"This has been singlehandedly the best experience of my life.  I’ve learned a lot about myself, a lot about government, but really verified what I want to do in life and where I want to go."

Benefits

Fellows are placed in full-time positions in a single municipal office during their service year. Fellows work 4.5 days/week as special project assistants for a senior-level city administrator or official. Placements give Fellows the opportunity to work on high-level municipal initiatives that are important to the mission of the host agency and/or the City.

Because both City Hall Fellows and our host cities are committed to placing Fellows in a position where there is great need for their talents and skills, as well as where there is the potential for a strong working relationship with a workplace supervisor, the work placements typically are not finalized until the beginning of each service year.Fellows participate in a matching process during orientation to determine their work placements.Check out the 2009 Fellows' and 2010 Fellows' pages to see the types of placements Fellows have had.

Fellows participate in City Hall Fellows’ proprietary Civic Leadership Development Program. This intensive and comprehensive training spans the entire service year. It begins with a 3-week orientation followed by weekly ½-day sessions. The CLDP exposes Fellows to the history, organization and politics of their host city, helps them gain an in-depth understanding of city mechanics (such as the budget process and civil service) and enables them to tour city facilities, explore public policy issues facing America's cities and dialogue with leading city officials and other policy makers and policy influencers about the mechanics, politics and challenges of local governance. The CLDP includes trips to the state capital and Washington, DC to explore the relationships between city/state and city/federal government.

Fellows receive a living stipend. Compensation may vary by locale.  Fellows also receive a reasonable number of personal or vacation days, commensurate with those provided to first-year municipal employees in their host city.

After completing the program in good standing, Fellows are included in a prestigious alumni network to continue learning from each other and supporting each other’s work.Alumni activities are directed by an Alumni Board.


12-month Commitment

The Fellowship year runs August 1 through July 31, annually. All Fellows start and end their Fellowship on the same date (typically the first workday in August and the last workday in July). Thus, Fellows must be in their host city and available to participate full-time in the Fellowship during the entire service year.

Attendance at all CLDP Events

Our proprietary Civic Leadership Development Training Program is an integral component of the Fellowship experience. Fellows must attend all CLDP sessions, and all other non-Placement Fellowship-related activities run by City Hall Fellows, regardless of whether or not those activities take place during regular working hours. Those activities may include, but are not limited to: orientation programs, regular weekly CLDP training sessions, trips to the state capital and Washington, DC, meetings regarding service projects, conferences and networking events. Fellows are required to attend and participate in all of these events, except in the unusual circumstance of illness or family emergency.

Completion of Service Projects

During the year Fellows perform individual and group service projects (in the form of policy evaluations, analyses and recommendations) as part of the CLDP. These projects are designed to directly engage Fellows in their topics of interest, tie together the applied skills, academic information, and local knowledge that Fellows acquire during the year, and provide Fellows with work product that will be useful in applying for post-Fellowship academic and professional opportunities. The service projects also provide the host cities with analysis, data, and viewpoints they may not be able to generate internally. There are a total of three service projects during the program. Fellows must complete all assigned service projects to complete this program in good standing.

No Outside Work or Schooling

The Fellowship is an intensive, full-time experience. Thus, Fellows may not participate in or attend any degree-granting educational program during their service year. Likewise, Fellows may not work in a paid position for any entity other than their host city government or City Hall Fellows during their service year, except in unusual circumstances of extreme financial hardship. However, during their service year Fellows may apply to other jobs or graduate school programs that begin after the service year ends.

Compliance with Host City Rules and Regulations

As a representative of your host City in your capacity as a Fellow, Fellows must abide by all of the rules and regulations applicable to regular City employees. For example, Fellows might be required, prior to or during their service year, to complete paperwork, attend training, undergo drug testing or do other acts required of City employees. Participation in the Fellowship is subject to a Fellow’s fulfillment of any such requirements. Fellows who violate a host City’s policies may be expelled from the Fellowship program.