FAQ - Rose Fellowship

FAQs for the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship FELLOWSHIP IN GENERAL Q:

What role does Enterprise play in helping host organizations and fellows shape the changing workplans and responsibilities?

A:

The Design Leadership team at Enterprise Community Partners manages all aspects of the Rose Fellowship – from the recruitment of the host organizations and fellows, to the on-going convening, network building, and programming of the fellowship. While fellows are at-will employees of their host organizations and do the majority of their work there, our team connects the fellows to one another and provides mentorship and professional development.

The workplan is viewed as a living document that can change depending on local conditions at the host organization. Enterprise helps the host organization craft the starting workplan and conducts annual check-ins with the host and fellow on any updates to the workplan.

One of the ways Enterprise influences the workplan is by involving fellows in projects at the national scale. There are a number of projects that Enterprise is working on at a national level that we invite fellows to participate on with us to augment our work. Examples of current projects are around senior housing, transit-oriented development, creative placemaking, and designing for improved health and social equity outcomes. Fellows are also invited to the annual Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute and other Enterprise sponsored convenings.

Q:

In what ways does Enterprise support the fellow? When fellows run into problems, is Enterprise available to support?

Enterprise provides wrap around support, both technical and professional development, to the fellow throughout the fellowship. As part of our formal programming, we connect fellows every two weeks on our bi-weekly conference call, and meet in person for one week twice per year in locations around the country where fellows are based. For one of those retreats, host organization staff are required to attend. New fellows come to Boston for a 4-day orientation in January. Informally, we have an open and congenial office that provides support and mentorship as needed throughout the fellowship. The ‘family’ of the fellowship is made up of our team, the different classes of current fellows, and the network of 50+ alumni around the country, and the larger Enterprise community of staff and partners.

Q:

Is there opportunity during the development stage for fellows to engage and communicate directly with constituents, stakeholders, and end-users around their day-to-day housing needs?

A:

The answer is ‘yes’ across all host organizations – that is what being a Rose Fellow is all about! This happens to different degrees and through different means given the organization’s working structures, the communities, and their projects.

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Q:

Do community partnerships need to be defined at the time of the application?

A:

The Rose Fellow will have multiple opportunities to engage directly with neighborhood residents including participation in community association and coalition meetings and activities, facilitation of conversations and prioritization exercises in program development, and daily direct contact with program participants and neighborhood residents.

In all circumstances the host has established community partnerships that they can transfer to the Rose Fellow, so it is not necessary for the fellow to define those partnerships from the beginning.

Q:

What is the annual stipend for the fellowship? Is healthcare provided?

A:

The stipend starts at $52,000/year and is paid to the fellow directly from the host organization. As an atwill employee of the host organization, the fellow also receives the standard benefits package that other similar employees receive. Enterprise provides a one-time $1,500 reimbursement for relocation costs incurred for moves more than 50 miles, and both the host organization and Enterprise contribute $500 each/per year ($1,000/year for three years) for the fellow’s professional development. This can go towards ARE exam fees, conferences that are outside the typical work of the fellow, and other training opportunities that the host and fellow identify.

Healthcare is provided and is equivalent to what a typical staff member receives at each respective host organization.

Q:

How do fellows balance and celebrate the perspectives of all community residents / stakeholders in a way that brings projects to a new level?

A:

It's a very complex process and is always contextual / situational. It is often about creating a situation and design process wherein community can have the agency to define outcomes and/or indicators of success. And working with stakeholders to demonstrate the value-add they get from a potentially slower, more engaged and complex process like creative community engagement.

HOST ORGANIZATIONS Q:

How do you choose the specific hosts you support? Do the groups in need come to you to request support or do you research areas and specific development areas in need and go from there?

A:

We are looking for organizations that have a vision for how design excellence can be implemented in their work, an openness to change, a compelling fellowship workplan that advances that vision, and the capacity to mentor a fellow, ideally by the executive director.

We are able to do this through a combination of both responding to inbound interests and being proactive by seeking hosts from different geographic and programmatic focuses that are of particular interest to Enterprise. We have a large network of local market offices and national initiatives work, and Page 2 of 6

many of the host organizations have some existing relationship with Enterprise and/or have work the fellow is responsible for that address existing programmatic priorities.

Q:

I am particularly interested in three of the host’s work plans, for their unique differences. If I apply to all three, am I diluting potential for candidacy?

A:

There are no restrictions on applying to multiple fellowships and no “dilutive” effect by applying to multiple fellowship opportunities. You need to submit one response to the “statement of intent” and a separate “work plan response” for each fellowship opportunity to which you are applying. This is where it is important to make a clear case and connection for why you would be a good fit for the different roles.

We realize it is possible for candidate to have experiences and interests that align with more than just one fellowship and encourage you to apply to the fellowships where you do think you can make that case.

FELLOW DIRECTED QUESTIONS Q:

For James Arentson (3rd year fellow, rural Minnesota) - What are your plans after post-fellowship?

A:

My plan at this time is to stay on staff with the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, providing design assistance in a variety of different capacities. There are a lot of opportunities for an architect to add value to the work we are doing. Hiring architectural consultants for specific projects, which we have done many times, is often challenging. The expense is significant and it can be difficult for a consultant to truly understand the goals of a rural community project, when they don’t live or work there themselves. So, having an architect on staff creates new opportunities than are not possible without.

