Breakthrough Generation is the young leaders initiative of the Breakthrough Institute, a paradigm-shifting think tank committed to rejuvenating progressive thought for the 21st century. Breakthrough is best known for its climate and energy policy work, but fellows next summer will have the to work on either energy, conservation, or economic policy. Each summer, Breakthrough offers highly competitive fellowships to top young analysts, writers, and thought leaders. Fellows work closely with Breakthrough Institute staff, including Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, Breakthrough's founders and two of Time Magazine's 2008 Heroes of the Environment. Founded in 2007, Breakthrough Generation seeks to foster the development of a new generation of leaders capable of fully grappling with the scale and complexity of today's greatest challenges.
Fellows spend ten weeks at Breakthrough's office in Oakland, CA, deeply engaged in high-level research, writing, and analysis around three program areas: energy and climate policy; conservation and the environment; and innovation & the economy. Climate change and energy policy is the most well-established work area of the Breakthrough Institute; conservation and economic policy are recent additions that BTG 2012 fellows will have the unique to help build. Research projects in our economics program will further develop previous work published by Breakthrough, including the reports "Where Good Technologies Come From" and "Manufacturing Growth." Conservation is our newest policy area and builds from a series of articles in the second issue of the Breakthrough Journal (coming soon).
For the first two weeks of the fellowship, fellows participate in Breakthrough Bootcamp, an intellectual crash course involving intensive reading, writing, and an expert lecture series designed to provide a grounding in the broad-spectrum thinking that informs Breakthrough's policy agenda. Throughout Bootcamp, fellows are encouraged to challenge themselves and their peers. Topics covered include modernization theory, social psychology, aspirational politics and philosophy, economics and innovation policy, technology policy, as well as a detailed exposure to the three respective program areas. Bootcamp is updated every year to reflect the most timely research and writing on these important issues. Click here for the 2011 Bootcamp syllabus.
For the remainder of the program, fellows work in teams on group projects relevant to Breakthrough's ongoing work, and produce policy white papers, reports, and memos. Former Breakthrough fellows have published in Harvard Law & Policy Review, San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, and Huffington Post, and their projects have been featured in New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Financial Times, and Wall Street Journal, among others, as well as in Congressional testimony.
During and after the summer, fellows will have access to continued career support from the Breakthrough staff and a network of BT Gen alumni, many of whom now hold important positions in public policy, the energy sector, and the nonprofit sector.
Fellows will work 40 hours per week and are paid $300 or $500 per week (college graduates and those with a postgraduate degree, respectively). Successful applicants may be considered for long-term employment after the end of the fellowship.
To apply, please submit a statement of purpose; resume or CV; and three relevant writing samples tofellows@thebreakthrough.org. In your statement of purpose, please indicate why you are interested in working with theBreakthrough Institute and which of the three program areas you are interested in, making reference to Breakthrough's policy work -- i.e., climate and energy policy, conservation, or economic policy. For more information about the respective program areas, including a list of published reports and articles, see here; you are also welcome to refer to articles in theBreakthrough Journal. Writing samples should include at least one op-ed style piece and one research paper (these do not have to be published). Personal recommendations are welcome, but not required.
Applications are due February 15, 2012.