Advocacy Fellowships Guidelines

The Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowships fund outstanding individuals—including lawyers, advocates, grassroots organizers, activist academics, and others with unique perspectives—to initiate innovative policy advocacy projects at the local, state, and national levels that will have a measurable impact on one or more of the Open Society Institute’s U.S. criminal justice reform priorities. Projects may range from litigation to public education to coalition-building to grassroots mobilization to action research.

Advocacy fellowships are 18 months in duration, may be implemented in conjunction with a host organization, and can begin in either April or September of 2010. There are two Advocacy Fellowship tracks: Advocacy Track I, designed for new and emerging leaders; and Advocacy Track II, aimed at individuals with a demonstrated record of achievement and expertise in their fields.

Individuals with projects that propose, as their primary purpose, the completion of books, print or radio journalism, documentary film or video, or other similar media should apply for the Soros Justice Media Fellowships.

Note: Please be aware that the Soros Justice Fellowships Program is separate and distinct from the Open Society Fellowship, an OSI program that supports individuals seeking innovative and unconventional approaches to fundamental open society challenges. While both fellowship programs share a common interest in open society issues generally, the Soros Justice Fellowships have an express focus on U.S. criminal justice issues.