New Zealand Harkness Fellowships

The New Zealand Harkness Fellowships are for high potential senior leaders in any field of study or vocation (excluding health care policy and practice) to study or research in the US for between 3-6 months. The fellowships were established in 2009 by the New Zealand Harkness Fellowships Trust Board to reinforce links between New Zealand and the US and to enable executive leaders in the Public Sector to benefit from study and travel in the US. The programme aims to enable appointed Fellows to gain first-hand knowledge and build contacts in their chosen field that will be highly relevant to the NZ context and future NZ/US links. Fellows are expected to be based at a government agency, university, research institute or 'think tank' for a significant part of their stay in the US. The programme has four goals: reinforce New Zealand-United States links, increase the Fellow's ability to bring about change in New Zealand, improve the cross-fertilisation of ideas between the two countries, and build a leadership network on both sides of the Pacific. In 2026, up to 2 fellowships worth up to NZ$60,000 each are being offered for travel in mid-late 2026.