Why you should apply
The Action Canada Fellowship is a unique opportunity to discover Canada, upgrade your understanding of public policy processes, refine your leadership skills and build a community of other dedicated leaders.
Each year, we select Fellows from a wide variety of backgrounds—both personal and professional—who want to have a significant impact on how public policy is made in their communities and across Canada.
In A Few Words
Who should apply
We are looking for emerging leaders who:
- Are curious;
- Have an intense desire to learn and understand Canada and its future public policy choices better;
- Have the courage to share, collect, analyse and appreciate different perspectives;
- Inspire change by identifying potential areas to influence and asking difficult questions intended to understand trade-offs;
- Are interested in self-reflection and stretching themselves as leaders;
- Are excited by the idea of collaborative leadership, working in teams and taking action;
- Are open to develop real relationships and long-lasting friendships with a diverse group of leaders;
- Want to engage in civic engagement and dialogue;
- Have a track record of leadership, work experience, achievement and impact in their respective field or community; and
- Can commit to an intensive and immersive learning experience consisting of four week-long study tours.
To note:
- There are no fees associated with the participation in the Fellowship program;
- All costs associated with the Fellowship (travel, material, meals, etc.) are covered by the Fellowship program;
- The Action Canada Fellowship is open to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents;
- There is no age limit for Action Canada Fellows;
- We accept applications from all sectors, regions in Canada, in English and French;
- Bilingualism is not a selection criterion;
- Each Action Canada Fellowship cohort aims to reflect the country’s diversity in geography, cultures, political views, economic background, language and gender, and represent a mix of academic and professional experiences; and
- We are committed to reducing barriers to applying to ensure all interested individuals can apply.
How to apply
The application process for the 2023/24 Action Canada Fellowship is now closed. Applications will reopen in winter 2024.
To be considered, applications need to include the following elements:
- Basic information about yourself (i.e. address, date of birth);
- A curriculum vitae form (short bio, professional and education experience, community engagement, recognitions, etc.); and
- A letter of motivation that should address some of the following questions:
- What do you hope to achieve by participating in the Action Canada Fellowship?
- Your aspirations and plans for your future;
- Your leadership skills and experiences as well as areas of development and improvement;
- The importance of civic engagement, and your desire to make a contribution to Canada;
- Your ability to transform ideas into action; and
- Your ability to respect and understand new and different perspectives in addressing public policy issues.
The selection process is made up of three stages and all candidates will be informed of whether they have passed to the next stage of the process or not:
- Applications for the Action Canada Fellowship are typically open from early January to mid-March each year. Once the application process closes, the selection committee will evaluate the completed applications based on the selection criteria (see below for criteria).
- The selection committee will invite the applicants who were selected for phase two to submit a 1300 word written text on a public policy topic to be completed as well as up to two reference letters that explain how you satisfy the selection criteria.
- Applicants who were selected for phase three will be invited to a 30-minute online, one-on-one interview before a 30-minute online interview with the National Selection Committee along with a short group activity with other candidates.
Important
If you have any questions about the application process that are not addressed by the Frequently Asked Questions page, please do not hesitate to send an email or reach us via Facebook or Twitter.
Selection criteria
- Recent record of leadership, achievement and impact;
- Open-mindedness, curiosity, energy, courage to learn new things and acquire new experiences;
- Demonstrated teamwork ability and interest in working with others;
- A passion for Canada, with the potential to become a leader in Canada and the commitment to make a positive contribution to Canada; and
- A noted interest in public policy and its importance as a tool for positive change.
Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents to be considered for selection. There is no age limit for applicants interested in the Fellowship.
Each Action Canada Fellowship cohort aims to reflect the country’s diversity in geography, cultures, political views, economic background, language and gender, and represent a mix of academic and professional experiences. The Public Policy Forum is committed to reducing barriers to applying to ensure all interested individuals can apply.
For inquiries, please email us.
Commitment
The Action Canada Fellowship program is an intensive and immersive learning and development experience for Fellows and will demand your full presence, active participation and openness to learn, be challenged, and take charge of your own leadership development.
In addition to your presence and active participation in all of the AC sessions and study tours, we are asking fellows to take on the following roles and responsibilities:
- Task Force project: Fellows will be divided into three Task Force teams at the beginning of the program and will independently, but with the support of the Action Canada team and their assigned mentor, develop a policy and research project and jointly write a policy report to be presented at the end of the program.
