The Atlantic Fellows programme at the International Inequalities Institute is a 20-year programme aiming to support 600 leaders tackling inequalities. Established by a £64.4million ($91million) grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies, the programme will identify, prepare and connect cohorts of diverse, multidisciplinary and action-oriented leaders seeking comprehensive solutions to the structural and historic impediments that underpin inequalities globally.
The problem of inequalities
Understanding and reducing inequalities, and their complex causes and consequences, is among the most pressing global needs. Inequalities, in their multiple dimensions, pose urgent challenges to individual opportunity, societal cohesion and the basic functioning of governments and democracies.
Unequal distribution of income and wealth, for instance, concentrates power in the hands of the few and exacerbates inequalities of opportunity, social mobility, influence and outcome for the vast majority of people within and across nations. Beyond the widening gap between rich and poor, inequalities such as the persistence and resurgence of ethnic, religious and racial divisions, as well as sustained gender and sexual orientation discrimination, threaten to impede progress toward a more just, democratic, and humane future. On current trajectories, without effective intervention, these inequalities will continue to worsen.
LSE’s and the Atlantic Fellows programme’s roles in addressing inequalities
Addressing the growth and tenacity of inequalities globally requires a sustained, comprehensive, ambitious, multi-disciplinary, cross-geographic response that includes the intentional building and nurturing of a well-connected cadre of social change leaders who can catalyse understanding of and solutions to the problem. Such leaders are not easily identified or connected, as they are typically siloed in specific corporate, government or NGO work or in academic disciplines. “On the ground” activists and advocates tend not to be networked adequately with academic or professional experts and leaders, or with each other across fields, themes and geographies.
Housed at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute, and aimed at academics, activists, policy-makers, journalists, lawyers, health professionals, cultural leaders, writers and creative artists, the programme will develop and nurture an integrated cadre of leaders through three tracks:
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residential Atlantic Fellows: mid-career practitioners rich in ideas and experience, will receive full tuition support and a living stipend to participate in year-long, intensive residential training, including taking the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science (MISS);
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non-residential Atlantic Fellows: mid-career working practitioners will participate in periodic intensive study over a 12-18 month period;
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visiting Atlantic Fellows: the programme will give senior, already influential practitioners and academics time to work in teams during 3-9 month residential collaborations to address specific themes of inequality.
All Fellows will be supported by a group of expert mentors drawn from LSE faculty and collaborating academic and civil society organisations, which include the Poverty and Inequality Initiative at the University of Cape Town. Participants will also be supported by The Atlantic Institute, a central hub actively connecting Atlantic’s comprehensive, multi-year global initiatives to promote leadership in social-economic, health and racial equity.
Over the 20-year life of the programme, it is expected that a cadre of well over 600 leaders, decision-makers and influencers will have been developed and connected across geographic and disciplinary boundaries. Alumni of the programme will:
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change policy, practice and public dialogue to promote greater opportunity for socio-economic equality in all dimensions and stronger participatory democracies;
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influence organisational and government policy and practice by developing specific solutions and practical approaches;
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create and promote informed cultural narratives and uptake of political action to enhance fairness and equity;
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represent a new generation of academic and research leaders who can translate and apply insights to make significant social change.
How to Participate
The Atlantic Fellows Programme will launch with a phased application process later in 2016 relating to the different tracks. The first team of visiting Fellows will join the III in the first half of 2017, with the first cohorts of residential and non-residential Atlantic Fellows joining in the summer and autumn of 2017.
LSE & Atlantic
LSE was founded in 1895 to create and share knowledge addressing major social challenges and to shape a better world. The School works through research, education, creative intellectual debate and public engagement. Its mission is to advance knowledge in social science and a range of related fields so as to inform public policy, economic decision-making, and social welfare both nationally and globally.
LSE seeks to make a positive difference to the world by bringing research-based knowledge to public problems and educating students with the capacity to lead in solving those problems. This means nurturing creative thought and intellectual exploration in students from all backgrounds and around the world to be critical thinkers and skilled professionals who work for the betterment of society.
The Atlantic Philanthropies are dedicated to advancing opportunity, equity and human dignity. Established in 1982, when Chuck Feeney quietly committed virtually all of his assets to the foundation, Atlantic has since made grants approaching $8 billion. In keeping with Mr. Feeney’s “Giving While Living,” big bet philosophy, Atlantic invests in systemic change to accelerate improvements in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The foundation, which has operated in Australia, Bermuda, Cuba, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam, will complete all grant making in 2016 and conclude operations shortly afterward.
To learn more, please visit the Atlantic Philanthropies website.
The Atlantic Fellows programme at the International Inequalities Institute is the third programme to be announced in what will become a global set of interconnected fellowship programmes. Additional programmes are still in development and to be announced in the coming months. Individual programmes will be further supported and strengthened by the creation of the Atlantic Institute, which will serve as a central convening and knowledge-sharing hub for the global network of Atlantic Fellows.
LSE Press Release: Atlantic Fellows programme