Harkness Fellowship
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The Harkness Fellowships (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowships) are a programme run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. They were established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships[1] and enable Fellows from several countries to spend time studying in the United States.
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[edit] History
The Commonwealth Fund is a philanthropic foundation that was set up in the United States by Anna Harkness in 1918. Her son, Edward Stephen Harkness, initiated the Commonwealth Fund Fellowships in 1925. These were intended to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships by enabling British graduates to study in the United States. In 1927 the scheme was widened by the creation of Dominion Fellowships available to graduates from universities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. In 1929 a further category of Dominion Civil Service Fellowships was established. The awards were tenable from nine to fifteen months and candidates were to be under the age of 40.
In 1961 the Fellowships were renamed the Harkness Fellowships. In addition to the Civil Service Fellowships, a new category of General Fellowships was set up, open to people in the fields of business, banking, politics, creative arts and journalism. The maximum tenure period was extended to 21 months.
Since June 1997, the activities of the Harkness Fellowships have been limited to the field of health care. The Fellowships are now considered one of the most prestigious award programs in health policy,[2] and accept Fellows from Australia, Canada (known as Harkness Associates), Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. They are tenable for twelve months.
[edit] The Current Fellowship Programme
Harkness Fellows in Health Care Policy & Practice spend a year conducting research at prestigious American institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, Kaiser Permanente, or the Veterans Health Administration. They gain an in-depth understanding of the U.S. health care system and policy challenges, enhance their research skills, and develop contacts and opportunities for ongoing international collaboration.
In addition, Fellows attend a program of seminars during the year:
- September: Orientation and Qualitative Research Methodology Workshop
- November: International Symposium on Health Care Policy, bringing together Health Ministers from Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- February: Washington Policy Briefing held on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and senior government officials.
- May: Canadian Policy Briefing on Federal and provincial health
- June: Final Reporting Seminar and the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting.
[edit] Administration and Funding
The programme is funded and administered by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City, with additional funding for some Fellows coming from external bodies such as the Health Foundation (UK) and Bosch Stiftung (Germany).
[edit] Notable Alumni
The following are notable alumni of the Fellowship:
- Professor Patrick Bateson, emeritus Professor of ethology at Cambridge University
- Ronald Bottrall, Cornish Poet
- Harrison Birtwistle, Composer
- Sir George Malcolm Brown, Geologist
- Alistair Cooke, Journalist and Broadcaster of Letter from America
- Professor Marcus Cunliffe, former visiting Professor of American Studies at Harvard University
- Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Composer and Conductor
- Sir Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science
- Stuart Devlin, Gold & Silversmith
- Jennifer Dixon, Director of the Nuffield Trust
- Michael L'Estrange, Australian Public Servant
- Lawrence Goldman, Historian
- Anthony Green, Painter
- Ronald Hilton, British-American academic
- Graeme Koehne, Composer
- Nicola LeFanu, Composer
- Baron Murray of Newhaven, British academic
- Baron Penney, Physicist who was responsible for the development of British nuclear technology
- Peter Phillips, Artist
- Professor Randolph Quirk, British linguist
- Simon Stevens, Tony Blair’s health policy director at 10 Downing Street
- Professor Sir David Glyndwr Tudor Williams, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
- Professor Esmond Wright, Historian
- Professor Sir Christopher Zeeman, Mathematician
