Marlies Carruth, Director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, discusses a strategy review that showed the program still resonates and inspires.
In late 2022 the MacArthur Fellows Program began a strategy review process to better understand how our work was being perceived by the communities with whom we engage.
Through this evaluation exercise with our learning partners, Learning for Action, Public Profit, and The Harris Poll, we unearthed a key finding: on the shoulders of a selection process put in place at its inception, the Fellows Program still succeeds in spotlighting individuals whose ideas, experiments, solutions, and discoveries expand our expectations of the possible.
As a multi-year, no-strings-attached, interdisciplinary award, this fellowship is rare in philanthropy. Our strategy review confirmed that, after more than forty years, the MacArthur Fellows Program still identifies and celebrates a wide variety of creative perspectives that add value to the contemporary landscape. The program continues to be admired and relevant against a backdrop of evolving social and political conditions, new norms of access and transparency, and advancements in technology.
It is humbling to learn that a broad array of audiences describe our work in ways that match our aspirations and they value the inclusive excellence that is a signature of the program.
Rigor of Selection Remains Strong
The process of identifying MacArthur Fellows is largely unchanged after more than forty years. The class of 1983 was chosen by the same process as the class of 2023. We continue to engage an external network of nominators across a breadth of disciplines. We continue to invite field-specific expertise, ensuring that every award is an endorsement by a peer community of practice. We continue to partner with an interdisciplinary Selection Committee, which brings additional wisdom and guidance to every nomination (numbering multiple thousands each year) and every file developed on a potential nominee. The final decisions continue to rest with the Foundation’s Board of Directors, which must ratify a recommended slate of finalists before they can be deemed MacArthur Fellows.
Every award is an endorsement by a peer community of practice.
The result is many layers of review and rigor for each selection and collaborative participation from all the seasoned decision makers in the creation of each new class.
Advancing the Fellows and Their Fields
While creativity continues to be the North Star for selection, how the award enables recipients is equally important. In this regard, we seek to boost the probability of what is possible for individuals—in the work that they imagine, the work still unplanned, and the work yet to come.
We seek to enable individuals who would benefit from additional financial support or the visibility of this award, over individuals who otherwise are financially well situated or already prominent in the main focus of their work. We heard from our Fellows that the fellowship creates meaningful change along professional and personal dimensions, allowing the conditions and the freedom to take risks, further their vision, support their communities, and advance their fields. It is affirming to hear that we make “the possible more probable.”
It is affirming to hear that we make “the possible more probable.”
Since the fellowship is not a field-specific award, which narrowly centers accomplishments within a discipline, other metrics matter. For example, the transformational potential of major projects completed, the impact one has on a field or on a community, the confidence to pivot in one’s work, the willingness to push boundaries, are scenarios that we sought to better understand during this learning exercise.
We are pleased to learn that the interdisciplinarity in each class sometimes inspires and facilitates bold new collaborations among Fellows. On many occasions, Fellows have capitalized on the diversity of disciplines within the fellowship community, coming together with perspectives from different disciplines on a common topic at public programs. In one instance, a biologist collaborated with a choreographer on a performance integrating elements of dance and theater with scientific dialogue, creating a distinct experience. We understand that exposure to those outside of individuals’ narrow fields can inform research and creative projects in subtle ways.
Beyond the Award: Building Connection and Our Duty to Care
We heard from Fellows that they are inspired when they engage with other Fellows in small groups or at the larger all-Fellows convenings, and we now have institutional support, at the highest levels of the Foundation, for Fellows to do so on a regular basis. We will continue to invest in ways for Fellows to connect with one another, both formally and informally. This connection is another valued asset of the award.
We heard from our Fellows that they both enjoy reaching new audiences and value additional support to do so. In response, we now offer small grants for public-facing activities and projects which reach broad audiences.
Finally, we recognize anew our “duty to care” and support our Fellows as they navigate the fellowship. For example, the Fellows announcement is an orchestration that sometimes adds stress to already busy lives of Fellows. The unanticipated consequences of a highly visible prize can be unexpectedly burdensome if not managed intentionally.
Looking ahead, the responsibility to support our Fellows beyond mere financial compensation is clear, and we must embrace it.
We will continue to invest in ways for Fellows to connect with one another.
To close, we will continue to participate in comprehensive program evaluation and reflection, grounding ourselves in feedback from our community. We will endeavor to stay relevant to the moment and continue to center our relationships with Fellows.
