# Applying for the Impact Lab Development Fellowship [ About the Fellowship arrow\_circle\_right ](https://impactlabs.harvard.edu/applying-impact-lab-development-fellowship#About) [ Eligibility arrow\_circle\_right ](https://impactlabs.harvard.edu/applying-impact-lab-development-fellowship#Eligibility) [ FAQs arrow\_circle\_right ](https://impactlabs.harvard.edu/applying-impact-lab-development-fellowship#FAQ) ![Headshot of Professor Pedulla](/sites/g/files/omnuum8861/files/styles/hwp_3_4__480x640/public/2025-09/Pedulla_Cropped_Small.jpg?itok=ZpC3If98) The Fellowship is a great way to learn how to move your work from focusing purely on academic production to including how to impact issues beyond the academy. David Pedulla Professor of Sociology and Professor of Public Policy, 2025-2026 Impact Lab Development Fellow ## expand\_more Applications for the 2026-2007 Fellowship were due on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. **To be notified of new calls for applications,** [**sign up for updates**](/sign-updates "Sign up for Updates")**.** ## About the Impact Lab Development Fellowship The Fellowship provides Harvard faculty with training, coaching, and support to conceptualize new research projects that seek to develop and test concrete solutions to a social problem in collaboration with external practitioners. [Click here to read about the 2025-2026 fellows.](https://impactlabs.harvard.edu/impact-lab-development-fellowship#fellows) ### The Fellowship is designed for faculty who want: - Their research to help solve a societal problem and improve people’s lives in a direct and measurable way. - To deepen the connection between the research they do and the practices, programs, technologies, or policies of key institutions. - To launch their partnership- and solutions-oriented research project or to expand the impact of an existing project or lab. Faculty do not need to have an existing relationship with an external organization. ### What fellows receive: - Training from a workshop that meets monthly for 3-hours - One-on-one coaching and support from faculty and staff - A community of practice with other faculty from across the University - $25,000 in flexible seed funding ### About the monthly Fellowship sessions: - The monthly sessions are activity- and discussion-based, and will be held on Fridays from 10am - 1pm - Topics include: refining your definition of the problem; how your research will contribute towards scalable solutions; building and maintaining strong partnerships; co-creation research strategies; communicating with non-academic audiences; fundraising; and operational considerations for creating and staffing an impact lab - Pre-work assigned between sessions, including stakeholder conversations, readings and/or reflections - This year’s workshop will be led by Professors Danielle Allen and Jeffrey Liebman and Harvard Impact Labs staff, with guest speakers who have experience with solutions-focused, engaged research The Fellowship is modeled on one that Stanford Impact Labs has conducted for six years and that Stanford faculty participants credit with providing the frameworks, tools, and resources needed to move their research to new levels or in new directions. ## Eligibility To be eligible, applicants ***must*** be tenured, tenure-track, or full-time Professors of the Practice or Professors in Residence at Harvard. Both Quad and non-Quad Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine professors are eligible. The most important criteria we are looking for is a strong motivation to connect your research and expertise with practical approaches to achieving public impact and curiosity for how to best engage with partners to co-create strategies to address a particular social problem. ### The strongest applicants will: - Want to increase the public impact of their research - Be curious about how to best engage with partners to co-create strategies to solve a particular social problem - Have a track record of scholarship relevant to the problem area - Be open-minded, flexible, and humble ## Application Timeline Applications will be evaluated by Harvard Impact Labs faculty and staff. Those advancing will be invited to an interview. - April-May – Virtual information sessions - [Click here to download the slides](/sites/g/files/omnuum8861/files/2026-05/HIL%20Spring%202026%20Information%20Sessions.pdf " Harvard Impact Labs April-May 2026 Info Session Slide Deck") - June 2, 2026 – Applications due - June - July – Virtual interviews conducted for those advancing to the interview stage - August – Participants selected and notified - September – Fellowship begins with a welcome dinner ## Frequently Asked Questions Don't see your question below? Contact us at [ImpactLabFellowship@hks.harvard.edu](mailto:HarvardImpactLabs@hks.harvard.edu). Open all sections Close all sections ### Why would I want to join this fellowship? expand\_more - You want your research to help solve a societal problem and improve people’s lives in a direct and measurable way. - You want to deepen the connection between the research you do and the practices, programs, technologies, or policies of key institutions. - You want to launch your own partnership- and solutions-oriented research project or to expand the impact of an existing project or lab. ### What is an Impact Lab? expand\_more - **It is focused on solving a problem(s)**: Impact Labs are aimed at solving big social problems by making a sustained effort to test and identify solutions that can be deployed at scale. - **It is partnership based:** Impact Labs are collaborations among scholars and people and organizations affected by an issue to jointly define the problem, co-create a learning agenda, generate and test hypotheses, identify and implement effective interventions, and scale solutions. - **It is built on an explicit theory of how science can contribute to public impact**: Impact Labs present a clear theory of how their research will lead to changes in people’s lives, whether via new policies, programs, practices, or products that can be adopted or scaled. - **It involves a collaborative team**: Impact Labs engage faculty, staff, and students working together with talented external practitioners. - **It provides learning opportunities**: Impact Labs provide opportunities for in-depth student engagement from the undergraduate to the post-doctoral level. ### What kinds of issues could I focus on? expand\_more You may work on any problem, domestic or international, that is social or societal in nature, meaning it has collective and not just individual implications; affects a large number of people; reflects a failure of markets, governments, and other institutions; and cannot be understood or solved without an understanding of the human behaviors, institutions, and interactions involved. ### What will I get out of the fellowship? expand\_more - $25,000 to use however you determine will best support your work. This may include defraying the cost of a research assistant or funding travel to engage with potential partners. - Frameworks, tools, and resources to increase the public impact of your research.  - One-on-one coaching and support from Harvard Impact Labs faculty and staff on the next steps for launching your own lab or a new project in an existing lab. - Engagement with other Harvard faculty with similar aspirations. ### What should I expect to achieve by the end of the year? expand\_more - New and/or deepened relationships with potential partners and key stakeholders. - A theory of change that converts your research agenda into an impact agenda. - A compelling pitch to communicate your vision to the Harvard community, potential partners, funders, and/or targeted decision-makers. - A model of the organizational structure and team needed for your research project and a plan for securing the needed resources. - A new network of like-minded scholars. ### What happens after the fellowship concludes? expand\_more - Participants will have access to continued support from Harvard Impact Labs on a wide variety of operational issues (e.g., legal, human resources, data/IT, partnerships, communications, fundraising, innovation strategy, scaling). - Participants may apply for other funding opportunities from Harvard Impact Labs. Note: Participation in the fellowship is ***not*** a requirement for other funding ***nor*** a guarantee of future funding, but the fellowship is designed to position you to apply for additional Harvard Impact Labs funding should you wish to do so. ### When will the monthly workshop meet? expand\_more We anticipate meeting on Fridays from 10am-1pm. ### What topics does the fellowship cover? expand\_more - Defining the problem - Co-creation of solutions: what is it and why is it worth doing? - Creating a theory of change for your science to have impact - Strategies for having impact at scale and sustaining it - The role of research in driving change, including informing policy - Developing and maintaining strong partnerships - Communications - Team design and leadership - Fundraising