The Chevening Scholarships Programme commenced in 1983 as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Awards Scheme (FCOAS) and is funded by the British government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its partner organisations.[2] The stated objective of the scheme is to build a network of friends of the UK, who will be future leaders in their countries. In 1994, the name of the scheme was changed to Chevening, after Chevening House in Sevenoaks, Kent – currently the joint official residence of the British Foreign Secretary and the British Deputy Prime Minister.[2]