Asia Foundation Development Fellows

Benefits & funding

• An award of up to USD 2,500 per fellow, spent against a personalised year-long plan the fellow designs: specialised training programs or short courses, language study, or travel to key regional forums and workshops.
• A seven-day in-person module in Korea and a ten-day in-person module in the United States, built around interactive leadership training with executive coaches, site visits with development practitioners and policy leaders, short assignments, and sessions on self-awareness and wellness. The 2026 guidelines describe the program as fully funded at no cost to participants.
• Per the 2025 guidelines, covered costs are coursework and programming, airfares and local transport, lodging and meals, visa fees, and health and accident insurance.
• A fixed number of one-on-one executive coaching sessions through the fellowship year.
• Mentorship matching based on each fellow’s background and professional interests.
• Entry to an active alumni network for continued collaboration and support after the fellowship year (2025 guidelines).
• No income replacement — fellows stay in their current positions and remain paid by their employers throughout the fellowship year.
• The 2025 guidelines set that cohort at 13 fellows; the 2026 guidelines publish no cohort size.

Eligibility

• Resident nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
• The program page groups the Pacific countries under “Pacific Islands”; a Foundation publication defines the group as these 14 sovereign Pacific island states.
• Under 40 years of age on 1 January of the fellowship year (1 January 2026 for the 2026 cohort).
• A demonstrable record of experience and accomplishment related to the Foundation’s fields of expertise: governance, economic development, women’s empowerment, environmental resilience, education and leadership, or international cooperation.
• Recognised as a thoughtful, committed, respected and inspirational leader within one’s professional field and wider community.
• Conversant in English in writing and speech; TOEFL results are not required.
• Available and able to take part in every program component on the published dates.
• Able to secure a visa for travel to the United States.
• Current Foundation staff may not apply.
• No degree requirement and no stated minimum years of work experience.

Application process

1. 1
   Read the application guidelines and instructions linked from the program’s online application portal.
2. 2
   Create an account on the WizeHive-based portal, which lets you save and resume; the application must be completed by the applicant alone, without help from others or from any technological tools.
3. 3
   Fill in personal, educational and professional details and complete the short written responses.
4. 4
   Upload a CV — the 2025 guidelines cap it at three pages.
5. 5
   Upload a two-to-three-minute video introducing your professional background and how you lead.
6. 6
   Enter two referees in the portal. The recommendation system is applicant-led: you are responsible for making sure the notifications reach your referees and that their letters are completed by the stated recommendation deadline.
7. 7
   Submit before the deadline — for the 2026 cohort, 11:59 pm US Eastern on Monday 10 November 2025. Foundation staff evaluate all applications and narrow them to a final selection pool, after which a selection committee of experienced experts evaluates the finalists and determines the fellows.

Program timeline

1. Applications open for the 2026 cohort

   Sep 23, 2025

2. Application deadline, 11:59 pm US Eastern

   Nov 10, 2025

3. Internal Asia Foundation review

   2025-11 to 2026-01

4. Selection committee convenes; final selection announced and the fellowship year begins

   2026-01 to 2026-02

5. In-person module, Korea

   Apr 19, 2026 to Apr 25, 2026

6. In-person module, United States

   Sep 28, 2026 to Oct 7, 2026

7. Next cohort

   dates not yet published