of opensocieties is one of the major challenges facing predominantly Muslim societies.These societies are undergoing fundamental challenges in seeking to balance theoften-conflicting objectives of modernization, such as open societies, economicdevelopment, and cultural identities. This struggle should not be confused withthe notion of a "clash of civilizations" between the West and the Islamicworld. In seeking to contribute to these debates within predominantly MuslimsocietiesÃ¢â‚¬â€both Arab and non-ArabÃ¢â‚¬â€we seek to support policy-relevant researchproposals. Examples of some of the questions that can be addressed by theproposals are as follows:

What are the key public policy challenges and in what ways do they exacerbate or challenge non-democratic trends?
In what ways are religious and open society values influencing each other? How could the contradictions between religion and democratic values be mitigated?
How can elites societies be mobilized and how might they contribute to the modernization process?
How can marginalized actors struggling for change be supported?
How could women's rights issues be best addressed at national and international policy levels?
How are issues such as governance (accountability, transparency) or poverty being addressed in effective ways with local or international support?
Should large-scale western programming be organized that could contribute to the above-mentioned objectives, and/or should centers of excellence integrated in the local cultural context be created (with input from outside)?

(3) Combating Open Society Threats

The recent wave of democratization in countries of the former Soviet Union has reopened anexamination about the effective role of civil society in such transitions. Withincreasing authoritarian trends in some environments (Russia, Kazakhstan) and reinforced despotism in others (Belarus, Uzbekistan), policy level consideration on the contributing factorsinfluencing open society is of great importance. Creatively framing a policy researchagenda that focuses on a specific variant of social change will be key.Research and policy studies are sought that would examine questions such as thefollowing:

What factors were of primary importance in influencing the dramatic events in Ukraine and Georgia? What was the role of media, non-governmental, and business (and other) sectors in these larger changes?
What opportunities exist for positive change in neighboring highly authoritarian polities such as Belarus and Uzbekistan, as well as in non-democratic environments such as Russia and Kazakhstan?
What are the key challenges and obstacles to consolidating open societies in these countries? What is the connection between liberal vs. illiberal economics and liberal vs. illiberal regimes?

(4) Combating the Resource Curse

Good governance includes the capability of citizens to hold the governmentaccountable for its actions and inaction. Revenues generated from naturalresource extraction, collection of customs duties and other taxes, and publicprocurement awards are all areas particularly susceptible to exploitation bygovernment officials seeking personal enrichment or seeking to line politicalparty coffers, transforming the blessing of natural resources into a curse.Transparency, access to information, and civic involvement applying domesticand international public pressure represent part of the available internationaltool-kit for promoting government accountability. The hope is that existing andfuture natural resource revenues will be invested and expended in programs forthe benefit of the public such as poverty reduction, education and publichealth. Research and policy studies are sought that would examine questionssuch as the following:

What new mechanisms can be piloted that aim to improve transparency and accountability?
How effective are existing accountability mechanisms?
Are existing country-specific mechanisms applicable to other countries?
How can the capacities of civil society actors seeking to promote greater transparency and accountability be improved?
What are the linkages between state corruption and organized crime activities such as money laundering, smuggling, human trafficking, and other unlawful activities that erode public trust and human security?
Could certain monitoring and transparency mechanisms that have met with some success in curtailing state corruption also be useful in combating organized crime?

(5) Roma Exclusion

The Decade of Roma Inclusion represents one of the touchstone recent documentsin Europe aimed at ending discrimination against the continent's largestminority. Nine countries have signed the agreement from 2005-15 to guaranteedemonstrable progress in four principal areas: education, health, housing andemployment. While different institutions, including OSI, are engaged indeveloping and monitoring policies in these principal areas, there isnonetheless a need for systematic analysis and oversight as to how these goalsare (or are not) being achieved, and how the Decade could tackle policychallenges beyond purely sectoral issues. Research and policy studies aresought that would critically examine the Decade's efforts in the followingareas:

How innovative is the Decade's agenda in connecting policy issues of ethnicity (race), class and gender in the life of Roma communities?
What concepts of inclusive policy making does the Decade rely on and how efficiently is it translating those to practice?
How are Roma communities involved in planning and implementing various mechanisms of inclusion that the Roma Decade seeks to achieve?
How does the Decade consider the impediments to building credible leadership for Roma communities? How might such future elites have an effective voice in the domestic and international political and policy making arenas?
What innovative methods could be designed and used to measure medium and long-term social integration effects of the Decade?
Is the Decade generating new avenues in public communication that can create positive images of Roma communities and which can reduce the social distance between Roma and non-Roma communities?
How has desegregation in education at the legislative level and on the ground moved forward? What is foreseen in the coming years? How has the involvement of Roma communities and parents with schools improved?

(6) Open Information Policy

Advanced by the internet, alternatives to long-standing intellectual propertyregimes have created an environment to re-assess the relationship betweendemocracy, open society and new information technologies. The promise of opensource technology with respect to civil society and the incalculable leaps ininformation production by means of open content and weblogs present a newplatform for civic participation. Whether and in what form such promises can berealized lies at the basis of the research questions below.

