Fellowships

Your project proposal needs to be aligned with the purpose of the FCP and address one or more themes outlined by the FCP Council: Climate change, rapid technological advancement, pandemic, challenge of reconciliation, and erosion of truth and trust.  

Within your project proposal, you may also consider the four key elements of our collective future as expressed by the FCP Council: power, well-being, hope, and community. More information about the themes and vision can be found on the FCP website. 

Your proposal should be a brief (2-page) description of a project you would plan to undertake as a Future Fellow. Here are some questions to consider and include in that proposal: 

• What are the goals of the project? 
• What areas of Canada’s future are you hoping to impact and how? 
• What benefits will this fellowship provide for you and your work? 
• Are there particular skills, assets, or resources that McMaster or the Future of Canada Project can bring to the table as part of our collaboration? 
• What support(s) might you need to be successful? 
• How might you engage with McMaster University students and faculty during your fellowship? What will you learn from this community and/or what will you share with them? 

We recommend framing your proposed project in terms of how it contributes to the Future of Canada Project’s vision for the future and how the project can influence that future and bring it about. You are encouraged to think creatively, but your proposal should have a clear goal(s) and information about potential outcomes. Think about how you might engage others in your work, and how the impact of your project could be communicated.  

The Future Fellowship Program is unique in that it is open to both academics and non-academics.  

The Future of Canada Project values interdisciplinary approaches to tackling Canada’s biggest challenges and this fellowship opportunity is no exception. We hope to attract a wide range of future thinkers who approach Canada’s future with creativity and impact in mind.  

Those eligible for the Future Fellowship program need to be Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Current students are not eligible for this Fellowship at this time.  

There are up to six fellowships available.  

Fellowship applicants are asked to propose a duration of time that is needed for their proposed project that ranges between three to 12 months. All fellowships will commence in 2023.  

A monthly stipend of $5,000 will be provided to each Future Fellow for the duration of their fellowship. 

Future Fellows will become a part of McMaster University, specifically the Future of Canada Project, and will be part of a cohort that will be connected to each other and a wider community of people and organizations working in foresight and futures thinking.  

The fellowship experience will provide the opportunity connect with like-minded leaders and organizations both within and outside of the University. Fellows will also receive support from the Future of Canada Project team, including guidance from a strategic advisor and access to communications staff who can work with fellows to promote their work to a wide audience.

The fellowship is intended to provide Future Fellows with substantial dedicated time to spend working on their project that will result in one or more outputs. 

Future Fellows may be asked to share their work with students and faculty at McMaster and will be asked to report on the progress or outcome of their work at the Future of Canada Summit, which will take place at McMaster toward the end of 2023. 

The application process opens on January 19, 2023 and in order to be assured of consideration, applications must be submitted via email to fcp@mcmaster.ca by March 3, 2023. Applications will be accepted until all fellowships are filled.   

Please see the call for applications form below for more detailed information.  

There is no residency requirement for Future Fellows. However, if you would benefit from being at McMaster as part of your project, please let us know and include this in your proposal.

We do request that fellows attend the Future of Canada Summit at the end of 2023, for which financial support will be available.

Yes – however it will be incumbent on the applicant to coordinate with any supervisors/departments to ensure they have the time available to work on the Future Fellows project they’ve proposed.

Full-time faculty researchers may only hold the fellowship provided they have obtained the written approval of their home institution. Holders of the fellowship need to ensure they have time to focus on their projects, so we do not recommend adding this fellowship to full-time teaching, research and service responsibilities. The Future Fellows Program exists to provide dedicated time that people would not have access to otherwise, enabling them to focus on a single project.

The stipend can be used however the recipient wants to use it (as living expenses or research-related expenses) but that is all the financial support provided by the Future of Canada Project to Future Fellowship holders. There may be a small fund available to provide honoraria for participants in the project depending on the proposal.

The fellowship stipend is intended to support fellows to undertake a project of their own design in the time they outline in their proposal in advance. If the applicant has a full-time role, they will need to provide written permission from their employer or supervisor prior to beginning the fellowship. The fellowship is intended to give time and space to someone to pursue something of their own interest and design.