The Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellows Program (HPFP) is the second-oldest and the second longest-running program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). HPFP was created in March 1973, and is now in its 35^th year of operation.

Each year, the program brings to Washington six to eight mid-career health professionals and behavioral and social scientists with an interest in health to take part in and better understand the health policy process at the federal level.

Fellows actively contribute to the formulation of national health policies and accelerate their careers as leaders in health policy. HPFP also aims to enrich the substance of the health policy debate at both the federal and state levels.

Key Results
As of September 2009, 216 fellows (eight now deceased) from more than 103 academic health centers (AHCs), community clinics and other health care and public health organizations have participated in HPFP. RWJF has awarded more than $31.5 million in support of the program. The Board of Trustees has authorized up to an additional $11.88 million through August 2012.

The program's Web site contains a list of alumni, profiles of current fellows and spotlights on alumni.

The Program and the Fellows
A cohort of six to eight fellows arrives in Washington each September and begins a 12-week orientation period organized by the national program office.

Fellows are introduced to key officials and staff from the legislative and executive branches as well as think tanks, advocacy organizations and professional and trade associations. They learn about governmental procedures and policy-making from a variety of perspectives.

At the end of the orientation period, fellows seek work placements within a congressional office (both house and senate), a federal agency, or a division in the legislative or executive branch, where they work from January through August (although some have stayed longer).

In the last several classes of fellows, most have chosen to work in a congressional office-the majority in the Senate, a smaller number in the House of Representatives. During their assignments, fellows become full-fledged staff members who draft legislation, perform background research, organize and staff hearings, brief members of Congress on particular issues prior to committee and floor votes, respond to constituents' requests and represent their offices at conferences.

Most fellows return to their home institutions after leaving Washington, using the experience to play a more active role in health policy-related activities and to take on leadership responsibilities. Others decide to move into health policy full time, either at the state level or accepting positions with Washington organizations such as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the National Institutes of Health, foundations or consulting groups. See the program's Web site for video profiles of four fellows.

Evaluations
HPFP most recent evaluation was in 2006. Previous evaluations occurred in 1999, 1992 and 1980.

These assessments all shared the main finding that HPFP has been successful in providing mid-career professionals with an intense exposure to the federal policy process. In the most recent evaluation report, fellows described their experience as "life-changing" and transformational.

At the same time, the evaluations have made recommendations for changes to the program many of which have been incorporated as the program has evolved.

The findings and recommendations of the 1980 and 1992 evaluations are described in Appendix 1 and of the 1999 evaluation in Appendix 2. The findings and recommendations of the 2006 evaluation by Jack Hoadley, Ph.D., of Georgetown University are described in Program Evaluations.

Changes to the Program
Beginning in fall 2002, additional resources have been provided to the fellows to enable continued leadership development after the traditional one-year Washington assignment.

Fellows still spend one year in Washington, as before, but after that assignment is over, each fellow is required to submit a plan to RWJF that describes how they will continue to develop their policy expertise and leadership after leaving Washington — whether they intend to return to their home institution or make a transition into a new position.

Also, since fall 2003 the program has actively encouraged applications from public health, behavioral health and social science fields.

Starting in 2008, the program has developed two applicant tracks:

• Track One, traditional, with a sponsoring institution. With this track, there is an expectation on the part of the program, the sponsoring institution and the fellow that the fellow will return to the sponsoring institution after the fellowship.
• Track Two, a new option, without a sponsoring institution. Many fellows may not have strong links to a sponsoring institution or are unclear about their plans to return. In the past, with only one track, they had to commit to returning, but many times their experience in the program caused them to change their minds, and they did not end up returning. This track removes any perceived obligation to return to their prior position.

Program Management
HPFP has been managed since its inception by a small staff at the national program office at the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academies and is guided by a national advisory committee.