Q:

For James Arentson (3rd year fellow, rural Minnesota) - If you were to go back in time and apply for the Rose Fellowship again, what would you do differently during your fellowship and in your submitted application?

A:

Good question. Regarding the application, I wouldn’t change a thing. I poured my heart into it and was as honest and open as possible about who I was and why I was drawn to the fellowship, and my rural fellowship in particular. My best advice is to be true to yourself. Passion and experience both have value in this space.

As far as what I would do differently during my fellowship – not much actually. My approach from day one was to learn as much as I could about what we do and how we do it. I literally spent the first year saying “yes” to everything. With the knowledge I have gained to this point, looking back now I can see points, especially in the beginning, where I could have been more decisive or taken a better or stronger position on various aspects of the work, but in the beginning I didn’t have that contextual framework to build on. And I think my host appreciated my willingness and interest to learn and build authentic knowledge first, versus asserting my opinion or preconceptions from the past as the “answer”. So, now 2 1/2 years into the fellowship I can be more directive and opinionated because I understand the context far better than in the beginning.

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Q:

For Lea Oxenhandler (1st year fellow, Philadelphia) - Are you given a budget beforehand for each project you undertake? For example, do you have to limit your design in, say, infill sites that you want to turn into public spaces based on a set budget?

A:

Our budgets for projects like this depend very heavily on identifying and/or securing available funding sources. For the my current project, the United Bank, specifically, we already had funding for a larger creative placemaking project, but I worked with the fundraising manager at my host organization and the larger project team (this project is a collaboration between my host organization and Drexel University) to convince them that this work would be very valuable and then to carve out a slice of the overall budget for the parklet. With this committed, I was then able to attain some other funding (from Enterprise!) which allowed the project to have a larger scope and impact. I developed a detailed budget for all phases of the project and have been updating it and sharing it with all team members as the work progresses. But I think the key here is flexibility, organization, and phasing your work to make sure that all of the essential phases are completed with funding that has already been committed.

APPLICATION QUALIFICATIONS + PROCESS Q:

Do you accept applications from recently licensed architects?

A:

We accept applications from both licensed and unlicensed architects.

Q:

Are licensed architects who are NOT NAAB accredited eligible for the Fellowship?

A:

In lieu of an accredited degree, we recognize significant work experience and/or licensure.

Q:

What is the difference between an accredited and a non-accredited degree?

A:

Please review the NCARB website for more specifics.

Q:

Is there an age requirement for the fellowship?

A:

This is no age requirement for the fellow, but most are in the early or mid- stages of their careers.

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Q:

Do fellows have community engagement experience, academically or professionally, before the fellowship?

A:

In many cases yes, though not always. What is important is a passion for being a community-engage designer, for center your design process on engagement with residents and other community stakeholders.

Even those fellows that have had community engagement experience in their professional firms, say through pro bono community design initiatives, have characterized the fellowship community engagement experience as MUCH more hands on. So having experience is nice, but the fellowship will hopefully expand and deepen your lens of this type of work.

Q:

How much of architectural experience does a successful applicant typically have?

A:

There is a wide range of architecture experience among our applicants and the fellows who are selected.

Some fellows come to us recently from completing their accredited degrees, while others are advanced professionals on their way to completing their IDP hours, and even some who are already licensed. What we concentrate on more than that actual design experience, is how those skills and experiences have been used for work directly in a community.

Q:

What is involved in the Finalist Summit in Boston?

A:

We’ve learned over the last few years that this application process introduces us to a number of very talented and passionate people, and that even those who do not ultimately get selected for the fellowship have gone on to do exciting things. One of our goals for the Finalist Summit is to further develop the network of public interest designers of which many of you identify. Additionally, we want to get to know our applicants earlier in the selection process. Through the Summit, we want applicants to really understand what the fellowship and host organizations are really like, and for our Selection Committee to have the opportunity to meet in person. We focus not just on the specific skills and talents of the applicant, but how they fit with the culture and work of the host organizations.

The schedule will have a mix of opportunities to network, to listen and learn, and to talk one-on-one with host organizations. In the late afternoon of Day 1, we’ll have a panel conversation with the host organizations followed by a casual reception. On Day 2, we’ll have each finalist do a Pecha Kucha style presentation in the morning, and convene short, individual interviews with host organization staff in the afternoon. Later that evening, all finalists are invited to a public reception and panel presentation given by our four graduating Rose Fellows.

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Q:

Who makes the final selection decisions – is it the host organization or Enterprise?

A:

The selection process is best described as a partnership between the 1) host organizations 2) Enterprise and 3) practioners in the Public Interest Design field Enterprise runs the recruiting process and screens all candidates. After applications are submitted, all three parties above review an application scoring the candidate on 1) overall application 2) recommendations 3) portfolio 4) essays.

The top several candidates per host organization advance to the finalists Summit where the candidates and the host get to interact in person and apply a more qualitative lens to the paper application.

2-3 candidates will advance from the finalist summit to onsite interviewing at the host organization site.

At this point in the process Enterprise provides significant guidance and counsel role with the host organization but we respect that the host organization knows the culture of their organization best, so the ultimate decision will be the hosts with some guidance from Enterprise around what the ingredients are for a good fellow/host partnership.

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