WHAT IS THE PATHY FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP?

The Pathy Foundation Fellowship is an intensive 12-month opportunity for graduating students (undergraduate or Masters) from five partner universities (Bishop’s, McGill, Carleton, uOttawa, Queen’s, and StFX) who have an existing meaningful connection with a community anywhere in the world and an innovative initiative idea to strengthen that community. Fellows are provided with comprehensive training, dedicated ongoing support and up to $40,000 to make a sustainable impact in their chosen community and to support their growth as active and effective leaders and change-makers.
The year-long Fellowship is designed for students who have:
  • demonstrated the capacity and potential to develop as effective change-agents;
  • a meaningful connection with a community of their choosing, locally, nationally or internationally; and
  • EITHER an innovative idea of how this community could be strengthened or developed; OR
  • a connection with a positive and sustainable community development initiative in any field already underway within this community that they would like to build upon in an innovative way.
Upon selection to the program, Fellows are provided with up to $40,000 to contribute to:
  • a living allowance (including housing, food, local transport and insurance);
  • travel and travel-related expenses, to cover airfares to and from home locations and the community (if required), and, for those traveling internationally, such things as visas, immunizations and health insurance; and
  • initiative funding, to cover expenses such as start-up and operational costs.

Candidates do not need to develop a completed plan at application stage, but rather have an interesting and innovative idea of something that could strengthen the community that can then be further developed in the first few months of the program, informed by the on-campus and distance learning components.

BENEFITS OF THE FELLOWSHIP

Professional Development

You will learn how to pitch, plan, budget, implement, evaluate, and report on a socially-innovative project. You will develop as a leader and gain valuable connections and in-demand skills as you kickstart your career.

Personal Growth

With personal leadership coaching you will tap into and enhance your capacities as an individual and leader. You will set and achieve areas of personal growth and development and build competencies that will serve you for life.

Community Engagement

You will learn how to find creative solutions to community priorities through tangible participatory tools. You will be introduced to leading development approaches, practices and principles.

KEY FEATURES OF THE FELLOWSHIP

Fellows are afforded significant flexibility to optimize their opportunity for learning and growth, whilst being offered sufficient guiding support to create a safe and supportive environment to progress efficiently and effectively through the Fellowship.

Fellows learn how to find creative and collaborative solutions to community priorities through experiential learning. Fellows are introduced to the Coady Institute’s innovative and blended approach to citizen-led, community-driven, asset-based community development and tangible participatory tools. Fellows will connect with other change-makers and will create and gain valuable networks within their community.

Fellows are introduced to all elements of the design, development, mobilization, and management of a socially-innovative community project (e.g., pitching, planning, budgeting, implementing, evaluating and reporting). Fellows develop as a leader and gain valuable connections and in-demand skills.

With dedicated personal leadership coaching, fellows tap into and enhance their capacities as an individual and leader, focusing on internally-driven intentions for areas of growth and development. Fellows face and overcome personal and professional challenges, building competencies that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

Fellows have personalized support in the form of personal development and leadership coaching. Personal coaching enables each fellow to reflect on their individual leadership style and set intentions for areas of personal growth and development. Check-ins with the leadership coach occur periodically throughout the Fellowship, are non-prescriptive, and follow the pace set by each Fellow.

Fellows have continual support from, unfettered access to, and periodic check-ins with the program coordinator. During check-ins, fellows are encouraged to discuss their reflections on the nuances of their projects, significant learning moments, successes, concerns, and all things related to the Fellowship experience. Fellows receive informed, constructive feedback and resource suggestions, discuss and fine-tune project activity details, and receive leadership, skills-development and emotional support.

Each Fellow is paired up with Coady Institute staff and associates who have significant experience in various areas within development. Fellows have the opportunity to work closely with these resource people who act as knowledgeable supports for project development, idea stimulation and network access; these staff members are experts in their field who Fellows are able to contact on a one-on-one basis for technical support and expertise throughout project planning and implementation.

Fellows develop and lean on a co-created system of peer support throughout the Fellowship. Triads (small group/Fellow pairings), and the cohort at large are unique, self-sustaining, and rich peer supports, where Fellows can provide and benefit from peer feedback, emotional support, shared learning, and resources. Fellows will build and sustain a community with their peers, and learn from and contribute to the diversity of experience which creates the fabric of the cohort.

The Pathy Alumnx network brings Fellowship graduates together through commonalities of experience to a space where past Fellows can continue to grow and contribute to the Pathy learning space with future Fellows and peer-to-peer engagement. The prestige of this Fellowship extends into the Alumnx space, where the collective wisdom and experience of former Fellows continues to benefit individuals and the program at large. As Fellows, and upon graduation, new cohorts will have access to this growing network of change-makers.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Applications open every year in early September, and close in early January. Following the review of applications, up to 20 shortlisted candidates will be invited and funded to attend a centrally conducted Selection Process in Montreal, consisting of participatory and interactive activities with the other candidates along with an individual interview with the Selection Committee. All shortlisted candidates MUST make themselves available to attend the Selection Days (and potentially travel days either side).

Each cohort of up to 12 Fellows will participate in:

  • The Foundations for Community Change (FCC) experiential learning component on-campus at the Coady Institute during which Fellows are introduced to the Coady approach to development; self-assessment and analysis of leadership styles and interactions with others; introduction to Fellows’ personal coaching sessions; working equitably with communities; and participatory project planning and management, including such topics as financial management and monitoring, evaluation and learning.
  • A Transition Phase (TP) during which Fellows return home and further develop their initiatives based on learning from FCC. TP includes regular check-ins with peers and Coady, along with further distance-based learning and planning before beginning the Community Phase.
  • The Community Phase is when Fellows will work in and with their identified communities. During this phase, Fellows will receive ongoing support and distance learning from Coady, as well as regular sessions with the Fellows’ personal coach.
  • A Debriefing in Montréal when Fellows will evaluate personal and professional growth, outcomes from the community phase, next steps, and complete visioning of possibilities in their journey as change-makers.

* Please note that the program only covers travel within Canada for candidates and Fellows.

Table of fellowship schedule
Table of fellowship schedule
Table of fellowship schedule
Table of fellowship schedule

All dates subject to change*

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