The Shuttleworth Foundation offers fellowships to individuals to support them in implementing their ideas for social change over the course of a year. The foundation is particularly interested in ideas at the intersection between openness, technology, knowledge, and learning—ideas that would enhance access to global knowledge and social and economic development.
Each fellowship provides for generous financial support, equivalent to a full year’s salary based on a fellow’s qualifications, experiences, and comparable cost of time for their skill level. In addition, each fellow will have access to potential project funding from the foundation, which will match a fellow’s personal project investment by at least tenfold. The foundation also provides technological and legal support throughout each project’s development, as well as connections to its network of projects, funders, and institutions.
Anyone who has an innovative idea for social change that adds value in the areas of knowledge, learning, and technology may apply, provided they have reached the age of majority—in the U.S., in most states, this is 18. The fellowship is not limited to any specific geographical place, but all fellows must be fluent in English.
The foundation’s philosophy in offering awards is to “make bets on brilliance rather than reward past successes.” The foundation is looking for social change agents who push boundaries and challenge accepted norms. According to the foundation, “[Applicants] need not heave all the answers, but should ask the right questions n a practical context.”
Prospective applicants are encouraged to look online at the project descriptions of current and past fellows to have a better sense of which projects have been most successful.