Harkness Fellowships In Health Care Policy And Practice

THE COMMONWEALTH FUND
 2013-2014

The Commonwealth  Fund, in collaboration with the Nuffield Trust and the National Institute for Health Research, invites you to nominate a candidate for the 2013-14 Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice. Established in 1925, the Harkness Fellowships were modeled after the Rhodes Scholarships, and aim to produce the next generation of health policy leaders in participating countries. 
  


The deadline for receipt of applications from the United Kingdom is September 17, 2012. While all interested applicants are welcome to apply, we encourage nominations and appreciate your taking the time to identify potential applicants and help us to select the very best for this prestigious Fellowship program.
  
  


The Harkness Fellowships provide a unique opportunity for mid-career professionals—academic researchers, government policymakers, clinicians, hospital and insurance managers, and journalists—from Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, to spend up to 12 months in the United States studying a critical issue on the health policy agenda, working with leading U.S. health policy experts, and gaining in-depth knowledge of both the U.S. and other Fellows' home country health care systems. The Commonwealth Fund also brings together the full class of Fellows throughout the year to participate in a series of policy and leadership seminars with U.S. health care leaders.
  
 

In the United Kingdom, the Harkness Fellowships have been supported by the Nuffield Trust since 2009, and since 2010, are additionally supported by the U.K. National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)..  The Nuffield Trust, with strategic focus on the reform of health systems to improve quality efficiency and equity of health care, aims to encourage the next generation of leaders in the policy community, in particular, those with rigorous analytic skills.  The NIHR Programme, which funds research on service design and delivery challenges – such as service and system arrangements, teamwork, management, and leadership – aims to engage NHS managers with research. 
  


Applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in health policy issues and propose a study within the scope of The Commonwealth Fund’s mission to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including low income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. 
 


Once selected, the Fund will provide extensive support to successful Fellows to help them develop and shape their research proposals to better fit the context of the U.S. health system. Through its network of contacts, the Fund will help identify and place Fellows with mentors who are experts in the policy areas to be studied, e.g., at Harvard University, Columbia University, University of California at San Francisco, Johns Hopkins University, Kaiser Permanente, Veterans Health Administration, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), RAND, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Group Health Cooperative at Puget Sound. 
  


A peer-reviewed journal article or policy report for Health Ministers and other high-level policy audiences is the anticipated product of the fellowship. Harkness Fellows have published their findings in leading journals, including: British Medical Journal, Health Affairs, Health Policy, International Journal for Quality in Health Care,   The Lancet, Milbank Quarterly, Journal of the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, and Quality and Safety in Health Care. 
  


Building on their fellowship experiences, Harkness Fellows have moved into senior positions within academia, government, and health care delivery organizations, making valuable contributions to health policy and practice at home and in the United States. In addition, Harkness Fellows become part of a strong international network, with opportunities for ongoing cross-national collaborations and research. 
 
Each fellowship will provide up to U.S. $119,000 in support, which includes round trip airfare to the United States, a monthly stipend, travel to a program of Harkness seminars and policy briefings, project-related travel and other research expenses, health insurance, and U.S. taxes. In addition, a supplemental family allowance (e.g. approximately $55,000 for partner and 2 children up to age 18)  is provided to Fellows to cover living expenses, airfare, and health insurance. Applicants who are not citizens of the country in which they are applying must have permanent residency and have lived in that country for at least the last three years. Such applicants must also be committed to pursuing careers in the country from which they are selected.

The deadline for receipt of applications from the United Kingdom is September 17, 2012.

 
For an application, program brochure, and list of suggested projects, please visit www.commonwealthfund.org/fellowships  For questions about the program, eligibility, and proposed projects, please feel free to contact Robin Osborn, vice president and director of the International Program in Health Policy and Innovation (email: ro@cmwf.org; tel: 212-606-3809)