Public Service Leaves

Funding to enable Harvard faculty to take a leave to work in government or at a nonprofit organization

Public Service Leaves
Gears

About Public Service Leaves

Harvard Impact Labs provides funding to enable Harvard faculty to take a leave to work in government or at a nonprofit organization. Faculty who have taken such leaves consistently report that working in government or nonprofits has significantly informed their scholarship and teaching, deepened their understanding of problems and potential solutions, and paved the way for innovative research partnerships.

Harvard Impact Labs will cover faculty salary and benefits for one semester (up to $175,000), enabling faculty to extend their leaves for a full year. Limited support for direct costs, such as travel and housing, may also be available. 

If there is not an open call for applications, expressions of interest may be submitted at any time. To receive support planning the focus of a leave or finding a host agency or organization, or to submit an expression of interest, email PublicServiceLeaves@hks.harvard.edu.

Meet our Public Service Leave Participants

Ingrid Bassett

Professor of Medicine
Dr. Bassett is an infectious disease physician and clinical investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is the Co-Director of the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating innovative strategies...
Headshot of Dr. Bassett

Alisha Holland

Gates Professor of Developing Societies
Professor Holland studies the comparative political economy of development with a focus on urban politics, social policy, and Latin America. She is currently working on a book about the politics of large infrastructure projects in Latin America. For her...
Headshot of Professor Holland

Behind the scenes at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health with Dr. Bassett

The Public Service Leave Experience

“The entire department benefited greatly from Dr. Bassett’s participation in the public service program. We love having people come join us at the Department … to build the relationship between academia and the Department of Public Health.”

— Dr. Robbie Goldstein, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Ingrid at DPH