All hosts are required to fill out the new Host Request Application Form (available here).  If you need to update anything in the form after submission, please contact oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov or call 240-507-3712.

Host request forms are due by September 23, 2020 (Exec) or January 13, 2021 (Leg)

Unfortunately, Hosts are not guaranteed to have a Knauss Fellow. Read about the placement process in the following questions.

• Placement Week is scheduled for October 15-28, 2020 (Exec) or January 25-29, 2021 (Leg). Host offices are required to participate in presentations and interviews scheduled throughout the week.

   

• Hosts begin the week by presenting a short overview of their office and the fellowship position to the Finalists (Finalists become Fellows once they have been matched with a Host Office).

• Finalists then select Host Offices with whom they will interview. Interview sign-up sheets will be emailed to the Host Offices and interviews will ensue

Hosts need to submit their availability for 30-minute interviews with Knauss finalists throughout Placement Week. Hosts should submit availability by October 14, 2020 (Exec) or January 21, 2021 (Leg). If you need to update your availability you must notify oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov by October 19, 2020 (Exec) or January 25, 2021 (Leg) at 12:00 pm NOON EST.

Presentations are limited to a maximum of 10 minutes (suggested 7 min plus 3 min for questions). The National Sea Grant Office will provide a template for presentations. All presentations will either be recorded ahead of time or presented virtually.

Executive Hosts:

Thursday/Friday October 15/16, 2020. Presentations will be given between 12:00 pm-6:00 pm EST virtually via AdobeConnect.

Legislative Hosts: 

Monday, January 25, 2021. Presentations will be given between 9:00 am-1:00 pm EST virtually via AdobeConnect.

Hosts will receive their interview schedule with finalist names via email. The host office will be expected to schedule their interviews using their preferred virtual communication platform.

Executive Hosts:

Monday, October 19, 2020 by 3:00 pm EST

Legislative Hosts: 

Monday, January 25, 2021  by 6:00 pm EST

Interviews take place virtually. Each host office will be able to use the platform of their choice. We prefer that all interviews are conducted with both audio and video.

Executive Hosts: **All times are eastern** **Note that due to the virtual nature of placement week, we are leaving ample time for interviews. Please be respectful of those in different time zones.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, 9:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Thursday, October 22, 2020, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Friday, October 23, 2020, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Call back interviews: Monday, October 26, 2020, 12:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Legislative Hosts: **All times are Eastern**

Tuesday, January 26, 2021, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wednesday, January 27, 2021, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Thursday, January 28, 2021, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Call back interviews: Friday, January 29, 2021, 9:00 am -12:30 pm

Once interviews have been completed, each Host Office must put into rank order (one Finalist per rank) each of the Finalists interviewed by the Host office. All Host Offices must email these rankings to oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov by Tuesday, October 27, 2020 (Exec) by 6:30 am or Friday, January 29, 2021 (Leg) by 12:30 pm.  Failure to email these rankings to the National Sea Grant Office will disqualify a Host Office from consideration to host a fellow. We encourage hosts to rank everyone they interviewed.

Hosts will fill out a ranking sheet (GOOGLE FORM) of Finalists they have interviewed and submit to the Knauss Program Manager by Tuesday, October 27, 2020 (Exec) by 6:30 am or Friday, January 29, 2021 (Leg) by 12:30 pm. Placement decisions for both the executive and legislative classes are ultimately made by a matching algorithm. The algorithm is for two-sided matching markets - so it takes into account both the preference of the hosts and the fellows and produces ‘stable’ matches. This algorithm is most famously used in the National Resident Matching Program - used to match medical residents with hospitals (aka "many-to-one" matching).

Due to the current global pandemic (COVID-19) Evening Activities have been suspended for the 2021 placement process.

Each office that is successful will be notified directly via a phone call from the Fellow on the afternoon of Tuesday/Wednesday, October 27/28 (Exec) or Friday, January 29, 2021 (Leg). The Knauss Program Manager will notify each office that is not successful on the afternoon of the respective days.

Fellows will be provided with a ratification document, which hosts and fellows will sign on Tuesday/Wednesday, October 27/28 (Exec) or Friday, January 29, 2021 (Leg). The document commits both the Host and the Fellow to the fellowship program. It is signed by a Host Office representative, the Fellow, and the Knauss Program Manager.

Executive Hosts: Guidance on funds transfer to Sea Grant to support the Fellow will also be provided as part of the Ratification Document.

The fellowship dates are February 1 through January 31 of fellowship year. The start and end dates are flexible so as to accommodate the host and fellow’s schedules. Please consult the program manager (OAR.SG.Fellows@noaa.gov) if you have questions regarding start and end dates.