The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several countries to spend time studying in the United States. Recipients of the scholarship include a president of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

; former chairman and CEO of

Salomon Brothers Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York City. It was one of the five List of investment banks, largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and a very profitabl ...

; a former Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

; the controller of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

; the editor of the '' Sunday Times''; former directors of the Medical Research Council, the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

; and a vice president of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

History

The Commonwealth Fund is a philanthropic foundation established in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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, and accept Fellows from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(known as Harkness Associates), France,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(as of 2009),

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(as of 2009) and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. They are tenable for twelve months.

Current fellowship program

Harkness Fellows in Health Care Policy & Practice spend a year conducting research at American institutions such as

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, Brigham and Women's Hospital,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, Kaiser Permanente, or the

Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a Nationali ...

. 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 Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This ...

Methodology Workshop *November: International Symposium on

Healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

Policy, bringing together Health Ministers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States *February: Washington Policy Briefing held on Capitol Hill with members of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

and senior government officials *May: Canadian Policy Briefing on Federal and provincial health *June: Final Reporting Seminar and the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting

Administration and funding

The programme is funded and administered by the Commonwealth Fund of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, with additional support for some Fellows coming from external bodies, namely: *B. Braun Stiftung and Robert Bosch Stiftung (Germany) *Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (Canada) *Careum Foundation (Switzerland) * Health Foundation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (UK) *The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Netherlands)

Notable alumni

*Professor David Armitage, transnational historian *Professor Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby, British botanist and educator *Professor Peter Atkins, professor of chemistry at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

*Professor Sir Jonathan Bate, Shakespeare scholar and biographer *Professor Patrick Bateson, emeritus professor of

ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

*Professor Tim Beaglehole, chancellor of the Victoria University of Wellington * J.G. Farrell, novelist. *Sir

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

, composer *Professor Colin Blakemore, neurobiologist and former chief executive of the Medical Research Council *Sir Ronald Bottrall, Cornish poet *Professor Hugh Brogan, historian and biographer *Sir George Malcolm Brown, geologist *Professor Sir Roy Calne British surgeon who performed the world's first liver, heart, and lung transplant *Sir Graeme Catto, president of the

*Reverend Professor Sarah Coakley, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor of Divinity at the

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

* Justin Connolly, composer * Barry Conyngham, composer, Vice Chancellor Southern Cross University *

Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke, Order of the British Empire, KBE (né Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the Unite ...

KBE, journalist and broadcaster of '' Letter from America'' *Professor Sir Steven Cowley Theoretical Physicist and Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. * Dr Nigel H Croft, Quality Expert, and key architect of the

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

quality management standards ( ISO 9001) *Professor Nicholas J. Cull, historian *Professor Marcus Cunliffe, former visiting professor of American studies at

* Mark Damazer, controller of

and BBC 7 *Sir Howard Davies, director of the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

*Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer, conductor and Master of the Queen's Music *Professor Glyn Davis, vice-chancellor of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

* Stuart Devlin, goldsmith and jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen *Dr Jennifer Dixon, CBE, FRCP, FFPH, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation *Professor John Montfort Dunn, emeritus professor of political theory at King's College, Cambridge *Professor John Dupré, philosopher *

Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was a British-American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrix, random matrices, math ...

, scientist *Sir Harold Evans, former editor of the '' Sunday Times'' *Sir Terry Farrell, architect of the MI6 Building *Professor Pamela Gillies, principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University * Fiona Godlee, editor, '' BMJ'' * Lawrence Goldman, historian and editor of the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

* Anthony Green RA, painter * Karl W. Gruenberg, British mathematician * Nigel Hall RA, sculptor and draughtsman *Professor Jonathan Harvey (composer) * Tom Hayhoe, chairman of the Legal Services Consumer Panel and the Taxation Disciplinary Board * Alastair Hetherington, editor of ''The Guardian'', 1956–1975 * Tony Hey CBE, academic and corporate vice-president of technical computing at

*Dame Rosalyn Higgins, president of the

* Ronald Hilton, British-American academic who helped uncover the CIA’s clandestine preparations for the

Bay of Pigs invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...

*Professor Masud Husain FMedSci Neurologist * Peter Jenkins, journalist *The Hon. Shane Jones, New Zealand politician *Professor Ralph Kekwick FRS Biochemist * Bridget Kendall MBE, diplomatic correspondent for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

* Graeme Koehne, Australian composer and chair of the Australia Council's music board * Rem Koolhaas, architect and principal of OMA * Sally Laird, writer, editor and translator *Professor Nicola LeFanu, composer *Professor Koen Lenaerts, professor of European Law and judge at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

* Sue Lenier, English poet and playwright * Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, politician * Michael L'Estrange AO, Australian public servant and former Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom * Gwyneth Lewis, Welsh poet, the first National Poet for Wales *Professor David Lodge, British author * Piers Mackesy, military historian *Professor Roger Marsh, composer *Dr Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) * Sir Deryck Maughan, former chairman and CEO of

* Keith Milow, artist * Julian Mitchell, FRSL, playwright, screenwriter, novelist * Jan Morris CBE, historian and travel writer *Professor Geoff Mulgan, former director of policy at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

and director of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit * Baron Murray of Newhaven, British academic * Sara Nathan OBE, broadcast journalist and regulator * Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, rabbi and social reformer * Peter Nicholls (writer), Australian literary scholar and critic * John Nicolson (journalist and broadcaster) *Professor Claus Offe, political sociologist *Professor Derek Parfit, philosopher * Baron Penney, physicist responsible for the development of British nuclear technology * Peter Phillips, artist and pioneer of pop art *Professor Randolph Quirk, British linguist, former Quain Professor at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. *Professor Dame Anne Marie Rafferty DBE, British nurse, currently Professor of Nursing Policy Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and President of the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...

, UK. * Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered plc * Malcolm Singer, composer, conductor and Director of Music, Yehudi Menuhin School * Richard Smith, painter and printmaker * Randolph Stow, Australian writer * Andrew Sullivan, writer, blogger and gay rights activist *Professor Barry Trimmer, biologist and creator of the world's first soft-bodied robot *Professor Rudolf G. Wagner, sinologist *Professor Sir David Wallace, director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge and master of Churchill College, Cambridge *Professor Denis Weaire, Irish physicist * Brett Whiteley, Australian artist *Professor Sir David Glyndwr Tudor Williams, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge *Professor Jonathan Wolff, former chair of philosophy at

. * Adrian Wooldridge, Washington bureau chief and "Lexington" columnist for

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

*Professor Esmond Wright, historian * Hugo Young, British journalist *Professor Sir Erik Christopher Zeeman, mathematician * Ruth Louisa Cohen CBE, economisthttp://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/cohen-ruth-louisa#bibliography Natasha Lehrer, Natasha Obituary Ruth Louisa Cohen Jewish Women's Archive *Professor Christina Pagel, Health services researcher and mathematician, Director of the UCL Clinical Operational Research Unit

References and notes

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External links