Program Overview

• Duration: Full 10-month cycle

• Format: Monthly seminars, working sessions, and a capstone project

• Cohort Size: 25-35 participants

• Cost: Tuition is donor funded; congressional staff attend at no cost
  
  

Strategic Outcomes

• Equip staff with knowledge, historical perspectives, and high-level skills to support Congressional members with legislation related to foreign assistance

• Promote evidence-based policy analysis

• Build a lasting alumni network across congressional offices
  
  

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Explain the strategic rationale for U.S. foreign assistance

• Describe funding, implementation, and oversight mechanisms

• Analyze assistance as a tool in great power competition

• Understand the uses and limits of military power

• Communicate and defend policy to diverse audiences

  
  

High-Level Syllabus

(10 sessions: foreign assistance history and rationale, great power competition, democracy, economic/health returns, perceptions, tabletop exercise, policy project kickoff, budgeting, military assistance, cyber/tech/infrastructure, communications, final presentations/certificates)

Who Should Apply

• Congressional staff with portfolios in national security, appropriations, health, development, or foreign policy

  
  

Faculty & Speakers

Led by senior defense, diplomacy, and development experts, academics, and practitioners with real-world experience.

Metrics & Evaluation

• Pre/post knowledge assessments

• Alumni support and influence on policy and legislation

• Capstone projects applied in briefings or memos
  
  

Application

Rolling applications with priority deadlines.

Requirements: short statement, supervisor endorsement, 1-page CV.