NetHope Humanitarian AI Research Fellowship 2026
NetHope's remote, part time Humanitarian AI Research Fellowship pays a stipend for AI research from November 2026 to February 2027. Apply by October 9, 2026.
The Humanitarian AI Research Fellowship is a new pilot from NetHope, a network of more than 60 humanitarian, development and conservation organizations. Fellows do research on how AI can be used responsibly in humanitarian and development work. NetHope wants findings its members can use right away.
The fellowship is remote, part time and open internationally. Fellows give about 10 hours a week from mid November 2026 through February 2027. The cohort will have 4 to 6 fellows. Fellows receive a stipend, but NetHope does not publish the amount; it is shared with selected fellows.
There are two streams. Stream 1 covers AI adoption and governance, with at least two case studies of how nonprofits adopt and manage AI tools. Stream 2 covers AI systems and localization. It includes evaluating open source and open weight models for humanitarian use, looking at offline and low connectivity deployment, and building fine tuning prompts and datasets.
NetHope welcomes mid career to seasoned practitioners with strong writing and analysis skills. Stream 2 asks for a background in computer science, machine learning or applied data science, and experience with model evaluation or red teaming is a plus. NetHope owns all research outputs, including code and datasets, and fellows are credited as named authors. All fellows must pass an OFAC screening.
To apply, upload a CV, a letter of interest that answers three questions, and two or three references through the NetHope portal by October 9, 2026. A writing sample is optional. NetHope may select fellows before the closing date.