Churchill Fellowships fund short-term travel up to the value of $12,000 to be undertaken in the calendar year following the application. The Trust expects applicants to personally meet not less than 20% of the total estimated costs of their proposed travel, and to contribute more if they are able. Churchill Fellowship applications must be for:

• short-term travel outside Aotearoa New Zealand in the calendar year following the fellowship request
• investigation, experience and/or research that will help to advance your field of interest, occupation, trade, industry, profession or community on your return to Aotearoa New Zealand
  

Applications for Churchill Fellowships and the Winston Churchill McNeish Writers’ Fellowship can be made online once a funding round opens.

Applications must be made through the Department of Internal Affairs Community Matters site. This requires you to log into its grants management system, which will ask you for your ‘Real Me’ login or enable you to apply for a ‘Real Me’ login. Once you have a ‘Real Me’ login, you will be able to access the application form. For more information and/or assistance with ‘Real Me’ telephone 0800 824 824.

There is one funding round each year for the Churchill Fellowships. Applications must be submitted through ‘Real Me’ within the funding-round window (usually the first Wednesday in July and mid-August). You may only submit one application to a funding round. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply in a future funding round. Successful applicants may not reapply.

Applications for the Winston Churchill McNeish Writers’ Fellowship are open every two years.

No. Fellowships applications to study for academic, professional, trade and other qualifications will not be funded.

No. Fellowship applications to attend conferences or short courses will not be funded. However, attendance at a conference or short course may form part of a Fellowship proposal.

The Trust does not fund Fellowships for:

• study for academic or professional qualifications
• attendance at academic or professional conferences*
• Fellowships that do not show how the benefits of what is learned or experienced through the travel will be shared with others
• replacement of income or salary during the travel period
• increases in travel costs after a Fellowship is granted.

* Short courses that form part of an eligible project may be considered.

Fellowship travel may be for up to three months. A Fellowship report must be completed within six months of returning to Aotearoa New Zealand.

No. Only individuals may apply for a Fellowship.

There is one funding round a year for Churchill Fellowships. Only one application can be submitted to any funding round.

Unsuccessful fellowship applicants may apply to a future funding round. Previous Fellowship recipients may not re-apply.

No. No educational qualifications are needed to apply. Churchill Fellowships welcome ordinary New Zealanders from any field.

Once an online application is submitted it moves to the applicant’s ‘Pending Review’ stage and will remain there until a decision is made. Applicants are usually notified by the end of October in the year the application is made.

All applications are reviewed individually and comparatively. Fellowship awards are based on:

• the potential benefit the travel experience will contribute to the applicant, the applicant’s field of interest and/or community, and to Aotearoa New Zealand
  
• the ability of the applicant to actively disseminate their Fellowship learnings and knowledge through their networks and communities for the benefit of others

• the amount of money available to distribute as Fellowships in the funding round.
  

Requests for Fellowships always exceed the amount of funding available.

The application form gives you the opportunity to comment on any personal matter you would like the Trust to take into consideration (for example, if you have a disability that means you require support and/or flexibility).

People who are New Zealand citizens or ordinarily resident in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Tokelau or Niue may apply for a Fellowship if they have not previously received a Fellowship. Proof of permanent residency will be required – a copy of your NZ passport or a copy of an endorsement in your passport.

Please note that there are restrictions on who can apply for the Winston Churchill McNeish Writers’ Fellowship.

Churchill Fellowships are open to people at all stages in their careers, in any profession, industry, occupation or trade. All subject areas are considered. There are no qualification requirements, but applicants need to show how they will share their travel learnings with their peers and communities.

The Trust would like to receive more requests for Fellowships in agriculture, science or technology and/or for learning from cultures in the Pacific and Asian regions. It welcomes more requests from people living in communities outside of Aotearoa New Zealand’s larger cities, and from people from all ethnic backgrounds, including Māori and Pacific peoples.

There is one funding round each year for Churchill Fellowships. For the Winston Churchill McNeish Writers’ Fellowship there is a funding round every two years.

The funding round usually opens on the first Wednesday in July and closes mid-August. Successful applicants are usually notified by the end of October in the year the application is made.

You may only submit one application to a funding round. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply in a future funding round. Successful applicants may not reapply.

In your application, you will need to:

• describe your project in less than 100 words
• estimate the total cost of your project and state how much you are requesting
• explain why your project is needed
• describe the expected benefits to you, the area you work and/or have an interest in, and the benefits to the community and Aotearoa New Zealand
• outline your experience relevant to the project
• explain how you will share the findings from your Fellowship experience.

The following supporting documents must be uploaded as part of your application:

• evidence of your New Zealand, Cook Islands, Tokelau or Niue citizenship or permanent residency – for example a copy of your birth certificate, NZ passport or a copy of an endorsement in your passport
• your curriculum vitae
• a letter from two referees commenting on your ability to successfully achieve your Fellowship plans and how your proposal will benefit you and, on your return, the community and Aotearoa New Zealand
• requests for a Winston Churchill McNeish Writers’ Fellowship must include a writing sample and evidence of one or more publications or writing success achieved to date.

An application that does not include the required supporting documents will be ineligible.

All Fellowship recipients must submit a report on their project within six months of their return. These are reviewed by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Board and published online. The Winston Churchill McNeish Writers’ Fellowship report is provided to the partner as well as being published online.

A copy of the Fellowship report guidelines can be found at the link here: Fellowship report guidelines.

Fellowship recipients sign a Fellowship agreement in which they accept various obligations. If all obligations are not fulfilled, the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Board will approach the recipient’s referees to help ensure compliance and consider full recovery of any funding provided.

The published Fellowship lists will record if a recipient did not submit an acceptable publishable report within the agreed timeframe and the recipient may not become a Churchill Fellow.

Since the Trust was established in 1965, nearly 1000 Churchill Fellowships have provided travel opportunities overseas for ordinary New Zealanders from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Board ensures that income from the Trust continues to be available for New Zealanders wanting to learn from others, experience other cultures and give back to their communities.

Read more about our Fellows and Projects.

Fellowship reports are the copyright of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. The material may be used for personal or in-house use without fees or further permission. It may not be used for commercial purposes. For permission to reproduce the material for any purpose other than personal or in-house use, contact wcmt@dia.govt.nz.

In all cases, the material must be reproduced accurately and not be used in a misleading context. Where the material is being published or issued for others, the source of the material and its copyright status must be acknowledged. The views and opinions by authors expressed in Fellowship reports do not state or reflect those of the Trust.

The published Fellowship lists will record if a recipient did not submit an acceptable publishable report within the agreed timeframe, and the recipient may not become a Churchill Fellow.

Information about the Trust is also available at the Trust’s Facebook Page and Linkedin Page.

For further information, you can email wcmt@dia.govt.nz.