Reply to Professor Trudy Harpham, Chair,
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission from the Foreign Secretary,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Thank you for your reply of 17 March about our
decision to stop funding Commonwealth scholarships after 2008-09.
You offered to send us a detailed proposal for
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission management of our Chevening
scholarships to Commonwealth countries. As I said on 11 March,
we are keen to explore with you how we might draw on your expertise,
particularly in scholar selection. But I have some difficulty
with your suggestion that you should deliver FCO funded scholarships
in Commonwealth countries. The new central purpose of our scholarship
programme is for us to build relationships with the leaders of
the future. I believe we stand the best chance of doing this if
we form relationships with our scholars from their selection processes
onwards and if we select against our own criteria. I am keen that
scholars funded by the FCO know clearly that they are on an FCO
scheme, and I should like to develop the Chevening brand around
the world so that we have a single community of scholars. That
said, while I do not think we benefit from offering our scholarships
as Commonwealth rather than Chevening, we would like to continue
to work with CSFP staff to develop synergies between the schemes
where possible, for example establishing links between Chevening
and Commonwealth alumni.
I suggest we take this forward at working level.
15 May 2008
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