Applications are now open for the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program 2026, offering innovators, researchers, artists, policymakers, and changemakers from around the world the opportunity to spend up to four weeks at the prestigious Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy.
If you’ve been working on an idea that could create positive social change, this fully funded residency could provide the perfect environment to develop your project, collaborate with global experts, and transform your vision into meaningful action.
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For more than six decades, the Bellagio Center Residency Program has served as a meeting point for some of the world’s most creative minds. The Rockefeller Foundation created the program to support individuals whose ideas have the potential to address major global challenges through research, innovation, public policy, science, education, technology, and the arts.
What makes this residency unique is its commitment to bringing together people from completely different professional backgrounds. Imagine an economist discussing ideas with a poet, a scientist working alongside an artist, or a public policy expert collaborating with a filmmaker. These unexpected partnerships often lead to groundbreaking ideas that might never have developed in traditional academic or professional settings.
The Bellagio Center believes that meaningful solutions can come from anyone, regardless of nationality, profession, or academic discipline. As a result, the residency program welcomes applications from people working in virtually every field, provided their projects demonstrate a clear social impact and charitable purpose.
Residency Benefits
Successful applicants will receive several valuable benefits, including:
- A fully funded residency of up to four weeks at the Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy
- Private accommodation and meals throughout the residency
- A private studio or workspace for research and project development
- Travel funding to and from Italy
- Opportunities to collaborate with a community of up to 14 international residents
- Access to a global network of Bellagio Center alumni
Beyond the financial support, participants will have the opportunity to exchange ideas, build professional relationships, and gain fresh perspectives from experts working in different fields.
Program Themes
Projects can focus on any topic, but they must clearly demonstrate their potential to improve society.
The Rockefeller Foundation is particularly interested in projects that encourage innovation and create practical solutions to global challenges.
Applications that include one or more of the following areas may receive special consideration:
- Building partnerships between unlikely collaborators, including policymakers
- Developing solutions that help communities and nations adapt to change
- Creating large-scale solutions through technological innovation
- Exploring new financial models that can expand social impact
- Producing research, knowledge, or creative work that inspires action
Whether you’re developing a policy proposal, writing a book, conducting scientific research, or creating an artistic project, the program encourages fresh ideas that can make a measurable difference.
Eligibility Requirements
The Bellagio Center Residency Program welcomes applicants from a wide range of professional backgrounds.
Academics and Scholars
University professors, researchers, scientists, and scholars from any academic discipline are encouraged to apply. Their projects often contribute to research, academic publications, books, and scientific discoveries.
Artists
The program also accepts applications from writers, poets, composers, filmmakers, dancers, musicians, playwrights, and visual artists.
Artistic projects may be in the research, production, or post-production stage, provided they align with the foundation’s mission of improving human well-being.
Practitioners
Senior policymakers, nonprofit leaders, journalists, private-sector executives, and public advocates are also eligible to participate.
Projects from this category may include books, policy briefs, organizational strategies, reports, advocacy campaigns, and other forms of public engagement.
How to Apply
The application process begins with a Pre-Application Questionnaire designed to determine whether applicants meet the eligibility requirements.
Candidates who qualify will be invited to submit an Expression of Interest, where they will provide additional information about their professional experience and proposed project.
After reviewing the submissions, the Rockefeller Foundation will create a shortlist of applicants and invite selected candidates to complete a full application.
An independent review panel will evaluate the applications before finalists proceed to the interview stage.
If you have an innovative project capable of creating positive change, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program 2026 could provide the support, resources, and international connections needed to turn your ideas into reality.