Deadline

Applications must be completed and submitted by 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) on Sunday, April 12, 2009. Regardless of applicant location, the specific deadline time for all applications is the same.

Eligibility

1. Age

   Applicants must be at least 18 years of age when the application is submitted.

2. Residency

   There is no residency requirement.

3. Foundation Employees

   Employees of the Foundation are not eligible to apply for the Award.

Application

Applicants will demonstrate through their applications:

• 10 or more years’ experience in Asian security, or international relations or international economics related to Asia;
• A strong commitment to expanding public awareness of their research and thinking through the blog;
• Experience in publishing newsworthy commentary contributing to the public debate on Asian security or related topics; and
• Experience in writing in English.

Each interested applicant must provide:

• A one-to-two-page personal statement of interest outlining the following:
  • a proposed substantive focus area for his or her blog posts;
  • detail regarding how his or her blog posts will provide thoughtful analysis of Asian security issues in real time; increase public and policy-maker attention to research on Asian Security issues, including the research produced as a result of the Foundation’s Asia Security Initiative; and stimulate public and policy debates on Asia security issues across the Asia-Pacific;
  • the professional development goals he or she seeks to advance through his or her participation in the Asia Security Initiative blog;
• a biography or C.V.;
• up to two English-language blog or op-ed publications; and
• two letters of recommendation from recognized experts in Asian security, international relations or international economics. These letters may not be submitted by employees of the Foundation.

Review Process

All eligible applications will be evaluated by the Foundation. In addition to the letters of recommendation submitted by the applicant, the Foundation may also ask outside experts or persons with relevant professional experience to review the applications or provide input. Final selections of Award recipients will be made by the Foundation. Applications will be evaluated based on the expertise and qualifications of the applicant, the proposed plan of approach/work to use a blog to support the Foundation’s goal of increasing the understanding of Asian security issues, geographic diversity and range of substantive expertise.

Post-Award Conditions

The terms and conditions of the Award will be contained in a grant award agreement to be signed by the Foundation and the individual Award recipient. The terms and conditions will include the following:

1. Term of Award

   The grant term is one year, beginning when Award monies are distributed.

2. Purpose and Use of Award

   All funds will be used as described in the application to support the mission of the Asia Security Initiative “to increase the effectiveness of international cooperation in preventing conflict and promoting peace and security in Asia.” The Foundation reserves the right to recover funds not used as permitted under the terms of the grant award agreement.

3. Budget

   All funds will be used in accordance with a budget.

4. Required Reports

   A written report will be due annually, describing the Award recipient’s accomplishments with respect to the Award and including a detailed financial report.

5. Award Renewal

   Awards may be renewed at the sole discretion of the Foundation.

6. Compliance with Foundation’s Website Terms of Use

   Blog postings of each Award recipient will be subject to the Foundation’s Terms of Use with respect to its website (“Terms of Use”) and each Award recipient must agree to abide by the Terms of Use. The Terms of Use shall include, but is not limited to, a prohibition on the use of inappropriate speech such as hate speech or language that is sexually offensive, demeaning or intended to incite violence and a requirement that postings be consistent with laws governing private foundations. The Foundation will monitor the content and reserves the right to delete or request the deletion of any unacceptable postings by Award recipients on any such website.

7. Intellectual Property

   All copyright interests in materials produced as a result of the Award, including the content of the blog, (the “Grant Work Product”) shall be owned by the Award recipient. To effect the widest possible distribution of the Grant Work Product and ensure that it enters and remains in the public domain, the Grant Work Product shall be licensed under a Creative Commons License provided for in the grant award agreement.

Privacy

The information that applicants submit will be used to confirm eligibility, evaluate applications, and administer the Awards. This information will be disclosed to Foundation staff and any outside experts consulted during the application review process.

All Award recipients will be disclosed on the Foundation’s website.

Submission

Submissions and questions can be sent to:

Matthew Shannon Stumpf
Program Officer, International Peace and Security
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
140 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60603-5285

E-mail: mstumpf@macfound.org
Phone: +1 (312) 516-1556
E-mail contact is preferred.

Updated February 2009