In many parts of the world, local civil servants work under difficult circumstances. The communities for which they work are characterised by widespread poverty, a lack of basic services, high unemployment rates and environmental challenges. Moreover, their organisations often lack qualified staff and financial resources needed to deal with these challenges.
Still there are many young, ambitious civil servants that strive for better services and the development of their local communities. Talent for Governance supports them by providing opportunities for knowledge exchange and training so that they can develop their skills and realise their ambitions.
With a Talent for Governance scholarship, young talents at the local level increase their practical knowledge on topics such as management of waste or water, local economic development, municipal service delivery, citizen participation and accountability, fiscal decentralisation and local taxes, climate change and resilience, integrity and anti-corruption.
Eligibility:
Young civil servants working for local government in a developing country can apply for the Talent for Governance programme. They must have a strong motivation and a concrete project or idea to improve the performance of the organisation and create better services for their community.
Application is possible if you: work for a local government (not an NGO or private enterprise);
- work in one of the countries listed on the DAC country list;
- be 37 years of age or younger when you apply;
- have at least two years of work experience in local governance and prove your commitment to
- work there for at least two years more;
- speak and understand the English language well (all programmes are in English);
- be able to write down and orally defend your motivation for and relevance of the specific programme;
- be able to identify an issue/project as a real life case within the theme of the programme for which you will write a Back Home Action Plan during the Talent programme;
- have written support of your employer to participate in the programme and to implement the Back Home Action Plan when you return home.
Benefits
- A two week long International practice oriented training course at The Hague Academy for Local Governance
- Week-long internship at a Dutch municipality
- Networking activities
- Back Home Action Plan
- The selected talents follow international training in The Hague and an internship in a Dutch municipality.
- They meet colleagues from abroad, learn from experiences in other countries and link what they have learned to the daily practice in their home countries. This will help them to achieve their personal goals and make a real difference for their local communities.
Application Process:
The Talent programme will be organised three times in 2016 and each programme will revolve around a different local governance theme. There will be just one application period.
To apply for the Talent programme candidates need to choose one of the following programme themes. These themes are based on the topics of the training course at The Hague Academy which is part of the Talent programme:
- Citizen Participation & Inclusive Governance – Programme from 23 May – 10 June 2016, (more information about the training course part of the programme)
- Local Economic Development – Programme from 19 September – 7 October 2016, (more information about the training course part of the programme)
- Local Service Delivery- Programme from 3 – 21 October 2016, (more information about the training course part of the programme
Apply Now for the Talent of Governance Scholarship
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the 2016 Hague Academy Talent of Governance Scholarship