Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Fellowships
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Fellowships support scholars and practitioners pursuing self-directed research and policy projects to advance healthy democracy and put power-sharing liberalism into practice.
Funder: John F. Kennedy School of Government
Due Dates: January 9, 2027, at 11:59 PM ET (AY2027–28 application)
Funding Amounts: Unpaid fellowships, typically one academic year (August 1–July 31)
Summary: Supports self-directed research and policy projects advancing healthy democracy through technology, political economy, democracy reform, and civic education policy.
Key Information: Research fellows must work in person in Cambridge; policy fellows may be remote and part-time, with several campus visits per semester.
Description
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center offers research and policy fellowships for scholars and practitioners working to advance healthy democracy in the 21st century. Fellows work with Professor Danielle Allen on self-directed projects that help translate the theory of power-sharing liberalism into practice. The Lab’s goal is responsive representation and effective decision-making in large, complex, digitally powered societies with significant heterogeneity.
The multidisciplinary program focuses on technology and democracy, new frameworks for political economy, democracy reform, and civic education policy. It particularly welcomes work that can be translated and scaled from research to impact. Fellows contribute to the Allen Lab and broader Ash Center communities while developing a deliverable relevant to the Lab’s themes, which may include a publication.
