Application Deadline: Monday 3 December 2018.
Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from low and middle income Commonwealth countries to spend between six weeks and three months at a UK host organisation working in their sector on a programme of professional development.
Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Commonwealth Professional Fellowships provide talented and motivated professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector. These Fellowships are offered under six development themes:
- Science and technology for development
- Strengthening health systems and capacity
- Promoting global prosperity
- Strengthening global peace, security and governance
- Strengthening resilience and response to crises
- Access, inclusion and opportunity
Purpose: To provide professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector, and to have catalytic effects on their workplaces.
Intended beneficiaries: Mid-career professionals (with five years’ relevant work experience) working in development-related organisations in low and middle income Commonwealth countries.
Eligibility
To be eligible for these fellowships, you must:
- Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
- Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
- Have normally at least five years’ relevant work experience in a profession related to the subject of the application, by the proposed start of the fellowship
- Be available to start your fellowship within prescribed dates as stated on the CSC website
- Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship in the last five years
- Not be seeking to undertake an academic programme of research or study in the UK. Academics are eligible to apply for the scheme, but only to undertake programmes of academic management, not research or courses relevant to their research subject
- You must be available to undertake the Fellowship during the dates set out by the Host organisation. All Fellowships must start between 15 April 2019 and 17 June 2019. You should check exact dates with the prospective Host.
Value:
Each fellowship provides:
- Approved return airfare from the Fellow’s home country to the UK
- Stipend (living allowance) payable monthly (or pro rata) for the duration of the award at the rate of £1,656 per month, or £2,055 per month for those at organisations in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2018-2019 levels). Exceptionally, depending on the programme arranged, a peripatetic living allowance may be payable. Further details if applicable will be given at the time of offer
- Arrival allowance of up to £931.10 at current rates, including an element for warm clothing and reimbursement of the visa application fee
- Flat rate contribution of £800 to the costs of the host organisation relating to the administration and support of the Fellow, setting up of appropriate meetings, any materials required, and incidental travel for the Fellow during the award (to be paid to the Host organization on receipt of an invoice)
- Fees of £2,000 will be agreed for awards under 2 months and up to a max of £3000 for awards of three months (to be paid to the Host organization on receipt of an invoice)
Full justification must be given for the amount being claimed. Such claims can cover:
- Fees for any conferences or short courses attended during the fellowship, provided that these are approved as part of the original application
- Cost of travel for visits to other organisations in the UK, where these form an integral part of the programme
- Other fees, for which the CSC will consider requests on a case-by-case basis
Host
How to apply
Applications must be made using the CSC’s online application system.
A representative of all organisations wishing to apply will need to register to use our new online system. As part of this process, the CSC will undertake checks in order to ascertain whether each organisation has the capacity and resources to host a Professional Fellow.
To register, potential host organisations should write to the CSC on their organisation’s headed paper providing the following information:
- Full name and email address of the person who is authorised by the organisation to make the application and full name and email address of the person who will act as the main contact for the CSC should the fellowship go ahead
- Details of the status of the organisation (for example, company limited by guarantee, charity, etc)*
- A link to a copy of the organisation’s latest accounts registered at Companies House and/or with the Charity Commission or (if the organisations is not a company limited by guarantee or a charity) a copy of the organisation’s latest audited accounts*
- Details of any funding the organisation receives from the Department for International Development (DFID)
* UK universities and NHS Trusts do not need to provide this information
These letters should be sent as an attachment by email to [email protected]
There are three stages to the application process as follows:
- Once registered to use the online system, a representative of the host organisation must complete the Host Application Form. The closing date for submission of the Host form is 4pm on Friday 2 November 2018.
- Applications for Fellows will open on Monday 12 November 2018. Information on the Host programmes available through the Scheme in 2018 will be made available on our Website to Fellows along with an online application form (We will notify nominators once the application form opens for Fellows).
- The closing date for submission by Fellows is Monday 3 December 2018. Once the closing date for Fellows’ applications and references has passed we will upload all applications submitted to each host organisation to a folder in Huddle so that they can assess them and finalise their selections. Selections should be made to the Commission through Huddle. Full guidance will be given on using Huddle.
Apply Now for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2019
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2019