Weblogs & Civic Discourse. How does the rapid expansion of weblogs alter news production and civic discourse? Can it counter ever-increasing concentration of ownership in the traditional mass media? How do traditional notions of editorial standards and journalistic professionalism apply to this new medium? Is the "blogosphere" an enhancement of the public sphere, or does it threaten its disintegration?
Open Content & Sustainability. Open Access publishing is revolutionizing scientific publishing. New alternative licensing systems like Creative Commons support decentralized information production, by making it easier for creators to share and permit re-use and modification of their work, while retaining certain rights. What are the business models that are developing around these commons-based models of sharing freely online? These cases are by and large un-documented and seem to contrast starkly with well-established economic and legal norms that rest on notions of scarcity, exclusivity and controlled access.
Open Content & Standards. Wikipedia, a freely available encyclopedia, is a visible and widely cited example of collaborative, distributed knowledge production enabled by the Internet. Such models seem to have great promise for more equitable access to knowledge; yet they also run the risk of dispensing with editorial standards. How can quality standards emerge in a distributed environment? Are they robust enough to be relied upon?
Open Source: Ownership and Control of Communications Technology. Communications technology (both hardware and software, and the standards on which most communications networks are based) is a key part of today's infrastructure for civil society engagement. How do the different models of ownership and control of the knowledge underlying this infrastructure (expressed in technology standards and software, either open or proprietary) affect access and participation by civil society, in particular, civil society in developing countries?
Intellectual Property & Access to Knowledge: The case of Free Trade Agreements. Intellectual property laws are a powerful instrument for controlling access to knowledge, and in some cases to restrict free speech. New standards shaped by rich-country interests are now being globalized and imposed on poorer countries. In recent years, bilateral Free Trade Agreements have become an important part of this process. How do those free trade agreements undermine the rule of law and basic principles of democratic lawmaking in countries around the world that are signing these agreements?

Eligibility

Applicants should be permanent residents of a country in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Africa or Asia*.
Applicants must be affiliated with a recognized policy-making body, non-governmental organization, university, or research institution.
The program does NOT fund student scholarships although, in exceptional cases, proposals connected to the final stages of a PhD dissertation may be considered
Former holders of IPF awards are not eligible to apply

Selection Criteria

Applicants must be able to demonstrate excellent written and spoken English-language skills.
Applicants should be able to demonstrate that they can devote the majority of their working time to the project and that other commitments are both complementary to their project and occupy a minority of their time.
An independent panel of internationally recognized experts will evaluate proposals on the basis of their aims and objectives, research questions, project conceptualization, proposed methodology, contribution to OSI goals, clarity of expression, and qualifications of the applicant.
Proposals may be country specific or comparative but all should be feasible and justified. Evaluators are looking for innovative proposals that have potential significant impact.
Candidates who are short-listed will be asked to submit further detailed information including a work schedule, detailed budget proposal, and certified translations of relevant education qualifications.
The final selection of fellows will be carried out following telephone interviews, which will be held at the expense of IPF, and successful finalists will be notified by January 30, 2006.

Main terms of the Award

Fellows receive supervision and support from a senior policy analyst
Fellows are invited to Budapest in April 2006 for initial orientation to the program
Optional, specialized policy research and advocacy training courses are offered in Budapest
Monthly stipends commensurate with local salaries
Budget for reasonable research, communications, travel, publication and advocacy costs
Discretionary funding for conference participation

How to Apply

Applicants should carefully complete the online application form, which includes a project summary, research proposal (maximum 4 pages), and a resume/CV including a list of publications. Applicants may also include a letter of reference from an affiliated organization and a writing sample on the chosen topic.
Once initial information has been entered applicants receive an ID number, which will allow them to make any additions and revisions to the form. This number should be quoted in any correspondence. Applications sent by mail, fax or e-mail will not be considered unless given prior approval from IPF staff*. Applications must be submitted online by September 20, 2005. IPF does not consider late applications.

Special Awards

1. The Leslie Carol Eliason MemorialFellowship Award

In memory of IPF veteran professor, mentorand trainer Leslie Eliason, the program will select one project toreceive the Leslie Carol Eliason Memorial Fellowship Award. This will be aproject that is deemed by the selection committee to have the potential to makean especially significant contribution. The chosen recipient will be entitledto write up their project at one of the institutions Dr. Eliason was affiliatedwith in the US or at the Center for Policy Studies at the Central European University.

2. International Junior Public Policy Scholar Fellowship with the Woodrow Wilson International Center forScholars

Each fellowship year, the East EuropeanStudies program of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. hosts 1-2 outstanding IP Fellows from Eastern Europe. The Woodrow Wilson Centerprovides access to research facilities such as the Library of Congress,university libraries, the National Archives and relevant faculty. The Centercan help arrange introductory visits to relevant actors and organizations in Washington, D.C. including theU.S. Congress and Senate.

The Center provides an excellent settingfor writing up IPF research. Incoming scholars receive a $9,000 stipend,administrative assistance regarding affordable housing, health care, andprocessing of required documentation. Housing and visa arrangements are theultimate responsibility of the selected scholars.

Fellows are selected by the Center's EastEuropean Studies Program. Topics of particular interest include internationalgovernance (regionalization, decentralization); the rule of law; publicadministration; civil society and institution-building and the role ofnon-governmental organizations; media; minority rights; economic reform andmanagement; Southeast Europe Stability Pact projects; organized crime; andnorth-south tier development issues including strategies for closing the gap.

The fellowship is limited to scholars fromcountries in the former communist bloc including the Baltic states and former Yugoslavia but not the NIS states, Ukraine or Germany. Those wishing to be considered for this award should include withtheir IPF application a one-page description of why their proposed topic shouldbe considered for such an award. For more details see www.wilsoncenter.org.