This is a three-year, part-time programme for senior managers in private and public sector organisations in specific developing countries, developed and offered in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University. We will recruit a cohort of 20 participants who will engage in a 2-staged process:

Stage 1, during the first 12-18 months

There will be 4 elements to this stage:

Five 3-day workshops on subjects such as the learning process, what is business strategy, what are the characteristics of an excellent organisation, modern operations management, strategic people management and performance measurement, project management and project finance, research methods, how to do a literature review and how to write a practice-based research paper for publication.  These workshops will be customised to the needs of the participants.

An individual project around what each participant has to do to improve the performance of their business/ministry.  This will involve analysing current performance, benchmarking, best practice then defining and implementing a business improvement plan.

A group project dealing with a subject of importance to the development of the nation.

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) dealing with the leadership competencies participants need to have and where there are gaps, how to close these gaps.  Participants will be taught how to reflect on their own behaviour, how to use log-books etc.

Each of the last 3 elements will be written up and examined by viva.  In addition, one or two other papers will be written about the theoretical approach taken and one defining the conceptual framework for the doctoral thesis.

This will be dominated by researching and writing the doctorate thesis, which will be supported by workshops on how to write a thesis, on appropriate theoretical models, on strategic leadership and on issues of significance to the nation’s development.  Presentations from national leaders will be given and, where possible, visits made to suitable organisations and possibly an overseas visit could be arranged.  The PDP will be continued, as will the group project teams, which will not be required to do another formal task but will operate as Action Learning sets where experiences and difficulties may be shared.

Assessment of this stage will be around the thesis.