Hao Family Post-Graduate Social Impact Fellowship

Applicants must:

• Be graduating Harvard College seniors of any citizenship or residency status
• Read and agree to URAF’s Principles and Policies for Applicants

Eligible projects must:

• Begin after graduation on or near July 1 and run for approximately one year
• Constitute the fellow’s primary full-time activity during the fellowship period
• Address a significant social problem identified with a community affected by it
• Involve direct partnership with that community
• Have an appropriate structure for project support, oversight, and accountability
• Constitute a defined project with a bounded scope and timeline, rather than a general staff or programmatic role with open-ended or ongoing duties

Projects will ordinarily be undertaken in affiliation with an appropriate sponsoring organization that provides support and oversight for the fellow and the project. Where no suitable sponsoring organization exists, an applicant may propose an alternative structure that demonstrates direct community partnership and credible arrangements for guidance, accountability, project administration, and responsible use of funds.

The fellowship does not support academic research or projects involving human-subjects research. Projects may include community consultation, routine program evaluation, and the collection of information needed to implement or assess the work, provided those activities do not constitute human-subjects research requiring institutional review.

Projects may take place in the United States or abroad. The fellowship will not fund degree programs, and fellows may not be enrolled in a full-time degree program during the fellowship year.

Each award provides a $50,000 fellowship stipend, up to $10,000 in project implementation funding, and a stipend to support travel related to sharing project outcomes.

Hao Fellows are part of a cohort of up to six fellows. During the fellowship year, fellows will participate in regularly scheduled cohort meetings convened by the program. 

At the midpoint of the fellowship, fellows will submit a written progress report to the program. At the conclusion of the fellowship, fellows will present their project outcomes at a culminating event and submit a final written report on their results, lessons learned, and use of funds.

Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Community grounding and partnership: The proposal demonstrates a strong understanding of the community and the problem to be addressed. The community has played a meaningful role in identifying the problem, shaping the proposed work, and defining success.
• Proposed action: The project presents a clear and substantive response to the identified problem. The applicant demonstrates awareness of existing approaches and explains how the project will strengthen, adapt, extend, or add to them.
• Project sponsorship: The sponsoring or host organization is well suited to the project and will provide appropriate collaboration, supervision, access, resources, or other support.
• Implementation readiness: The project has a feasible scope, plan, timeline, and budget for the fellowship year. The applicant has considered relevant operational, ethical, safety, and logistical issues.
• Applicant preparation: The applicant demonstrates the relevant knowledge, experience, skills, judgment, initiative, and adaptability necessary to carry out the work responsibly.
• Intended impact and assessment: The project identifies the people or community conditions it seeks to benefit, the improvement it intends to produce, and realistic methods for assessing progress, results, and community experience.
• Potential beyond the fellowship year: The project demonstrates a thoughtful approach to continuation, transfer, replication, adaptation, scaling, or responsible conclusion after the fellowship.

Projects may improve an existing approach, adapt a promising model to a new setting, or develop and test a new response. Applicants are not expected to establish a new organization or demonstrate impact at scale.

Applications will be reviewed by a faculty and staff selection committee with relevant experience in social impact, community partnership, and project implementation. Finalist interviews will take place virtually during the first part of January. Awards will be announced soon thereafter.

The application consists of the following components. All materials, including letters and the video interview, must be submitted through the Harvard University Funding Portal by the application deadline.

Online Application Form Applicants will provide:

• Biographical and academic information
• Basic information about the proposed project
• Information about anticipated travel, including locations, dates, and applicable visa requirements

Project Proposal. Applicants must submit a project proposal of no more than three single-spaced pages, using a legible font of at least 11 points and margins of at least one inch. The proposal should address:

• The social problem to be addressed and how the community has identified or defined it
• Gaps or limitations in existing approaches
• The proposed action and the applicant's role in carrying it out
• The community partnership and how community members or representatives will participate in the work
• The project's principal activities, timeline, and anticipated challenges
• The applicant's preparation to undertake the project
• The intended results and how progress and impact will be assessed
• The potential continuation, transfer, adaptation, expansion, or responsible conclusion of the work after the fellowship year

The proposal should demonstrate that the project is substantially developed and ready for implementation.

Project Budget and Budget Narrative. Applicants may request up to $10,000 for project implementation expenses. This funding is separate from the $50,000 fellowship stipend.

Applicants will complete the project budget in a separate section of the application and upload a budget narrative of no more than one page explaining how the proposed expenses support the project. The budget should include only project costs and should not include the applicant's ordinary living expenses.

Partnership and Sponsorship Letter. Applicants must request a letter from an authorized representative of the community partner OR sponsoring organization. The representative must submit the letter directly through the Harvard University Funding Portal by the application deadline. The letter should describe:

• The community partner's relationship to the problem and proposed project
• How the community has helped shape the work
• The applicant's anticipated role
• The support and oversight the sponsoring organization will provide

When the community partner and sponsoring organization are different, the letter may be signed by representatives of both or otherwise explain their respective roles.

Where no suitable sponsoring organization exists, the applicant must submit a letter from the community partner confirming the partnership and explain in the project proposal the alternative arrangements for guidance, accountability, project administration, and responsible use of funds.

Letter of Recommendation. One general letter of recommendation is required. The letter should address the applicant's relevant qualifications, judgment, initiative, ability to collaborate, and readiness to assume substantial responsibility for the proposed project. The letter does not need to come from a Harvard faculty member.

Video Interview. Applicants must complete the video interview linked within the application. The interview will consist of two questions and must be completed in a single sitting. You will have a minute and half to answer each question. After completing the interview, applicants must upload the link to their video recording in the relevant section of the application.

Applicants should respond in their own words rather than reading from a prepared script. Responses will be evaluated for their substance, judgment, authenticity, and interpersonal communication. Production quality will not be considered.

Résumé. Applicants must submit a résumé of no more than one page highlighting experiences relevant to the proposed project.

Transcript. Applicants must submit a current unofficial Harvard College transcript that includes fall grades and spring course registration.

Finalist Interview Finalists will be invited to a live interview. URAF may request additional information or documentation before making a final award.

Fellows are required to:

• Undertake the project as their primary full-time activity for the duration of the fellowship year
• Not be enrolled in a full-time degree program during the fellowship
• Participate in regularly scheduled cohort meetings convened by the program
• Submit a written progress report at the midpoint of the fellowship
• Return to campus at the conclusion of the fellowship to present project outcomes
• Submit a final written report on project outcomes, lessons learned, and use of funds
• Use project funds in accordance with the approved project budget
• Comply with URAF's policies applicable to fellowship recipients