Guide to Responding to Opportunities on the Peace and Collaborative Development Network

Dear Colleagues

Greetings. This is short guide to provide some strong recommendations regarding the opportunities posted on the Peace and Collaborative Development Network. As the site has grown in size, there is a need to provide some suggested guidelines of how to best use the network and what is appropriate.

1) Always Examine the Criteria that Sponsors have for Opportunities before Responding - Please note sponsors and organizations have multiple reasons for choosing to limit fellowships or trainings to individuals from a particular background, country or profession. Before inquiring if you're eligible for a fellowship or requesting one, please read through all the information on the opportunity. The information is often included in the posting on this site, but if not follow the link and read carefully through the information.

Please do not post blindly post requests for how you can get a fellowship or questioning why your you may not be eligible for the fellowship. This clogs up the network and also for most sponsors, shows that you have not taken the time to read through the criteria and demonstrates a lack of professionalism. Individuals who routinely post these types of requests maybe removed from the network.

2) Look at the Deadlines - Deadlines that are listed in opportunities are usually fixed. Thus, please make sure after reviewing the criteria that you always examine the deadlines and allow for enough time to complete any applications.

3) Investigate the Organization/Opportunity to Make sure it is Legitimate - The PCDN network is only providing an information service to users and does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy or legitimacy of individual postings (Posting on the site does not an endorsement from PCDN). It is the individual user's responsibility to decide to explore information provided on this site and users are encouraged to exercise caution and do a thorough investigation of any opportunities (particularly if financial resources are involved). Users are strongly recommended to not provide any financial resources to participate in an opportunities without a thorough investigation to ensure the legitimacy of the organization/opportunity. If you see a posting that seems dubious or fraudulent in nature please use caution in responding and also contact the site manager so it can be removed. Any user posting fraudulent opportunities will be permanently banned from the site.

4) Review the Guides to Successful Scholarship and Funding Applications and Guide to Effective Resumes - In order to help guide people in writing successful applications, we have put together a guide to Scholarship Applications, Funding Applications, and the Resume Guide (see point # 1)

5) Have your Colleagues Review your Application - Before submitting an application for a fellowship or training, having feedback from a trusted colleague or mentor can make a critical difference. Ask for assistance from people you trust and can help you improve your writing/focus.

5) Be Prepared to Apply for Multiple Opportunities - Often there are there far more applicants for opportunities than available spaces. One of the keys to being successful is to ensure that you have a very strong application, that you meet the criteria outlined, and that you apply for other opportunities and be prepared to not be successful in many of your applications. If you are not accepted, try to think how can you improve your application for the next opportunity that arises.

Please feel free to add additional suggestions.