Program History

In the context of an increasingly globalized world, the Western Hemisphere faces shared opportunities and challenges that require societies to be open to innovation, entrepreneurship, and the generation of new knowledge that transcends national boundaries. To achieve inclusive prosperity and national well-being, nations must fully utilize the creativity and dynamism of all sectors of their economies and societies.  Effectively addressing pressing public policy issues in the region requires that knowledge and solutions be generated through the synergistic efforts of governments, the private sector, and civil society. The Fulbright program has long pioneered exchange programs that promote cooperation among these sectors to increase mutual understanding and address critical global issues.

Building upon this tradition and the experience of its first cohort of scholars, the Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research (NEXUS) Program will offer a collaborative model for regional scholarly exchange that will be multi-national, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sectoral in scope; it will encourage the formation of new networks of scholars, practitioners and applied researchers, thereby fostering concrete collaborative ventures with long-term regional impact. Combining cutting-edge theory with meaningful applied research in an array of fields, the Fulbright NEXUS program will create a network of experts who will seek synergies through individual and team-based multi-disciplinary research with potential for immediate and practical application, as well as provide a forum to spark new avenues for collaboration, share best practices, cultivate multi-sector partnerships, promote indigenous solutions, deepen regional ties, and foster private-public ventures.

The Fulbright NEXUS Program builds on successes and lessons learned from established Fulbright models, including the worldwide Fulbright New Century Scholars program, the Fulbright Lab to Market programs, and the latest Fulbright social entrepreneurship enrichment seminars. It also draws on current U.S. foreign policy initiatives that promote the sharing of best practices to fight poverty and inequality in creative, market-driven and socially responsible ways. As the region continues to be plagued by the largest income gap in the world, initiatives such as Pathways to Prosperity, the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, and the Inter-American Social Protection Network (IASPN) converge to respond to the regional imperative of expanding broad-based economic opportunity to all citizens.