WILLIAM J. CLINTON FELLOWSHIP FOR SERVICE IN INDIA
ADAPTATION, IMMERSION, TRANSFORMATION

The Fellowship pairs a select number of highly skilled young professionals with leading NGOs and social enterprises in India in order to accelerate impact and create effective projects that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable. Through ten months of service and fieldwork, Fellows gain knowledge of development on the ground in the fields of education, livelihoods, public health, and social enterprise, honing and harnessing their growing skills as change agents capable of effecting lasting change. Together, Fellows and development sector leaders form dynamic partnerships to exchange knowledge and skills while sharing their passion and commitment to open new ways of looking at the world – ultimately transforming both the individual and organization.

BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF GLOBAL LEADERS

In its vision to build a lasting bridge between the United States and India, the Fellowship has expanded to incorporate young professional Indians to work side by side with fellows from the US, providing an exciting opportunity for the future leaders of both nations to strengthen ties in service to the underprivileged, leading to an ever-greater platform for collaborative learning and impacting our communities in deeper and more profound ways.

“The past ten months have been as challenging as any time I can remember in my life, but as a consequence I’ve grown more professionally and personally than I could have hoped to otherwise.”
— Kishore Eechambadi, AIF Fellow, Class Of 2010-11
The Fellowship creates a community of socially engaged, global citizens who represent the leaders of tomorrow. Alumni of the program are leaders in international development, academia, journalism, business, entrepreneurship, public health, and other fields. Together they represent a collective force for sustaining a long-term agenda dedicated towards change in India.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

WHAT KIND OF EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND SKILLS ARE REQUIRED?

Ideal candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, both professional and academic. As Fellows are placed with organizations that have expressed a need for certain skill sets in order to accomplish specific projects, the desired skills for Fellowship candidates can be very diverse. The selection criteria for a successful Fellow includes the following attributes:

• General knowledge of the development field and development issues in India
• Ability to demonstrate a humble appreciation of other cultures and circumstances, and a willingness to acclimate to these differences
• Thoughtful consideration for the role the Fellowship experience will play in their life
• Ability and willingness to independently and creatively find ways to be helpful at their host organization
• Flexibility and adaptability to challenging living and working conditions
• Local language skills are not required, but considered a highly valuable asset

 

WHAT ARE THE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS?

 

Fluency in English is required. It is not a requirement for Fellows to speak the local language, however it is considered a valuable skill in the selection process and taken into consideration when placing Fellows with NGOs. Appropriate language abilities are very useful and tend to enable the Fellows to integrate more seamlessly with their host NGO and surrounding communities. Local language ability is usually required in rural placement settings.

 

HOW DOES THE APPLICATION PROCESS WORK?

Applications open annually in the Fall for the program cycle the following year (September – June). The application consists of a series of essays and letters of recommendation, which are hosted online. After the application period closes, the applications are reviewed by AIF staff, stakeholders, and other development experts in both the United States and India. Applications are graded through a standardized numeric scale; those that meet the criteria advance to the interview process. These candidates will be invited for an initial screening interview held via Skype with AIF staff. A select group of candidates will be invited to a second round of interviews held in person with, and successful candidates will be notified of their acceptance thereafter.

WHAT IF I CANNOT MAKE IT TO AN IN-PERSON INTERVIEW DUE TO BEING OUTSIDE THE USA OR INDIA?

AIF conducts interviews via Skype for those candidates currently outside of the USA or India that are thus not able to attend in-person interviews.

 

HOW MANY REFERENCES DOES AIF REQUIRE?

AIF requires two references. Upon completion of your application, your references will be contacted automatically by email and asked to complete an online form that addresses your ability to succeed on the Fellowship. Your references should be able to address your work ethic, your cultural adaptability, your communication skills and work style, and your career goals. We request that you provide references familiar with you in an academic or professional setting. References should NOT be family or friends.

HOW DO I SUBMIT MY LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION?

Recommendation letters are part of the online application. When you fill out the page in the application which asks contact details of the people writing your recommendations, our system will generate an automatic email request to your referrers with instructions and a link to answer some questions, which they will then submit online through our system. Recommendations are not accepted via mail or e-mail.

 

HOW DOES PLACEMENT WITH A HOST ORGANIZATION WORK?

During the selection process, we take note of the skill sets and career aspirations of potential Fellows to match them with appropriate organizations.  Once selected, we provide each Fellow with several options for placements while providing host organizations with Fellow profiles to review at the same time. In the event that a Fellow has very specialized skills that are of clear benefit to a particular organization,  AIF may choose to only provide one placement option. Both the Fellows and host organizations rank their preferences, and AIF then makes the final placement based on these rankings as well as a deeper understanding of the Fellow and the partner organization. We make every effort to place incoming Fellows according to their first or second choices, although it is not possible to guarantee these.

CAN I APPLY FOR A FELLOWSHIP AND WORK AT AN ORGANIZATION OF MY CHOICE THAT IS NOT A PARTNER OF AIF?

No. Only pre-vetted organizations can host Fellows. This is done to ensure that the organization will be able to provide the level of support expected by AIF and will be invested in the professional growth of Fellows they host.

 

PROGRAM QUESTIONS

 

WHAT ARE THE FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS?

