Community Solutions Program 2027
Applications open
- Business
- Entrepreneurship
- Leadership
Programme details
The Community Solutions Program (CSP) is a professional leadership development fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by IREX. It supports experienced community leaders working to strengthen regional economic growth and prosperity in their home countries.
During a professional exchange in the United States, fellows work with host organisations on local challenges and learn how American businesses, educational institutions, local authorities and community groups collaborate. A hands-on practicum and regional field visits introduce approaches to entrepreneurship, workforce development, tourism, technology, infrastructure and community revitalisation. Participants also join Innovation and Applied Skills Labs, developing practical skills in leadership, project management, partnerships and adapting emerging technologies to local needs.
As part of the experience, fellows identify promising approaches they can adapt at home. They then develop and implement a nine-month SCALE-Up Project to address a specific regional economic development challenge, putting lessons and professional relationships from the exchange into practice. The programme particularly suits leaders who can demonstrate tangible results from earlier community work and explain how new tools and collaborations would help them expand their impact.
Important dates
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Applications open
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Semi-finalists notified to complete English-language interviews and submit required materials
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Semi-finalist interview deadline
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Applicants notified of finalist, alternate or unsuccessful status
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U.S. orientation begins in Washington, D.C.
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12-week U.S. professional practicum begins
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End-of-Program Workshop begins in Washington, D.C.
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End-of-Program Workshop concludes and participants return home
Required documents
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Creative supplement Optional
Applicants are invited to upload a creative supplement demonstrating their commitment to regional economic development. Examples include an op-ed, blog post, captioned photo, short video, report, journal article, or support letter from a community member.
Essay questions
8 questions
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Question 1 of 8
Describe your experience in local or regional economic development. Identify the primary sector in which you work, the geographic area and communities you serve, and your specific role and responsibilities. How has your experience prepared you to contribute to local and/or regional economic growth and community prosperity?
Max 300 words
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Question 2 of 8
2. Describe one specific result you delivered in the past three years that benefited not only you or your own organization but also the wider community. What was the challenge? What was your role in facilitating a solution? What changed as a result? Include evidence, scale, and specific details about your contributions.
Max 300 words
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Question 3 of 8
Describe a time you worked with counterparts outside your own organization across public, private, or civic sectors. What shared objective brought the partners together? What did each partner contribute, what competing interests or obstacles did you encounter, and what did you personally do to help the collaboration achieve results?
Max 300 words
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Question 4 of 8
Describe a significant setback, unexpected change, or unsuccessful approach you encountered while leading or supporting an initiative designed to provide concrete benefits to your community or region. How did you respond? What did you change, how did you maintain the trust or participation of the people involved, and what did the experience teach you about your leadership?
Max 300 words
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Question 5 of 8
In the United States, successful regional economic development is often not a single project, but a coordinated network of public, private, and community-led initiatives working toward a shared vision for regional prosperity. These efforts may connect business and job growth with education and workforce development, health care, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, and the preservation of cultural or natural assets. What specific U.S. regional development model or approach do you most want to study during your practicum? What would you seek to understand about how different partners establish shared priorities, coordinate their roles and resources, and sustain collaboration? How would you adapt the most relevant elements of this approach to your home community to advance an identified regional goal and create broad, lasting benefits for residents?
Max 500 words
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Question 6 of 8
CSP participants complete a 12-week professional practicum with a U.S. host organization. What distinctive skills, knowledge, professional experience, networks, or perspectives would you contribute to your host organization? Describe one realistic area of work you could support that would benefit the organization or the American community it serves. What role could you play, and what result would you hope to help the organization achieve?
Max 300 words
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Question 7 of 8
Describe a time when you worked closely with people whose cultural background, professional approach, communication style, or viewpoint differed significantly from your own. What made the situation challenging? How did you adapt your communication or leadership approach, and what did you learn from the people involved? How would that experience help you contribute to and learn within a cross-cultural U.S. workplace and the CSP community?
Max 300 words
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Question 8 of 8
Describe a realistic follow-on SCALE-Up Project you would lead in the nine months after returning home. What regional or local need would the project address, who would benefit, and which organizations or stakeholders would participate and how would the project support long-term community growth and prosperity? Identify the U.S. model, tool, technology, or partnership approach you might adapt, explain how you would modify it for your local context, and describe the results you would aim to achieve within two years
Max 300 words
