2013-14 Australian-American Health Policy Fellowship

On behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, The Commonwealth Fund is pleased to announce the 2013-14 Australian-American Health Policy Fellowship.

The Australian-American Health Policy Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for outstanding, mid-career U.S. professionals—academics, government officials, clinical leaders, decision-makers in managed care and other private health care organizations, and journalists—to spend up to 10 months in Australia conducting research and working with leading Australian health policy experts on issues relevant to both countries. The aim of the Fellowship is to enrich health policy thinking in both countries as fellows study Australian health policy issues, share lessons learned from the United States, and develop an international perspective and network of contacts to facilitate exchange and collaboration that extends beyond the fellowship experience.

The Fellowship is structured around a research project on an issue relevant to achieving a high-performance health care system, and combines a research project with a program in which the Fellow with join a small group of Australian scholars to study the Australian health system. This is an exciting time to spend a period in Australia as significant national health reforms are further developed and implemented. The Fellowship may be hosted by an academic group, a government department or other health agency, depending on the Fellow’s interests. Research proposals should outline the relevance of the topic to health policy in both Australia and the United States, the research approach, the expected outcomes and the proposed duration of the Fellowship. The Fellow should produce a published article in a peer-reviewed journal from their research. Applicants should be US citizens.

Fellows will be placed at an academic institution, in a Commonwealth or State health department, or at another health agency. Leading policy experts will be assigned as mentors and will supervise fellows’ research, provide technical expertise and guidance, and facilitate access to data, colleagues, and organizations. In addition to undertaking original policy research, fellows may participate in seminars and policy briefings, which include meetings with senior officials at the Commonwealth and State levels, service providers, academics, and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors. At the end of their tenure, fellows will produce a report and present project findings to senior government officials and policy experts at a final reporting seminar.

The Australian-American Health Policy Fellowship is sponsored by Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and managed by the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation at the University of Technology in Sydney. Administration of the program in the United States is provided by The Commonwealth Fund, a New York City-based private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy.

For a full 10-month stay in Australia, the Fellowship awards up to $87,000 (AUD). There is also a family supplement available (e.g. up to $50,000 (AUD) for a spouse and two children).

The deadline for receipt of applications for the 2013-14 fellowship is August 15, 2012.

For questions, contact Robin Osborn, The Commonwealth Fund (tel.: 212-606-3809; email: ro@cmwf.org)