HARKNESS
FELLOWSHIPS TRUST
Harkness@100: Culture shock and curiosity – A Harkness Fellow’s journey across America
By Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy (former Professor of Linguistics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch)
I was awarded a Harkness Fellowship by the UK Harkness Committee in 1969. This funded me for 21 months as a PhD student in linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So I am hardly typical of Harkness beneficiaries resident in New Zealand today! Even so, I hope that what I say about my experience may strike a chord with other past or potential Fellows.
New Zealanders and British people have the English language in common with Americans. It can therefore be a shock to discover how far our cultures diverge. As a condition of my fellowship I was required to spend three months travelling around the USA.
I still have the diary I kept during that adventure. On 11 June 1970 I arrived by bus in Natchez, Mississippi. As I carried my rucksack on my way to a motel, a man stopped me in the street and asked me where I was from. On hearing that I was from London, he told me his son had married an English girl there. He understood that London was a large and impressive city. Why, then, had I come to Natchez? The notion of travel to broaden the mind was strange to him.
The next day I was stopped again by an intensely suspicious policeman. Hearing that I was studying at MIT did nothing to allay his suspicions. No doubt he recalled that, only a month earlier, two students had been shot dead by police at a college in the state capital, Jackson, while demonstrating against the Vietnam War. Eventually, however, my accent persuaded him that I was harmless.
The distinction between the USA’s coastal states (such as New York and California) and the ‘fly-over country’ between them is familiar. Alongside that is the attitude displayed by a fellow-student at MIT, who was horrified to hear that I was planning to visit some southern states during my bus trip.
For her, ‘the South’ seemed not merely culturally alien but also physically dangerous. Events of recent years should remind potential Harkness Fellows that the United States of America are united only in legal terms—and even that unity is perhaps now precarious.
Championing innovation in Māori economic development: Jacob (Hākopa) Ashdown named 2025 Harkness Fellow
The Harkness Fellowships Trust (NZ) is proud to announce the selection of Hākopa Ashdown as the 2025 New Zealand Harkness Fellow.
Hākopa Ashdown, (Te Aupōuri, Ngai Takoto, Ngāti Kahu), currently Private Secretary to the Minister for Māori Development at Te Puni Kōkiri, will undertake a prestigious research residency at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, later this year.
The Harkness Fellowships, administered in partnership with the Leadership Development Centre at Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission, are among New Zealand’s most esteemed international awards for public sector leaders, supporting high-potential individuals to study or research in the United States for three to six months. The value of this year’s fellowship is $60,000.
The Fellowships aim to foster leadership, innovation, and the exchange of ideas between New Zealand and the US, empowering Fellows to address pressing challenges and drive positive change upon their return.
Ashdown’s project, Lessons Learned from the United States – Indigenous Economic Growth and Development in Underserved Communities, will examine successful US policies and initiatives that have accelerated economic growth for indigenous and economically disadvantaged communities.
His research seeks to understand how Special Economic Zones have attracted private capital into low-income communities designated as ’Opportunity Zones’, and how communities have established their own Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to address access to capital issues. Through the Fellowship, he will generate practical recommendations for New Zealand policymakers and iwi to improve economic growth.
“Hākopa Ashdown exemplifies the spirit of the Harkness Fellowship: a commitment to public service, a drive for innovation, and a vision for a more equitable and prosperous New Zealand,” says Aphra Green, Chair of the Harkness Fellowships Trust.
“His project promises to deliver real impact for Māori and for all New Zealanders, and we are delighted to support his journey.”
Dave Samuels, Secretary for Māori Development, Te Puni Kōkiri, added:
“We are very proud of Hākopa and delighted with his selection as the 2025 New Zealand Harkness Fellow. Hākopa joins a prestigious line of Māori leaders who have been awarded the Fellowship, including Kara Puketapu, Whaimutu Dewes, Dr Pauline Kingi, Hon Shane Jones, Hon Dr Shane Reti, Doug Jones, Peter Douglas, Anake Goodall, and Chief Judge Dr Caren Fox.
