Apply for the Harkness Fellowship

Eligibility, Review, and Selection Criteria

Harkness Fellowships are designed for mid-career professionals who are committed to advancing health policy and practice in The Commonwealth Fund's principal areas of interest: improving health insurance coverage and access to care; and improving the quality and efficiency of health care services. Projects may include comparisons between the United States and the applicant's home country. Fellowships are not awarded to support study for academic degrees. All applicants must:

• Be citizens of Australia*, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, or the United Kingdom. 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.
• Show significant promise as a policy-oriented health services researcher or practitioner (clinician, health services manager, government official, or journalist);
• Have a demonstrated expertise in health policy issues and a track record of informing health policy through research, policy analysis, health services, or clinical leadership;
• Have a master's degree or doctorate (or the equivalent thereof) in health care services, health policy research, or a related discipline, such as economics or political science (consideration may be given to candidates with a bachelor's degree only, depending on work experience); and
• If academically based, be at a mid-career level (e.g., research fellow to senior lecturer).

Applications are reviewed by Fund staff and a panel of experts appointed in each of the participating countries. A limited number of applicants will be invited for interviews, which will be conducted November 21, 2019 in Sydney (for Australian applicants*), November 23, 2019 in Auckland (for New Zealand applicants), January 15, 2020 in London (for U.K. applicants), January 17, 2019 in Paris (for French applicants), February 4, 2020 in Berlin (for German and Dutch applicants), February 7, 2020 in Oslo (for Norwegian applicants), and late February or March 2020 in Toronto (for Canadian applicants). Canadian  interview dates will be added here as soon as they are set.

In-person interviews for the 2020-21 Australian Harkness Fellowships will be held on November 21st in Sydney. All Australian applicants are asked to please reserve the date of November 21st in case they are selected for interview. Applicants will be notified on November 12th if they have been shortlisted.  If invited for an interview, the Commonwealth Fund will assist with arrangements for travel and hotel accommodations, if needed, and cover expenses.

The Fund does not provide critiques of applications that are declined. Candidates are selected based on their qualifications and leadership potential; their commitment to improving health care through research and practice; the quality of their research proposal; the relevance of their proposed research to the Fund's areas of interest and to policy development in their home country; and the strength of their supporting letters.

How to Apply for the Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice

A PDF with detailed instructions for the online application is available here.

STEP 1 – REGISTRATION Prior to accessing the Harkness Online Application, the system will prompt you to register. Select "New User?" and enter the required information to create your account. 

STEP 2 – VERIFICATION OF REGISTRATION You will receive a verification email with the subject line "Thank you for registering! Please verify your Email." Use the link in the email to verify your account. 

STEP 3 – RETRIEVING THE ONLINE APPLICATION After you have verified your account you will receive a second email with the subject line "Welcome to the Commonwealth Community Portal for Grantees." Use the link in this email to access the login page  and begin your application. 

Harkness Application

Begin Your Application

Continue Your Application

2020-21 Harkness Fellowship Application Deadlines:

• New Zealand: Monday, October 7
• Australia*: Monday, October 28
• Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, and UK: Monday, November 11

Please review the Suggested Project Themes before submitting your application to ensure that your project proposal is consistent with The Commonwealth Fund's priorities.  A PDF with detailed instructions for the online application is available here. 

*Please note that there is an additional requirement for Harkness Fellowship applicants from Australia.

IN ORDER TO APPLY, AUSTRALIAN APPLICANTS WILL NEED A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT, OR STATE / TERRITORY GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL ENDORSING THE PROPOSED PROJECT. 

This process involves:  1) reviewing the country-specific list of priority themes (below) and shaping your project proposal around those priorities; 2) contacting one of the designated government officials no later than October 7, 2019 to review your draft proposal and provide feedback; and, 3) submitting an endorsement letter from the government official with the Harkness application by October 28, 2019.

Applicants must contact one of the designated government officials to share their draft project proposal and corresponding dissemination strategy that ensures the findings are presented to key Federal, state, territory and health care delivery system audiences. If appropriate, it should also include a proposed strategy for implementation. Initial contact with a government official should be made as early as possible and no later than October 7.

Please note that applicants from New South Wales have until October 21 to make initial contact with their designated government official.

From October 7-28, applicants should revise their project proposal and dissemination strategy based on advice and requested changes from the government official.

Applicants must then secure an endorsement letter from the government official (on organizational letterhead) stating that their project proposal and dissemination plan were reviewed by the official and are aligned with government priorities.  This letter must be submitted along with the application components listed above.                           

Policy Themes:  Applications for the 2020-21 Australian Harkness Fellowship must relate to one of the following priority policy themes jointly agreed upon by the Australian Government and state and territory governments.

1. Integration of Care across all sectors of the health system, including aged care
2. Chronic Disease and Multi-Morbidity, including prevention and public health
3. Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
4. Obesity
5. Impact and Utilisation of Technology and Artificial Intelligence on service delivery, and potentially the implications for rural, remote and regional settings
6. Workforce to support new models of care (including merger of health and social care workforce)
7. Overall Health System Sustainability (trajectories of needs/costs and implications for health and broader public policy)
8. Early Years and/or End of Life

Australian Government and State / Territory Government Contacts: Applicants for the 2020-21 Australian Harkness Fellowship must contact one of the officials listed below to seek endorsement of their application.

When reaching out via email, please use the subject line: 2020-21 Australian Harkness Fellowship Application Endorsement

Queensland:	Dr. Anna Vinkhuyzen Principal Policy Officer Health, Innovation, Investment and Research Office (HIIRO) Department of Health Level 13, 33 Charlotte Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000 Phone: 07 3199 3992 Email:  [email protected]
Victoria:	Dr. Claire Langdon Assistant Director, Policy and Planning Health and Wellbeing Division Department of Health and Human Services 50 Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 T: 03 9096 7712  M: +61 437 136 324 Email: [email protected]
Northern Territory:	Vera Whitehouse Director - Learning Development Department of Health Northern Territory Government GPO Box 40596, Casuarina, NT 0811 Phone: 08 8922 7454 Email: [email protected]
Western Australia:	Ryan Sengara Director Strategy, Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Department of Health Phone: (08) 9222 2296  M: 0431 120 857 Email: [email protected]
Australian Capital Territory:	Michael Culhane ACT Health Email: [email protected]
South Australia:	Ms Catherine Turnbull Chief Allied & Scientific Health Officer SA Health Education Lead Phone: (08) 8226 6406 Email: [email protected]
New South Wales:	Cathryn Cox Executive Director Health System Planning and Investment Email: [email protected]
Tasmania:	Michael Pervan Secretary – Department of Health and Human Services. Email: [email protected]
Commonwealth:	Emma Wood Assistant Secretary International and Commonwealth/State Relations Branch Department of Health Phone: (02) 6289 3156 Email: [email protected]