At the BELMAS conference at Reading in July a session was organised in which the whole conference engaged in discussion about what a likely international collaborative project might look like.  The session was assisted by a panel comprising Michelle Young (Executive Director, UCEA), Charlie Slater, Philip Woods and Alison Taysum.

From this session a number of potential research themes were identified. These were subsequently distilled down to three broad areas:

• Leadership preparation and development
• Democratic leadership
• Cross cultural perspectives on leadership

These areas are deliberately broad. It is envisaged that when the research project group is established then the participants will shape the proposals in ways that align with their interests.

UCEA and BELMAS are currently consulting with their memberships as to which of these areas is considered to be the most worthy and interesting.

The aim is to identify an issue that can make a useful contribution to extending knowledge in our field, that is currently in need of further research and that would particularly benefit from being researched through an international collaborative project.

If you are member of BELMAS, or work in a UCEA affiliated institution, please complete the (very short) survey currently being circulated (Via Survey Monkey).  But feel free also to leave a comment on this blog in relation to any of the ideas being presented.

The current plan is for the consultation to finish in early October and for the project proper to commence after the UCEA Convention at the end of that month.  After that, we will be inviting colleagues to submit expressions of interest if they think they wish to become involved in developing this project.  Details on this blog as they appear.