“We wish him well for his time at Harvard and look forward to following his work on community-led solutions and economic growth.”
Ashdown brings a distinguished record of leadership and service to the Fellowship. With nearly two decades of experience spanning roles in government, iwi, and community organisations, he has contributed to cross-agency initiatives such as Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga and the National Direction on Papakāinga, and holds a Master of Science in Psychology (First Class). He is also an active participant in iwi governance and a recipient of multiple leadership awards.
Reflecting on his selection, Ashdown said:
“I am honoured to be named the 2025 Harkness Fellow. This is a unique opportunity to learn from leading thinkers and practitioners at Harvard and across the US, and to bring back innovative ideas that can help accelerate economic growth and support community-led development. My goal is to forge new partnerships, share practical solutions, and inspire collaboration between government, iwi, and communities in Aotearoa.”
Ashdown’s research will include case studies, stakeholder engagement, and community visits in the US, culminating in a policy brief and a series of dissemination hui for New Zealand audiences. He will also participate in executive leadership programmes offered by Harvard.
The Harkness Fellowships Trust congratulates Hākopa Ashdown and looks forward to the insights and connections he will bring back to New Zealand.
About the Harkness Fellowships Trust
The New Zealand Harkness Fellowships Trust Board established the New Zealand Harkness Fellowships in 2009 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 Fellowships offer emerging leaders in the public sector the opportunity to spend 3-6 months undertaking research in the United States. The fellowships enable successful candidates to gain first-hand knowledge and build contacts in their chosen field of endeavour that will be highly relevant to the NZ context and future NZ/US links.
The Trust Board works to administer the fellowships in partnership with the Leadership Development Centre, which is acting on behalf of the Public Service Commission. The current fellowships continue a Harkness fellowship programme that stretches back over sixty years.
Harkness Fellowship – applications open!
The New Zealand Harkness Fellowship is for a high-potential senior leader 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.
One New Zealand Harkness Fellowship worth up to NZ$60,000 is being offered in 2025 (for travel in mid-late 2025), to a leader currently employed in in the New Zealand Public Sector. The length and total value of the Fellowship will be determined by the LDC and Harkness Trust Board, in conjunction with the successful applicant.
The New Zealand Harkness 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. Their purpose is to enable appointed Fellows to gain first-hand knowledge and build contacts in their chosen field of endeavour that will be highly relevant to the NZ context and future NZ/US links. The Trust Board is working in partnership with the Leadership Development Centre, which is acting on behalf of the NZ Government.
The programme has four goals:
- Reinforce New Zealand-United States links by enabling actual or potential leaders and opinion formers in New Zealand to benefit from new ideas, practices and new contacts in the US;
- Increase the Fellow’s ability to bring about change and improvements in New Zealand;
- Help improve the cross-fertilisation of ideas and experience between New Zealand and the United States; and
- Build a leadership network on both sides of the Pacific, encourage ongoing exchange between New Zealand and the United States and establish enduring relationships offering reciprocal benefits to both countries.
As part of your fellowship proposal, you will need to;
- State the objectives and methodology of your proposed project.
- Describe the significance of your project for your field in both the US and New Zealand.
- Outline your ideas for how your experiences in the US will be communicated and applied to the New Zealand context to effect a particular outcome(s).
- Demonstrate a track record of learning and growth in characteristics representative of the future leadership that the New Zealand Public Sector needs.
- Provide evidence of a planned and purposeful approach to the Fellowship.
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.
Entitlement
One fellowship valued at up to NZ$60,000 will be offered in 2025 (for an award start date in mid-late 2025). New Zealand Harkness Fellowships are intended to contribute towards travel costs (international and domestic), accommodation and per diem expenses. Additional costs in excess of NZ$60,000 must be met by the Fellow and/or their New Zealand employer.
Read about previous fellow’s experience:
2024 fellow: Sarah Box (Harkness Fellowship Trust)
2023 fellow: Aimee Hadrup (Harkness Fellowship Trust) and Jym Clark
2016 fellow: Aphra Green (Public Service Commission)
HARKNESS 