Appendix 1: Marshall Scholarships Order 2017
Additional Information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on the Marshall Scholarships Order 2017
“Q1: What are the financial arrangements between FCO, the Alumni and corporate partnership – for example is fund-matching required?
A1: For the 2017-2018 financial year the funding of the MACC Scholarship Programme totalled £2.98m comprised as follows:
- FCO Grant in Aid: £2.25 million
- Tuition Fee Remission by University Partners: £0.673 million
- Non-university partner funding (eg alumni and philanthropic bodies): £0.057 million
Match funding is not required.
Q2: What proportion of the scheme is paid for by the FCO?
A2: The FCO grant in aid covered 67.55 percent of funding in 2017-18. This means that after overheads have been taken into account, in round figures, 32 scholars are being funded by the FCO this year out of 40. FCO funding increased at the instigation of the Foreign Secretary in the current (2017-18) financial year from £2 million to £2.25 million to mark the 70th anniversary of General Marshall’s speech at Harvard in 1947 which launched the Marshall Plan. This increase enabled scholar numbers to rise from 31-32 over last few years, to 40. Any increase in scholar numbers beyond 40 will be funded via the Commission’s efforts to attract third party funding.
Q3: In a time of austerity and fiscal constraint in other Whitehall Departments what is the justification for the FCO increasing its expenditure on this?
A3: HMG has a statutory responsibility to sustain the Programme. The FCO grant in aid is considered a good investment, as the MACC programme is a key tool in sustaining the UK-US special relationship and is still fulfilling, very successfully, the obligation of thanking the people of the United States for the UK share of Marshall Aid assumed under the 1953 Act. It should also be borne in mind more than 90 percent of this funding is spent by Scholars in the United Kingdom on tuition fees, travel and living expenses.
However it is not the current intention that FCO funding should increase beyond what has already been agreed, given the Commission’s belief that there is scope to fund additional scholarships via third party funding. Work on this has already begun: for instance, in 2018-19 one scholarship will be fully funded via an endowment established and funded by the Marshall alumni body (the Association of Marshall Scholars) and the Commission are pro-actively seeking to diversify funding sources.
Q4: What is the justification for increasing the numbers?
A4: The Marshall programme generates wide interest in the United States including at the highest level of government and attracts increasing numbers of applicants. Recruitment and marketing of the programme is conducted on a regional basis to ensure both geographical and social economic balance. The scale of the Programme is important in order to be meaningful in the US, and in order that its goals in relation to outreach and diversity can be credible. The Programme has a great track record, is a highly regarded British success story on both sides of the Atlantic and now has a self-sustaining momentum to support the proposed modest growth in numbers.
In recent times, eight of the awards have effectively been funded by third parties and the Commission believes it can increase this figure provided such supporters can be assured their support will have an incremental rather than substitutional effect.
Q5: What is the duration of the Scholarship and its broad terms – are there any conditions to it for example that it is offered only to the under privileged?
A5: Scholars may choose to study in the UK for a one year master’s degree, two one year master’s courses back to back, or for a three year PhD course. The majority study for two years. Scholars choose their own courses and their places of study but it is incumbent on them, once they have received their Marshall Scholarship award, to be accepted by a university for the course of their choice. Marshall Scholars must be US citizens and have achieved a first degree of a high academic standard.
Scholars are recruited on a regional basis via the British Embassy and UK consulates in the US. The selection process is merit based but selectors are charged with ensuring each cohort is as diverse in ethnic, gender, social and economic terms as possible.
Q6: Is there any quid pro quo scheme which sponsors British students to attend American universities? If so what are its conditions and scale?
A6: The Marshall programme was specifically designed to bring US graduates to the UK and was never intended to be reciprocal. However UK graduates study in the United States on a range of other programmes, including the Fulbright programme (42 scholars in 2017-18) and the Kennedy Scholarships (eight in 2017-18).
Background
We welcome the opportunity to provide further information to the Committee on the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission (MACC) scholarship programme and our reasons for legislating to increase scholar numbers to up to 50 in the next five years.
The programme was established in 1953 by an Act of Parliament as an expression of UK gratitude to the people of the United States for our share of the US Marshall Aid programme which played a key role in funding the post-war reconstruction of Europe. However the programme has since become an important tool for sustaining the US-UK bilateral relationship. Scholars are chosen on the grounds that, whatever their background, they can demonstrate a high degree of academic ability and also the potential to be leaders in their chosen fields. The programme aims to give them, in addition to the opportunity to study at a top UK university, as broad an experience as possible of the UK, its values, way of life, culture and people. In return, we expect them to act as ambassadors for the UK and the UK-US relationship on their return home.
The 1,900 strong Marshall alumni body (the Association of Marshall Scholars or AMS) which counts nearly every living alumnus/a amongst its members includes two US Supreme Court justices, Pulitzer prize winners, and leaders in science, innovation, the public service and academia. This affords the UK influence and access to key policy makers.
Purpose of the Order
The catalyst for the proposal in the Order to increase the maximum possible number of scholarships to 50 has been a request from the Commission, reflecting its belief that it can attract third party funding to make extra awards beyond 40. Therefore, any increase in scholarships beyond 40 will reflect their success in doing so. That this is possible arises from HMG’s renewed commitment to the Programme and the positive ripple effect this has had in the wider Marshall community. It is a postgraduate scheme which fits in to HMG’s wider agenda of international scholarship provision, which in turn has played to the UK’s strength in higher education.
Many Marshall alumni also go on to invest financially in the UK. According to alumni surveys, 45 percent of Marshall Scholars have donated to or invested in the UK. Two alumni, Bill Janeway and the late Ray Dolby, have donated £85 million to Cambridge University.
The Commission itself consists of ten distinguished members drawn from a range of disciplines including business, the professions and academia. Members are appointed by the Foreign Secretary after a competitive selection process and are unpaid (apart from limited travel expenses). The Commission has no premises or staff of its own: its administration is subcontracted to the Association of Commonwealth Universities which supplies a Secretariat consisting of two full time staff.
It is widely accepted that in the context of Brexit, the UK will need to use every lever available to us to look outward and strengthen our most important bi-lateral relationships. We believe that the Marshall programme plays a small, but vital role in this. “
FCO Scholarship Unit
8 December 2017