Fellowships Open
There are two types of Fellowships: open and focused. Open Fellowships allow any learning focus that meets the overarching intent, while focused Fellowships require your proposal to align with a predefined focus while still delivering the overarching intent.
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The General Intent:
Fellowships aims to gather insights and learning from outside the Highland region to enhance local volunteer practices. The programme encourages innovation to address declining volunteer participation and challenges within the sector. This means that Applicants must demonstrate how their proposed learning activities will advance volunteer practices and promote meaningful change within Highland by applying learning gained from outside of the Region.
Current Open Fellowships:
Open Fellowships can be directed by the Fellow, however, the Volunteer Academy will always be interested in areas that focus on:
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Youth Volunteering
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Employee Sponsored Volunteering
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Volunteering at retirement or later in life
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Digital solutions and options for volunteering
Other focus areas are welcome but applicants should ensure the need and objectives in their application is well outlined and considered.
Current Focused Fellowships:
Focused Fellowship applications must include a clear proposal that directly aligns with the stated purpose and theme of the Fellowship. While there is scope for applicants to interpret the theme creatively and apply it to different community settings, proposals should demonstrate a strong connection to both the focus area and the wider aims of the Fellowship.
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The current Focused Fellowship theme is intergenerational volunteering, with particular emphasis on understanding the benefits it can bring to individuals, organisations and wider communities.
The award available through this Fellowship is up to £2,000.
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We are particularly interested in learning that explores how volunteering can bring people of different generations together in purposeful, mutually beneficial ways. This may include examining how intergenerational volunteering can reduce loneliness and social isolation, strengthen community connections, support wellbeing, challenge age-related stereotypes, encourage skills and knowledge exchange, and build a stronger sense of belonging across communities.
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Proposals may also consider practical questions such as what makes intergenerational volunteering effective, how organisations can design inclusive opportunities for different age groups, what barriers may prevent participation, and how the impact of this type of volunteering can be measured. We welcome learning that draws on community experience, case studies, participant feedback, wider evidence, or learning from existing intergenerational practice both here and abroad.
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Ordinarily, the organisation an applicant connects with will already be actively involved in the Fellowship’s focal theme; however, this is not a requirement.
If you have any questions surrounding Fellowships, please email us at volunteering@highlandtsi.org.uk.