The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative

After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. 

Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future. 

On the transfer, co-founder Victoria Martin expressed her pleasure to see this work continue under Wits' leadership, knowing that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction. 

As Wits, we honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades and look forward building from that strong base. This includes co-founders Warren Feek (1953-2024) and Victoria Martin as well as La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA), which continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com with links to The CI Global site. We are also eager to forge new partnerships and entertain new ideas as we consider how best to contribute to social and behaviour change in our rapidly evolving environment.

If you are joining the International Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Summit in Panama, please join Wits and CILA on Monday, 22 June, to share your thoughts and suggestion for the relaunch of the Communication Initiative. We will be in Pacifica 5 from 12-1:25 for the Refuel, Reflect, and Renew Lunch Series: The Communication Initiative: celebrating a driving force for Communication for Social Change and the way forward. We will reflect on the legacy of Warren Feek and family in creating the Communication Initiative, consider the contributions of CI over the years and then turn our attention towards the future in this dynamic session. 

If you are unable to join us in Panama, we still want to hear from you. Please contribute your thoughts by following this link: https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026 or reaching out to ci_surveys@commint.com. 

You can also follow the QR Code:

 https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026

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Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowships

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The Woodrow Wilson Center awards approximately 20-25 fellowships annually to individuals with project proposals in a broad range of the social sciences and humanities on national and/or international issues. Fellowships provide for residency and research within the United States (US). Topics and scholarship should relate to key public policy challenges or provide the historical and/or cultural framework to illuminate policy issues of contemporary importance. Fellows are expected to be in residence for the entire US academic year (early September through May, i.e., 9 months), although a few fellowships are occasionally awarded for shorter periods with a minimum of four months.

 

Eligibility

  • Citizens or permanent residents from any country (foreign nationals must be able to hold a valid passport and obtain a US J1 Visa)
  • Men and women with outstanding capabilities and experience from a wide variety of backgrounds (including government, the corporate world, professions, and academia)
  • Academic candidates holding a Ph.D. (Ph.D. must be received by the application deadline of October 1)
  • Academic candidates demonstrating scholarly achievement by publications beyond their doctoral dissertations
  • Practitioners or policymakers with an equivalent level of professional achievement
  • English proficiency (the Center is designed to encourage the exchange of ideas among its fellows.)

 

Primary themes are:

  1. governance, including such issues as the key features of the development of democratic institutions, democratic society, civil society, and citizen participation;
  2. the US role in the world and issues of partnership and leadership - military, political, and economic dimensions; and
  3. key long-term future challenges confronting the US and the world.

 

 

Ineligibility

  • Applicants working on a degree (even if the degree is to be awarded prior to the proposed fellowship year)
  • Proposals of a partisan or advocacy nature
  • Primary research in the natural sciences
  • Projects that create musical composition or dance
  • Projects in the visual arts
  • Projects that are the rewriting of doctoral dissertations
  • The editing of texts, papers, or documents
  • The preparation of textbooks, anthologies, translations, and memoirs
Application Info

The basic criteria for selection are:

  1. significance of the proposed research, including the importance and originality of the project;
  2. quality of the proposal in definition, organisation, clarity, and scope;
  3. capabilities and achievements of the applicant and the likelihood that the applicant will accomplish the proposed project;
  4. the relevance of the project to contemporary policy issues.

 

 

Click here for further information.


Click here for application information.

Date
Previous Winners

Click here to read about 2010-2011 Fellows.

Source

The Ashoka Advantage newsletter, September 2010.