ICMA invites U.S. cities and counties to host professionals from Indonesia and Timor-Leste who will come to the United States in 2014 to participate in the Legislative Process and Governance Professional Fellows Program. 

The goal of the program is to promote learning and knowledge exchange among key local government professionals from the participating countries. It will be carried out through exchange visits focusing on the themes of legislative process and governance, especially citizen engagement, transparency, and accountability. 

The U.S. Department of State selected ICMA to manage the program, based in part on our successful implementation of the Professional Fellows Program since 2010.

Prospective hosts can apply by downloading the application form and submitting it by January 31, 2014. The form outlines the requirements for host communities and provides sample responses to help you complete it. As a host community, your city or county would be expected to:

• Host two (2) international Fellows
• Provide an opportunity for the Fellows to work on a project or initiative that seeks to increase community engagement
• Provide cultural enrichment experiences (home stays or visits, field trips, community events)
• Assign a staff person to manage and supervise the Fellows’ work and related activities
• Make in-kind cost-share contributions of labor and direct expenses such as local transportation and office space (travel, accommodations, meals, and associated costs for the Fellows are covered by the program)
• Nominate a professional from your staff to participate in a reciprocal international Fellowship.

Thirty Asian/Pacific Fellows in two cohorts will spend four and a half weeks in the United States next May and October. They will spend the first few days in Washington, D.C., for an orientation, travel to host communities for three weeks, and then return to Washington for a Professional Fellows Congress.

Ten U.S. Fellows, drawn from those who host the international participants, will then travel to their counterpart’s organization for two-week fellowships in August 2014 and February 2015.

ICMA is partnering with Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA), and the Association of Indonesian Municipalities (APESKI) to select the Asian/Pacific participants and identify host country communities. LGMA and APEKSI are ICMA International Affiliates.

The exchange is a part of the Professional Fellows Program, which is sponsored by the Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program brings several hundred emerging leaders from around the world to the United States each year for intensive fellowships designed to broaden their professional expertise. In 2012-13, for example, the program encompassed 16 separate projects focusing on three themes:  Economic Empowerment, Legislative Process and Governance, and Media. A total of 239 Fellows from 50 countries and territories worldwide participated.

If you have questions about the exchange or about the application, contact Lauren Crawford (lcrawford@icma.org) or Shraddha Kharel-Pandey (skharelpandey@icma.org).

To learn more about ICMA’s international programs, visit the ICMA International website and the International Development topic area in the Knowledge Network, or e-mail international@icma.org.