All Fellows are expected to complete the full ten months of service, while upholding basic values and principles of trust, honesty, and integrity. Fellows are expected to embrace and engage with multiple challenges, and take a lot of initiative in the structuring and completion of their projects.
Fellows must abide by host organization work calendars and work complete workweeks in accordance with organizational policy and procedure, which commonly involves working Saturdays. Fellows are also required to attend all program events, including Orientation, Midpoint and Endpoint conferences.
Fellows must submit monthly progress reports on the status of their Fellowship and specific projects, and more detailed reports at midpoint and endpoint, including end of service documents to detail their projects and experience of the program upon completion of the Fellowship.  A final important requirement of the Fellowship is an active, ongoing contribution to AIF’s online community through blogging. Each Fellow is required to blog monthly following an annual workplan with specific deliverables and milestones.

DOES AIF PAY FOR MY LIVING EXPENSES?

For American Fellows, AIF provides a roundtrip ticket from the USA to India, along with insurance coverage and a monthly stipend. For Indian Fellows, AIF provides domestic travel from their hometowns in India, insurance coverage, and a monthly stipend. The monthly stipends are intended to provide rent, utilities, transportation to and from work, language classes, personal expenses, and food. Fellows are asked to live simply and cost-effectively on par with the local staff of their organizations, and are encouraged to have roommates, live with less furniture than they are used to, to take public transportation whenever available and to cook for themselves. When applying for the Fellowship, it is important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of urban and rural placements due to the cost differences associated with both

DO FELLOWS TRAVEL FOR THEIR PROJECTS?

Travel depends entirely on the placement and project. Some placements require travel to villages in surrounding areas for fieldwork while others are more administrative, requiring little to no travel within an office setting. A few placements will require constant travel to various partner offices and/or field sites. When selecting preferences for projects, Fellows should carefully consider whether they would like to travel extensively or whether they prefer to be based in one place.

WILL I GET TO TRAVEL WHILE I AM IN INDIA? WHAT IS THE VACATION POLICY?

Each Fellow receives up to two weeks of vacation time during the ten-month Fellowship, pending approval from the host organization. Fellows placed at host organizations with a Saturday workday receive 20 days vacation time. The costs of vacation and personal travel will be borne by the Fellow.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I GET SICK? GET INTO AN ACCIDENT? WHAT HEALTH FACILITIES AND SUPPORT EXIST?

AIF Fellows are covered under a health insurance policy for emergencies that involve hospitalization. As health and safety issues are very region-specific, each Fellow will complete an orientation upon arrival at their host organization, which includes information on local health facilities. The host organization will be responsible for helping Fellows arrange for proper care in case of ill health. If a serious health condition arises, AIF will ensure that the Fellow has full support.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING ORIENTATION? WHAT ARE MIDPOINT AND ENDPOINT?

Orientation is a two-week program designed to provide an intensive and thorough acclimation and training to support all aspects of the Fellowship. The orientation provides an overview of political, economic, and societal aspects of development in India to set the context for NGO projects and the chance to interact with experts in the field. Orientation also provides the opportunity for the Fellowship class to get to know each other, meet the AIF staff, and have discussions about what 10 months on the Fellowship will be like.

Midpoint and endpoint are less structured “conferences” focused on reflection and learning. Midpoint allows Fellows to get together for a break and reflect upon their experiences thus far and discuss their projects, focusing on the challenges they are facing and discussing potential solutions with peers. Endpoint is the culminating activity of the Fellowship, offering time for reflection, feedback, and thoughts on returning home and what lies ahead.

Midpoint and endpoint are less structured “conferences” focused on reflection and learning. Midpoint allows Fellows to get together for a break and reflect upon their experiences thus far and discuss their projects, focusing on the challenges they are facing and discussing potential solutions with peers. Endpoint is the culminating activity of the Fellowship, offering time for reflection, feedback, and thoughts on returning home and what’s next.

 

GENERAL

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL FELLOWSHIP PROJECTS?

• Developed a dal procurement, processing and marketing operation in Udaipur
• Designed and implemented programs for HIV positive and HIV affected children
• Managed documentary/animation films and photo essays in Bangalore and Delhi schools
• Created and implemented solid waste management plan and system for Muzaffarpur, a city of 3.7 million
• Conducted a detailed assessment of a group of restored water tanks in rural Tamil Nadu
• Created innovative teaching kits for government schools

WILL AIF SUPPORT LANGUAGE TRAINING BEFORE OR DURING THE FELLOWSHIP?

Fellows may choose to hire a language tutor if they desire to learn the local language. The stipends are structured to allow for 2 lessons a week.

WHAT ARE ALUMNI DOING NOW?

With almost 300 graduates, Fellowship Alumni have followed a staggering diversity of career and life paths after the Fellowship. Many have continued on to pursue graduate studies including Masters and Doctoral work in areas such as urban planning, public health, and international development. Alumni have also gone on to professional schools including law, education and medicine. Others have chosen to remain in India and have joined the development sector, including several Fellows who have founded their own enterprises. Some alumni have returned to jobs they held before the Fellowship period, while others embark upon new professional paths, including work in the public sector (government agencies such as the Department of State), private (law, venture capital), and the NGO sector both here in the US and abroad.

CAN I SPEAK TO A FELLOWSHIP ALUM?

If you would like to speak with an alumnus, please contact us and specify what area of work and in what region you are particularly interested. AIF staff will provide you with an alumni contact.