The Just Tech Fellowship selection process has been designed with fairness and accountability as primary objectives. With this fellowship, the Just Tech program is working to bring new voices and perspectives into conversation, maximizing impact and avenues of collaboration across fields and practices.

Only people who submitted an expression of interest by January 2, 2022, will be eligible to submit a full application. Proposal consideration will not be based on the candidate’s response to this expression of interest.

Applications are reviewed only after the online application deadline has passed. Incomplete applications, and those that have not been submitted by the deadline, will not be accepted.

In February, Just Tech staff will screen applications for completeness and eligibility. Review and selection of complete applications will be led by the Just Tech Advisory Board and its Selection Committee, a cross-sector panel of experts. From mid-March through mid-April, top applicants may be contacted by Just Tech staff for a video/telephone interview, additional information, and/or clarification of information relevant to the application. All final selections will be made by mid-May. Those applicants chosen will be immediately notified by phone and email. All other applicants will be notified by email. 

Timeline and Process 

• Call for applications released – November 9, 2021
• Expression of interest form – due by January 2, 2022
• Application portal will open to those who submitted an EoI on January 3, 2021 
• Full application – due on January 30, 2022. Note: in order to access the full application portal, applicants must submit an expression of interest form between November 9, 2021 and January 2, 2022.
• Selection process – February to May 2022
• Selected fellows announcement – May 2022

Selection Criteria

Fellows will be selected on the basis of a rigorous review process. We will be looking for the following criteria in reviewing all applications:

• Critical Research Question: Applicants must state clearly what question(s) they seek to answer with a Just Tech Fellowship.
• Clarity of Purpose: Applicants should communicate how they would use their time as a fellow to systematically uncover evidence, build understanding, and shape public interest solutions to advance the goals of Just Tech. 
• Commitment to Program Themes: Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to research that engages purposefully with questions of technology, inequity, and social justice, especially as they relate to the cohort theme of “Crisis and Reparation.”
• Public Impact: Applicants should communicate how their proposed work will contribute to equity and social justice. Applicants should also demonstrate a track record of successful, public-facing work that engages broad audiences through different forms of media.
• Collaboration: Applicants should demonstrate a track record of successful collaboration, as well as a willingness to share, learn, and create with others.

Content of Complete Applications

Complete applications consist of a number of items that must be uploaded to the online application system:

Resume or CV: Up to three pages. The application portal will also allow applicants to submit a link to personal web pages.

Personal Statement: Applicants should submit a written or recorded (video) personal statement of up to 500 words (written) OR four (4) minutes (video). Among other things, personal statements should demonstrate the applicant’s:

• Knowledge and experience with a field of research or practice that engages substantively with tech and social justice questions.
• Engagement with the values and goals of the Just Tech program.
• Motivation for pursuing a Just Tech Fellowship.
• Ability to take practical advantage of a two-year, full-time fellowship.

Applicants should also indicate how time for the fellowship would be used and managed, especially vis-a-vis other responsibilities or work commitments.

Work Proposal: Applicants should submit a short proposal for a project that conducts or utilizes research to inform a public-facing and public interest project. Proposals should be no longer than 1,000 words.

The research proposal should describe a project that will contribute to knowledge, understanding, and/or solutions related to the cohort theme of “Crisis and Reparation.” The project should be one that the applicant can undertake individually. However, applicants are encouraged to imagine projects that might be augmented by collaboration, especially partnerships that would leverage skills, knowledge, or networks that the applicant does not possess on their own.

The proposal should include:

1. A research question (what critical question are you asking about technology and society?);
2. An explanation of the methods or approaches you would use to answer your question;
3. A tentative timeline of work;
4. Proposed outputs (what concrete outputs would you hope to create in the course of a fellowship?); and
5. Desired outcomes (what realizations, changes, or impact do you hope to create by doing this work?)

Just Tech Fellows will have considerable flexibility to begin new projects or modify them when new and relevant avenues for exploration emerge. Work proposals do not serve as obligations to be completed during the fellowship. Rather, these proposals are meant to showcase an applicant’s ability to leverage unique skills and expertise to understand phenomena related to the cohort theme.

Samples of Work: Applicants are encouraged (but not required) to share up to two (2) samples of relevant work. Visual and audio samples may be linked or uploaded via the application portal.