Applications are invited from colleagues working in learning and education roles in the arts to participate in the Extend Leadership Programme 2013-14. 

Funding has been secured from Arts Council England for engage to deliver a leadership programme for colleagues working in learning and education in the arts and cultural sectors from 2012-15. Additional support has been provided by Creative Scotland and the Arts Council of Wales to support the participation of professionals working in Scotland and Wales respectively. 

Extend comprises a training needs analysis, two residential programmes, mentoring and a joint project for participants. Residentials give participants the opportunity to learn about the theory and practice of leadership; to learn from guest speakers and to explore issues including advocacy, campaigning, governance and models of leadership in a time of change. 

Joint projects enable participants to work with their peers to explore and interrogate aspects of leadership which particularly interest them, and to share the outcomes of their projects with the cohort and more widely.

As demonstrated by 'Get It: the Power of Cultural Learning' (2009), learning staff rarely occupy leadership roles in cultural organisations and as a result is not central to the mission of cultural organisations. This can in turn weaken the relationship that cultural organisations have with their audiences.

Creative & Cultural Skills and Turning Point - the Arts Council England's strategy for the visual arts - both found that staff in the visual arts are young, academically well qualified but lacking in leadership skills, and find it difficult to progress to leadership positions and often leave employment in the visual arts. These issues are particularly acute for education staff in the visual arts, as exhibition curators rather than those working in education tend to secure leadership positions in galleries and visual arts venues.

The engage membership surveys from 2008 and 2009 demonstrated a need for mid-career gallery/visual arts education staff to gain leadership skills. In 2009, 78% of mid career respondents and 74% of those in senior positions requested training in leadership skills such as strategic planning (54%), cultural leadership (53%) and fundraising (47%).

The current Extend cohort of fourteen individuals from a variety of artforms are working in groups to develop projects. They have participated in two residentials and have been working with mentors to develop their leadership skills. Read more here.

Funded through the Cultural Leadership Programme's Meeting the Challenge initiative, the Extend pilot aimed to support mid-career professionals working in education and learning roles in the creative arts. The programme was managed by engage and overseen by a steering group comprising senior professionals representing a range of artforms. The programme, which came to an end in March 2011, has been subject to external evaluation. You can download the Evaluation Summary here and read more about the programme here.

Dawn works part-time and can be contacted at extend@engage.org