The Fellowship takes place over 8 weeks from February 9th to April 8th. Each week, there is one Main Lesson you must attend, a Supplementary Lesson (Skill Labs) that is strongly encouraged, and a small discussion group (Meeting of the Minds) on the topic of the week.

  1. Main Lessons: you will have the option of attending on Sundays at 5pm EST or Mondays at 9am EST (you only attend one of these lessons). 

    1. Main Lesson attendance is mandatory - if you need to watch the Lesson recording in place of attending live you must fill out this Lesson Recording Response Form prior to the following Lesson. 

  2. Skill Labs: An eight-part series on the practical skills you need to transform your ideas into meaningful impact! These will take place on Monday evenings at 8pm EST. Topics will include: 

    1. Public Speaking & Speechwriting

    2. Personal Branding & Storytelling 

    3. Networking 

    4. Ideation & Field Research

    5. Project & Time Management

    6. Organizing 

    7. Issue Fatigue & Political Apathy 

    8. Navigating Careers in Civics, Government, and Social Impact 

  3. Topic Takeovers and Meeting of the Minds:  Guides and Global Guides will lead Fellowship-wide Slack discussions and live, small discussion groups around the Lesson topic of each week.

    Additional Sessions: There will also be intermittent additional live sessions that you can choose to attend - ranging from discussions with youth leaders and issue experts to fun game nights. 


Each week during the main lesson, we will explore both historical and modern examples of civic innovation in the sectors below. We highly encourage you to do the pre-reading or watching before the lesson to come fully prepared to ask questions and engage with your peers. The optional content listed below is just that, but we hope you will find some of it interesting.

  • You must do the following to complete the Fellowship and become a CU Community Member :

    1. Attend all 8 of the main lessons

    2. Participate in the Solvathon (see below), due March 15th 

    3. Complete a Case Brief (see below), final due date April 14th

    Submit your Graduation Application (see below), due April 14th.

    Failure to complete any of the 4 requirements above will result in your ineligibility to graduate from the Fellowship and join the broader CU Community. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact Adiah via Slack or email at adiah@civicsunplugged.org. 

  • Solvathon: In the middle of the Fellowship, you will work in small groups to provide a solution to a specific challenge facing a nation or well-known multinational company. You will have 14 days  to work on this and we will provide you with all the details in the middle of the Fellowship. Solvathons are due March 15th.

    Spring 2025 Solvathon Prompts: Option 1 and Option 2. If you would like to be matched with a team, you must complete this form by March 3rd.

    Case Briefs: Case Briefs are an analysis of a vexing problem facing a particular sector of society - specifically in your own communities. For example, a Fellow from New York City may examine how to transform empty office buildings in Manhattan into affordable housing or how to improve the air quality in their schools without spending exorbitant amounts of money. Outlined below are the necessary parts of the Case Brief, with suggested completion dates to help you pace yourself. Completed Case Briefs are due April 14th.

    Case Brief structure:

    1. Issue (~200 words): Give the reader a brief overview of the issue/problem. You may draw from the description of the issue/problem as described in the relevant lesson and assigned readings. Suggested completion date: March 1st

    2. Analysis (~350 words): Analyze and critique past and current solutions already proposed and/or attempted to solve this issue. Suggested completion date: March 22nd

    3. Proposal (~350 words): Suggested completion date: April 5th

    • Present either a unique, original idea or tweak a current idea that you feel is not fully working.

    • Your proposal can assume that money is no issue. We want you to think big and “swing for the fences” within reason (i.e. try not to simply suggest a time machine to change the course of history—unless you can prove how to time travel).

    • Community Impact (~250 words): Consider how the solution you proposed might be implemented in your own community. Think about stakeholders that would need to be involved, how you might go about communicating this solution, and what changes would need to be made to accommodate your proposal. You may also suggest questions that still need to be studied and any other relevant information that would be helpful to solve this vexing issue. 

    You can find examples of well done Case Briefs here, here, here, here, and here (Note: the “Community Impact” section is new for this Fellowship so you won’t find that piece modeled in these examples). Please use footnotes or a works cited page (whichever you prefer). Please include the following in your submission: Full Name, Title, Times New Roman font, 12 pt font. 

    You will submit your Case brief in the Graduation Application. 

  • At the end of the Fellowship, you will receive a short survey that asks you to reflect on your experience during the fellowship and answer some of the same questions featured in the Acceptance Form. This will not only allow the Civics Unplugged team to gain insight into your growth over the course of the Fellowship, but also communicate your desire to graduate from the Civic Innovators Fellowship and join the broader Civics Unplugged community. Graduation Applications are due April 14th. 

  • ℹ️Extensions: At Civics Unplugged, we understand that life happens. We also value accountability. Here’s some general guidance to help you succeed as a Civic Innovators Fellow:  

    • Take a look at all due dates for the Fellowship and your deadlines for school/other activities and check to see when/if they overlap. If they do, please reach out to Adiah as soon as possible so that we can discuss possible alternatives.

    • In the case of unforeseen circumstances, please reach out to Adiah at least 24 hours prior to the deadline. Include in your message a short explanation of why an extension is needed and an alternative due date. We can’t guarantee that your proposed timeline will be granted, but we are committed to working with you to figure out something that works. 

      • Please note that Solvathons submitted after the March 15th deadline will be ineligible for prizes, even when an extension is granted.

    ℹ️Dropping the Fellowship: Again, we understand that life happens. If you are unable to complete the Fellowship for any reason - whether it turns out that you don’t have room in your schedule or you decide the program just isn’t for you - please fill out this short form. Should you choose to reapply to the Civic Innovators Fellowship in the future, you can state that you were previously accepted into the Civic Innovators Fellowship in your application.  

SPRING 2025 SCHEDULE