Audrey McGowan
CDDRL
Encina Hall
616 Serra Street
Stanford, CA 94305
(650) 736-4277 (voice)
(650) 724-2996 (fax)
ssfddadmin@stanford.edu

The Stanford Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program (SSFDD) is a three-week executive education program that is run annually on the Stanford campus by an interdisciplinary team of Stanford faculty. In 2009, the program will run from July 27 - August 14.

The program brings together a group of approximately 30 civic, political, and economic leaders from transitioning countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia. Stanford Summer Fellows are former prime ministers and presidential advisers, senators and attorneys general, journalists and civic activists, academics and members of the international development community. Since the program was introduced in 2005, we have typically received more than 800 applications each year.

• List of SSFDD alumni
• List of 2007 SSFDD fellows

Program Curriculum

For three weeks, fellows participate in morning seminars with a team of leading Stanford professors and professional research staff from Stanford Law School, the Graduate School of Business, the Economics and Political Science departments as well as the Hoover Institution. The program all-volunteer faculty include Michael McFaul, Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, Chip Blacker, Stanford President Emeritus Gerhard Casper, Larry Diamond, Avner Greif, Tom Heller, Peter Henry, Erik Jensen, Terry Karl, Helen Stacy, and Allen Weiner.

In the afternoons, prominent American business and political leaders, academics, and journalists talk about their experiences and professions, and fellows lead sessions themselves, sharing insight into how reform progressed (or failed to progress) in their home countries and exchanging ideas for positive change. Program speakers have included Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy; Joan Blades, co-founder of MoveOn.org; Marc Pomar, president of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX); Maria Rendon Labadan, Deputy Director, USAID; Judge Pamela Rymer, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and Tod Lindberg and Peter Berkowitz, Hoover Institution fellows.

In addition, Stanford Summer Fellows also visit leading companies in Silicon Valley, like Google and eBay, as well as media organizations like the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED Radio, and nonprofit organizations and foundations in the Bay Area.

Participants: Eligibility Criteria

This program is aimed at early to mid-career policymakers, academics, and leaders of civil society organizations (such as representatives of trade unions, nongovernmental organizations, the media, business and professional associations) who will play important roles in their country's political, economic, and social development. We anticipate recruiting a group of 25-30 individuals dedicated to democracy, development and rule of law promotion within their home countries (particularly in, but not limited to, the regions of the Middle East, Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and former Soviet Union).

Successful applicants will be proficient in spoken and written English and will have academic and practical credentials necessary to benefit fully from the course and actively contribute to programmatic discussions. The ideal course participant will have extraordinary motivation, at least three to five years of experience in a relevant field of democratic development, and a keen interest in learning and sharing knowledge and experiences in transforming his or her country.

Funding

Stanford will pay travel, accommodation, living expenses, and visa costs for the duration of the three-week program for a certain portion of applicants. Where possible, applicants are encouraged to supply some or all of their own funding from their current employers or international nongovernmental organizations.

Application Process

CDDRL will accept applications for the 2009 Stanford Summer Fellows programs beginning November 3, 2008, and ending January 11, 2009. Application decisions will be available no later than the first week of March, 2009.