Chevening Clore Leadership Fellowship

The Chevening Clore Leadership Fellowship is a partnership between the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Clore Leadership, offering mid-career professionals in the arts and culture sector an exceptional opportunity to undertake an individually tailored leadership programme in the UK. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funds up to five international fellows to join a cohort of approximately 20 fellows, from across the UK and internationally,

Clore Fellowships are awarded each year to leaders in areas such as the visual and performing arts, museums, libraries, archives and heritage, film and digital media, and cultural policy and practice.

The programme has been shaping exceptional cultural leaders for over 20 years.

‘I think since the programme enables a safe place for us and we are able to bring our frailties and vulnerabilities to the fore the bonds are more precious.

It has also been very rejuvenating for me to be away from work and concentrate for once on myself and my own growth which there is neither time nor resources for whilst in my own work space.’

– Arundhati Ghosh, India

Programme structure

As a part of Chevening Clore Leadership Fellowship, each international fellow will undertake an individually tailored programme based in the UK which will include:

• Two residential leadership courses in September 2025 and May 2026
• Three day-long non-residential skills-based workshops January 2025
• A one-day ‘Online Climate Assembly’
• A 360° leadership profile
• A secondment in a UK based cultural organisation, (normally in an organisation or field very different to your usual workplace or practice) where you’ll be working on a ‘live’ project set by your host organisation
• Bespoke learning opportunities based on own research such as; conferences, training courses, study visits and peer/sector networking.
• Focused support from a mentor or coach.
• Thought leadership exploration through a written provocation paper.

The Fellowship starts in September 2025, with fellows travelling from their home country to the UK to undertake the 1st fellowship residential in September 2024 and then returning to their home country in early October 2025

Fellows return to the UK in January 2026 to undertake the majority of their bespoke training and development. This will include workshops, study visits across the UK, secondments, mentoring, attendance at training courses and conferences, and the 2nd Fellowship residential course in May 2026, which completes the Fellowship programme.

Benefits

A Chevening Clore Leadership Fellowship includes a set training budget to cover:

• Up to two return economy flights from your home country to the UK to undertake fellowship activities
• Accommodation while in the UK
• Living expenses while in the UK
• A period of secondment for approximately 4-6 weeks at a cultural institution in the UK
• Individually tailored fellowship learning plan which may include participation in courses conferences and other processional development activities in the UK
• Course and conference fees within the UK
• Training and development costs within the UK
• Travel in the UK

Eligibility 

Applications are invited from individuals from the following countries:

• Brazil
• China
• Egypt
• India
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Mexico
• South Africa

To be eligible for a Chevening Clore Leadership Fellowship, applicants must:

• Intend to return to the country they were selected from at the end of the period of study
• Hold a degree that is equivalent to at least a good UK second-class honours degree or have equivalent professional training and/or experience
• Have completed at least five years’ work, or equivalent experience, by the end 2023
• Meet the minimum requirements in accordance with the main fellowships scheme
• Have a good working knowledge of English to be assessed in your application form and if you are invited to interview
• Not hold British or dual British citizenship
• Not be an employee, a former employee, or relative* of an employee of His Majesty’s Government, or have been within the last two years from the opening of Chevening applications (including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, all British Embassies/High Commissions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade and the UKVI), the British Council, a sponsoring UK university, or a staff member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

* Note: Immediate relatives are defined as parents or step-parents, siblings or step-siblings, children or step-children, spouse, civil partner or unmarried (where the couple have been in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years).

Please note that applicants who have previously received financial benefit from a HMG-funded scholarship or fellowship are eligible to apply after a period of five years following the completion of their first HMG funded award. In these cases, applicants will be required to demonstrate their career progression from that point.

Applicants are also advised to review the Clore Leadership key attributes.

‘A life-changing experience, not only on the professional level, but more importantly on the personal level.”

– Karim El Shenawy, Chevening/Clore Fellow, Egypt

The Chevening Clore Leadership Fellowship was one of the most transformative experiences in my life. Beyond developing new cultural and leadership skills, the Fellowship helped me to understand my purposes and to focus my energy on projects that mean something to me. It also helped me to improve my confidence and get more ambitious about the impact I could make in society.

– Eduardo Fraga
Chevening Clore Fellow

Meet Clore fellows