Thank you for considering participating as a community partner in the 2023-2024 Catamount Fellowship at Mount Royal University. The Catamount Fellowship, led by the Institute for Community Prosperity at MRU, is designed as a springboard for students preparing to lead social change upon graduation through innovation in movements, organizations, businesses and/or government. The program is designed to bridge research, participatory-dialogue and social innovation frameworks with practical experience and insights from community partners and faculty mentors to guide students in effectively leveraging their skills and knowledge for positive social impact. As a community partner, you have the opportunity to directly influence and engage with a dedicated cohort of aspiring changemakers while benefitting from applied research on an issue specific to strengthening your social impact.

As a community partner, your role would include:
-Identifying a systemic community-wide issue that your organization is involved in tackling, either directly or as part of a collaboration or coalition. The issue identified will be used during the application process (which opens August 1, 2023) to ensure selected student fellows have an aligned interest with the issue.  
-Meet with the student fellow at various points throughout the program (late-September 2023 through April 2024) to answer questions, provoke deeper thinking and provide connections to resources that advance their learning. The frequency can be determined by yourself and the designated fellow and is anticipated to be no more than 4-8 hours per month. It is highly recommended that a regular meeting schedule is established at the onset of the fellowship.
-With the student fellow as the lead, host a community conversation related to the research topic. The community conversation can happen anytime between November 2023 and the end of January 2024, and can be part of an existing event or gathering hosted either by your organization or a community partner.
-Attend the welcome gathering in September (Date TBD)
-(Optional) Contribute to the program delivery through an existing workshop or skill set within your organization that supports experiential learning and leadership within the cohort.

To learn more about the Catamount Fellowship, visit https://www.mtroyal.ca/nonprofit/InstituteforCommunityProsperity/StudentPrograms/CatamountFellowship.htm

For questions, please don't hesitate reaching out to Barb Davies, Catamount Program Lead, at bdavies@mtroyal.ca.

We appreciate your consideration as a Community Partner for the 2023-2024 fellowship!