Application Deadline: March 19th, 2025 (5pm U.S. EST)
The Rockefeller Foundation is inviting applications for the 2026 Bellagio Center Residency Program. Bellagio seeks to inspire collaboration across sectors and professions, political affiliations, and national borders. In sharing their knowledge, approaches, and perspectives, residents strengthen their work and collectively transform the issues that define our present and shape our future.
Based in Lake Como, Italy, the four-week residency offers participants the opportunity to unleash their creativity and advance groundbreaking work. Residents can take advantage of focused, uninterrupted work time in this unique environment while participating in an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural cohort. They form lasting bonds and stay connected to The Rockefeller Foundation long after their residency ends as members of the Bellagio Network.
The Bellagio Center has hosted some of the most ambitious, innovative, and committed leaders of our time — including more than 85 Nobel Laureates. Previous guests include economists Amartya Sen and Milton Friedman, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa Dikgang Moseneke, former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, renowned author Maya Angelou, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, and more.
Applications are invited for at least one of these dimensions:
- Unlocking solutions as a result of engaging unlikely partners, including policymakers
- Developing solutions that empower people, communities, and nations to adapt
- Driving solutions at scale through innovative financing and technological advances
Benefits
- Up to four (4) weeks at The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy
- Room and board with a private studio for working
- A shared community of up to 14 scholars, artists, and practitioners from around the world
- Travel funding
- Future participation in an international network of Bellagio Center alumni, united in the shared purpose of creating a better world
Eligibility
- Leaders with significant achievement and recognition in their field
- Forward-looking, with a track record of advancing breakthrough ideas or actions that have had tremendous impact
- Aligned with The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to promote the well-being of humanity
- Curious and collaborative — open to giving and receiving feedback from a diverse group of fellow residents
- Excited to remain active in the Bellagio Network after their residency
Selection Process
Bellagio Center residents are selected through an annual open call for applications, as well as an internal referral process. In both cases, individuals must submit an application and go through a competitive review process.
The first step in the application process is a Pre-Application Questionnaire to verify eligibility. Eligible applicants can then complete an online Expression of Interest to share more about their professional background and proposed project. The Rockefeller Foundation will invite a shortlist of candidates to submit a full application. An external review panel will inform the selection of finalists to proceed to the interview stage. Final decisions will be made by the end of December 2025.
