“Leadership is accepting the responsibility to create conditions that enable others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty.”

-Marshall Ganz, Rita T. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University

A Global Leadership Development Program

The Global Community Bio Fellows Program is designed to provide professional development, leadership training, and peer support for emerging leaders in our global community! In these times, more than ever we need empowered community bio leaders.  Community bio is a grass roots movement to allow access to science tools and learning through independent projects and community science labs.  The Global Community Bio Summit is working to provide a space for the global community of DIY biologists / community biologists / biomakers / biohackers and members of independent and community laboratories to convene, plan, build fellowship, and continue the evolution of our movement.

In these sessions, Global Community Bio Fellows will learn (1) how to identify community stakeholders and challenges, (2) build strategic goals, and (3) effectively organize through community mobilization toward targeted outcomes. These sessions will be guided by community organizer Abel Cano in consultation with Dr. Marshall Ganz. Fellows will also research, develop, and implement a specific project that can be readily deployed.  We hope to amplify their intrinsic abilities and game changing goals set by our Fellows in order to drive progress in the Global Community and beyond. 

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

In the 2019 inaugural year the Global Community Bio Fellows program was launched and accepted 36 leadership fellows from 30 countries.  In 2020 the second year we accepted another 36 fellows from 26 countries.  In its third year, the program accepted 36 fellows from 26 countries. This year will be expanded and enhanced—a success driven in large part by feedback and support from the previous fellow classes. 

As a Global Community Bio Fellow, you will join colleagues to participate in virtual training sessions led by community organizer Abel Cano with additional guidance from Dr. Marshall Ganz. The program consists of five (5) sessions, (the first and last sessions are 3 hours long and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sessions are 5 hour long sessions), where fellows will engage in a variety of activities that both create community and build actionable leadership. To this end, sessions will include moments for: (1) self-organizing and self-reflection, (2) coaching, (3) storytelling, and (4) relationship building with other fellows and local communities. Moreover, fellows will have opportunities to identify stakeholders in their respective communities in order to: (1) identify challenges, (2) build strategic goals, (3) effectively plan, and (4) actualize—through community mobilization—targeted outcomes. 

Fellows also play an integral role in Bio Summit 6.0.

APPLY BY MAY 8th, 2022

The leadership training covers several modules, for more info please watch the video below from last year’s Bio Summit on the program.

We are especially eager to receive applications from individuals in communities from regions that have been underrepresented at Bio Summit (i.e., places outside of North American and Europe).

AS A PART OF THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

• You must commit to participate in approximately five (5) virtual meetings. These sessions will occur at regular intervals and will conclude with a virtual retreat at Bio Summit 6.0. The virtual sessions will begin in June.

• You must commit to participate in approximately five (5) virtual meetings. These sessions will occur at regular intervals and will conclude with a virtual retreat at Bio Summit 6.0. The virtual sessions will begin in June.

• You should be flexible with meeting time scheduling to ensure we can accommodate a regionally diverse group of fellows.

• You should be available to attend and make a meaningful contribution to the Bio Summit itself in tandem with the Bio Summit Organizing Team.

• You must be available for the full period of Bio Summit 6.0 Conference.

SCHEDULE FOR PROGRAM/ The proposed dates below (subject to change) all begin at 10am ET

1. Welcome & Intro to organizing (3hrs), June 4

2. Intro to Coaching & Intro to Public Narrative and Story of Self (5hrs), June 11

3. Intro to Relationship & Intro to Teams-Relationship Bulding (5hrs), June 18

4. Intro to Creating Shared Strategy & Intro to Action & Mobilizing Commitment (5 hrs), June 25

5. Wrap up & Celebration (3hrs), July 2

Learn more about the Bio Summit and the fellows program (page 16) in last years Proceedings document

“To be part of this program is amazing for me, when I applied to the fellowship program I didn't know much about it, and when started to participate, it was strange, a lot of things I didn't know appeared in my life, and I started to rethink all kinds of aspects of community that I could improve with only these first few sessions. It was a big tool to rethinking  my practice, I didn’t know about organizing things but ... when we started to create a biohacking community in Buenos Aires, we started as we thought it should be, but we didn't have any tools to make it better.  We learned how to make different kinds of things we were doing but it was very nice to know how to do it in the right way. I like storytelling, and that is the part I had to improve more.... it was nice to be part of an international group... I encourage all the people to become a fellow.  ....  I want to be part of all the BioSummits of my life.” - Ana Laura,  2019 GCBS Fellow, a bio-electronic artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

To see past years’ fellows, click here.

Global Community Bio Fellows 3.0, 2021