Leadership, Education and Partnership: Project LEAP — Developing Regional Educational Leadership Capacity in Higher Education and Health Services through Collaborative Leadership and Partnership Working

Abstract

In 2007, Birmingham City University (formerly the University of Central England) and the West Midlands NHS Strategic Health Authority developed and implemented the LEAP (Leadership, Education and Partnership) project. The project extended and developed further a successful leadership development programme, which had run in the West Midlands for healthcare educators working in both higher education (HE) and NHS organisations.The LEAP project aimed to develop genuine partnership and collaborative working among health and social care education providers from a range of HE and NHS organisations in the West Midlands. This paper describes the leadership programme approaches and activities, the underpinning leadership and management theories and concepts, and the way in which these were woven together in the leadership development programme. Examples of some of the theoretical models and frameworks used in the programme, and reflections on how these helped to develop participants' knowledge, skills and approaches to collaboration and partnership working are also detailed.