- Op-eds: Each Fellow is tasked to write an op-ed on the year’s policy theme or another topic of their choice.
- Blogs or vlogs: Each Fellow will be asked to write a blog and record a vlog for one of the study tours that will be published on the Action Canada website to capture and share the experience.
- Discussant lead: Each Fellow will be tasked several times over the program year with taking on the role of a discussant lead for discussion with guest speakers.
- Public policy videos and podcasts: Fellow will be asked to participate in the creation of videos and podcasts about public policy-making.
The approximate time commitment for fellows over the 10-month Fellowship program is six to eight weeks of intensive full-time work. We strongly encourage you to consider this carefully before applying and discuss the commitment with (if applicable) your employer, team, family, partner and broader support system.
In keeping with PPF’s mandate, the Action Canada Fellowship program is also designed to engage and inform a wider audience of Canadians around policy issues, especially a younger audience (30 and under). We will do that by using new channels and ways to communicate public policy ideas such as short videos, place-based vlogs, podcasts, social media channels (Instagram, Twitter, etc.) as well as crowdsourcing platforms.
Annually, the reports and blogs are accessed more than 5,000 times and the website as a whole receives over 31,000 individual visitors who view more than 80,000 individual pages. The program generates more than 200,000 social media impressions annually.
We prioritize the development of Indigenous leaders and strongly encourage Indigenous candidates from across the country to apply. We also encourage emerging leaders who might not yet have had the opportunity to build meaningful connections with other Canadians outside their existing networks and daily life to apply. Leadership can take many different forms. There is no minimum educational or professional requirement to become an Action Canada Fellow.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. All candidates can apply for this program.
No, there is no age limit or minimum age to apply.
All application documents must be submitted online by Sunday, March 19, 2023 at midnight EDT.
It should include:
- What do you hope to achieve by participating in the Action Canada Fellowship?
- Your aspirations and plans for your future;
- Your leadership skills and experiences as well as areas of need for development and improvement;
- The importance of civic engagement to you, and desire to make a contribution to Canada;
- Your ability to transform ideas into action; and
- Your ability to respect and understand new and different perspectives in addressing public policy issues.
The candidate provides the contact information for one to two referees in the application portal. It will automatically generate a request to each referee to upload a short letter of reference in support of the candidate’s application. If you have any issues with this, please send us an email.
Applications should be addressed to the Action Canada Fellowship, National Selection Committee.
The Fellowship is open to individuals from all sectors and professions. Prior or current studies in a particular discipline or a specific type of work experience are not requirements of this program.
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
No. While the commitment to participate in the Action Canada Fellowship is substantial (approximately seven to eight weeks in total over the 10-month Fellowship), participation in this program can be undertaken in conjunction with the applicant’s regular work or studies with their employer’s or educational institution’s support.
The time commitment is substantial (approximately seven to eight weeks in total over the 10-month Fellowship) and it is a part-time program. Fellows must be available to travel and participate in four, four-to-eight-day (at times scheduled around weekends) intensive study tours. Study tours will be held in different communities across Canada. Additionally, Fellows generally have meetings with their task forces once a week over the fellowship year to work on their research project. Fellows must also attend all virtual sessions, draft an op-ed, and contribute a blog/vlog or social media coverage.
This year’s program will begin in June 2023 and conclude in March 2024. Fellows must be available for the entirety of each study tour and all virtual sessions according to the following schedule.
- Week of June 18-25, 2023
- Week of Sept. 17-24, 2023
- Week of Nov. 12-19, 2023
- Week of Feb. 25-March 2, 2024
Fellows must also participate in virtual intersessions from 7-9 p.m. ET on the following Wednesdays:
- June 7, 2023
- July 19, 2023
- Aug. 23, 2023
- Oct. 11, 2023
- Nov. 1, 2023
- Dec. 13, 2023
- Jan. 10, 2024
- Jan. 31, 2024
Travel and accommodation costs for all components of the program are covered by the program. Meals are also provided as part of each study tour. Certain costs may be covered for virtual programming. For additional questions, please contact the Action Canada/PPF team at actioncanada@ppforum.ca.
