Newly selected Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellows have the opportunity to choose the organization with which they will work. Fellows are offered advice and objective guidance on the groups they are considering from the Scoville board members, past and present fellows, and fellowship staff.
Each new Scoville Fellow gets to choose an organization that best suits his or her experience, education, and substantive interests. The organizations in turn meet with Scoville finalists ahead of their fellowship interviews; this process helps both finalists and organizations understand how potential fellows’ experience and interests might fit with organizations’ goals and needs. Once they each select an organization and begin their fellowships, Scoville Fellows have the opportunity to support research and/or advocacy efforts, and may undertake projects that their organizations may not have the capacity to initiate otherwise.
Each Scoville Fellow is supervised at the host organization by senior level staff. Fellows work on such issues as the control of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction; conventional arms sales; energy and environmental security; and regional security and peacekeeping. Depending on the fellow’s experience, the organization chosen, and the projects assigned, fellows may have the opportunity to conduct research for others in their office and write articles, blogs, factsheets, letters to the editor, op-eds, and reports. Fellows frequently help organize talks and conferences sponsored by their host organization, and participate in advocacy activities. Such activities may include the building of public awareness through outreach, participation in strategy and the crafting of effective messaging on an issue. Fellows may focus on a single project or topic for the duration of their fellowship or might work on several issues concurrently or sequentially.
The fellowship is not intended to provide office space for independent research that is unrelated to the work of the host organization. Fellows may also have the opportunity to attend coalition meetings, congressional hearings, and policy briefings. The program arranges meetings for the fellows with policy experts to facilitate discussions of issues and solicit career advice. Through their various activities, fellows have the opportunity to meet a broad network of people and learn about and experience the processes related to peace and security issues in Washington, DC.
Upon beginning their fellowships, fellows sign a free standing contract with his/her supervisors. The contract outlines the project(s) that the fellow will work on during the fellowship period as well as the products–research, publications, conferences–that will result. They also sign a document, prepared by the fellowship, that lists the expectations of the program and outlines the responsibilities of each host organization and fellow. These documents help both the fellow and his/her host organization understand the parameters of the fellowship. Each new fellow also selects two mentors–one an alum of the program, the other a member of the Scoville Fellowship board of directors–to provide counsel and support.