Directory of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows 1960 – 2002

One ‘bias’, which is easy to detect, is towards those who have received their awards in the relatively recent past.
Over half of those included received their awards in the past fifteen years, whilst only a quarter did so in the first
twenty years of the Plan. This feature is likely to underplay, rather than exaggerate, the impact of alumni, since it
is fair to assume that award holders obtain their most prominent roles towards the end of their career. Thus,
although the record presented in the profiles is impressive, it is not likely to be untypically so.
Although the Directory has been published jointly by the authorities in Canada and the United Kingdom, this
collaboration developed only after the respective surveys of the two countries had taken place. The questionnaires
on which our data is based were designed to extract different information. Most notably, the UK survey sought
more details of past career history and non-paid positions than the Canadian one. Thus, although much of the UK
information (such as main publications) has been left out on the grounds of space, entries from UK based award
holders tend to be longer than those of the Canadian counterparts. This should not be taken to suggest that
Canadian alumni play fewer roles, for example, in public or voluntary activity. It is much more likely to reflect
the nature of the information available to us. Canadian entries were also disproportionately affected by the ‘time
bias’ referred to above – 89% of those whose profiles were included received their awards after 1980.
Since the authorities in Canada and the United Kingdom have compiled the Directory, the overwhelming majority
of profiles inevitably involve those who have studied in these two countries. We have, however, been able to
include a small number of profiles of UK based students who have held their awards in developing countries, and it
is worth drawing particular attention to these. The opportunity for British students to hold Commonwealth awards
in India or Jamaica, or, for that matter, for Canadians to go to Malaysia, Nigerians to Trinidad or New Zealand,
Tanzanians to Mauritius or Sierra Leoneans to Brunei Darussalam, all in the name of Commonwealth Scholarships,
represents one of the distinctive features of the Plan. Although a start has been made here in recording these
individuals, in general we know too little about their experiences and achievements. It is to be hoped that such
award holders will play a full part in the wider alumni activity, which we hope this Directory will stimulate.
Before discussing the results of the questionnaire in more detail, two further reservations should be stated. First,
as investment managers are prone to point out, past records are not necessarily a guide to future performance.
The founding fathers of the CSFP recognised that needs would change over time, and that the precise nature of
awards would change to reflect this. At no time has this been more prevalent than in the past few years. In the
late 1990s, the Canadians led the way by introducing a new category of Commonwealth Scholarship by distance
learning – a model which has since been followed by the United Kingdom. Other UK innovations in recent years
have included the introduction of short-term professional fellowships and split-site doctorates. Each of these
developments has been intended to increase impact, relevance and accessibility. It will be some years before we
can say with certainty whether these aims will be met. For now, it is sufficient to note that the alumni presented
here reflect the selection methods of their respective periods as award holders.
Finally, a more general reservation. The compiling of this Directory has been undertaken largely by the core
teams which administer the CSFP in the United Kingdom and Canada, supplemented by a small number of shortterm
staff. Although checks have taken place, where possible, to ensure the accuracy of information presented
against those records already held, we have inevitably relied to a considerable extent on the accuracy of
information provided by survey recipients, supplemented in places by our own knowledge and assumptions. It is
possible that these factors will have led to some inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the final data presented. If so,
we hope that readers will accept our apologies and receive the Directory in the spirit in which it is intended. As
we state below, our intention is to maintain the information electronically in future, and any corrections or further
information to be included in this exercise will be welcome.
Emerging Trends
In spite of these reservations, the evidence from award holders to date makes impressive reading. As stated
above, our intention is to move beyond ‘justification by anecdote’. Nevertheless, Commonwealth Scholarships
would do well under such an analysis. Taking the three careers of politics, the civil service and academia as
examples, our traces have already revealed over a hundred alumni who have held the position of Cabinet Minister,
Permanent Secretary or Vice-Chancellor.
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