Description
The Tranter-Leong Fellowship aims to:
- Enhance the professional development for the ICMA member.
- Further the local government management profession.
- Encourage ICMA membership and international affiliate relationships.
The ICMA Global Engagement Committee traditionally awards two fellowships of $5,000 each from the Tranter-Leong Fund per application cycle. One fellowship is for those who seek an experience in Asia and another fellowship is for those who seek an experience elsewhere, other than the United States or Canada.
The next application cycle for the Tranter-Leong Fellowship is now open and closes on December 2, 2024.
Guidance to Applicants
The review committee looks for the following items in a completed application:
- Relevance of proposed project to personal professional goals.
- Relevance of proposed project to home community needs.
- Appropriate explanation of use of funds, including explanation of source of additional funds, if necessary.
- Draft itinerary for proposed trip including list of potential meetings, events, or conferences that might be part of the trip.
- Letter of support from applicant's employer detailing how the trip will benefit the applicant and their employer.
- Letter of support from the host organization agreeing to take part in the fellowship, if the applicant is selected, and explaining how the fellowship will also benefit their community.
- Plan for sharing their experience with the greater ICMA membership.
Apply to the fellowship here.
Individuals with questions can contact Sophie Weyn at sweyn@icma.org.
Requirements
- The applicant must be an active member of ICMA and must have been a member for at least one year prior to the application deadline. Learn more about becoming a member of ICMA.
- Fellowship funds must be used for an experience outside the applicant’s home country. Examples can include the following or other similar activities:
- Conducting research.
- Teaching at an educational institution.
- Establishing a relationship with a local government association.
- Job shadowing in a host community.
- The individual award is $5,000. The applicant, if selected, is responsible for any expenses above that amount. A portion of the award (25% of the requested amount) can be disbursed in advance, with the rest payable upon submission of a detailed report at the end of the experience.
- These funds may not be used to repay student loans or to fund solely cultural experiences.
ICMA maintains contact with local government organizations around the world. If you are interested in working with one of these associations or with a local government in one of these countries, contact Sophie Weyn, assistant program manager, global engagement, at sweyn@icma.org for the facilitation of an introduction.
Fellowship Application Logistics
Successful fellowship applications are generally for a period of 10-14 days and involve a detailed itinerary of the plans for the proposed period. While each day does not have to be planned to the exact minute, the review committee is interested in the applicant's plans for each day, such as attending a conference, holding meetings with local government officials, or seeing examples of excellent service delivery.
Selection Process
Applicants will be evaluated by a selection committee led by the vice chair of the ICMA Global Engagement Committee.
About the Tranter-Leong Fellowship
The Tranter-Leong Fund was established at ICMA in 2017 through a generous donation from ICMA Life Member Revan A. F. Tranter, past ICMA president and first chair of the Global Engagement Committe (then called the International Committee) and Eugene Y. Leong. Each of these men served as executive director for the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in California. Upon retirement from ABAG, they started a fund to support interns at ABAG, and the fund later evolved to the Tranter-Leong Fund at ICMA. Under ICMA’s stewardship, the two donors and the leadership of the Global Engagement Committee will use the funds to advance ICMA’s commitment to international professional development.
Individuals with questions on the fellowship can contact Sophie Weyn at sweyn@icma.org.
