Kuwait Foundation grant extends program at Middle East Initiative

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) has given $8.1 million to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) to support the continuation of the Kuwait Program at HKS’s Middle East Initiative. The gift will be used to develop leaders with the capacity to address the many challenging public policy issues facing the region, as well as funding research issues of vital importance in the region, such as education, energy, and water.

The gift extends a relationship between HKS and KFAS that began in 2000, when KFAS made a grant to support visiting specialists to the Gulf region, faculty research on Kuwait and the Gulf, customized executive education programs, and executive education fellowships. Over five years, the current grant will support a number of initiatives, including a visiting scholars program; fellowships for students from the region interested in achieving master’s degrees in public policy or public administration; faculty research; and executive education fellowships in existing programs and customized executive education programs.

“Through the Kuwait Program, the Kennedy School will deepen its engagement with the Gulf region and help educate leaders who will make a lasting impact in the area and throughout the world,” says David T. Ellwood, dean and Scott M. Black Professor of Political Economy at HKS. “We are grateful for the gift to support the program and the many vital projects it advances.”