Congressional Fellowship Application Form [PDF]

Congressional Fellowship Program Guidelines

INTRODUCTION:

The Institute of Navigation supports the Congressional Fellowship program to bring an ION member to Washington, DC to work for a year. Below is a brief overview of ION's Congressional Fellowship program and the application procedures.

PURPOSE:

The ION's Congressional Fellowship program was created to make practical contributions to the more effective use of scientific and technical knowledge in government, to educate the navigation and engineering community regarding the public policy process, and to broaden the perspective of the science, engineering and governmental communities regarding the value of such interaction.

PROGRAM:

The ION Congressional Fellowship program is patterned after the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Government Fellows Program and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Engineering Fellowship Programs. Eligible ION members are competitively selected to serve a one-year fellowship consisting of an appointment to the personal staff of a U.S. Senator or Representative, or to the professional staff of a Congressional Committee. The fellows selected interview for positions and choose their own assignments with guidance from Capitol Hill, AAAS and ION.

The ION will select one Congressional Fellow each year. Selections are made on the basis of applications and interviews with the ION's Congressional/Executive Fellows Selection Committee, which is composed of three ION members. The committee's recommendations must be approved by the ION Executive Committee.

Once selected, fellows are required to participate in a two-week orientation organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. (held in September). The ION reimburses the fellows for orientation fees and living expenses.

STIPEND:

During the fellowship year, ION Congressional Fellows receive a stipend of $68,360. A supplementary stipend of up to ten percent of this stipend may also be negotiated for travel and moving expenses each way associated with the Fellowship, with a cap not to exceed $8,000.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Fellowship selections are based on technical competence, on ability to serve in a public environment, and on evidence of service to the Institute and the profession. Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of selection and must be a current ION member. They must also have a minimum of eight years responsible navigation experience in engineering programs, university teaching, or independent research; or have six years of such experience and a master's degree in engineering or qualified science; or have three years of such experience and a doctoral degree in engineering or qualified science. Additional criteria may be established by the Congressional/Executive Fellows Selection Committee. Specifically excluded as selection criteria are age, sex, creed, race, ethnic background, partisan political affiliations and disabilities as defined by the American's with Disabilities Act.

APPLICATIONS:

Applications for the Congressional Fellowship Program are solicited year round with an application deadline of March 15, 2009 for fellowships beginning the subsequent year. A notice soliciting applications is typically placed in issue(s) of ION NEWSLETTER and announced at the ION Conferences. An application package is available on this website. For additional information, contact the ION National Office:

Government Fellows Program
The Institute of Navigation
8551 Rixlew Lane, Suite 360
Manassas, Virginia 20109
Tel: (703) 366-2723
Fax: (703) 366-2724
Email: candren@ion.org