Evaluation of the impact of the 2003 Aurora Leadership Institute — ‘the gift that keeps on giving’

As a generation of library leaders in Australia and New Zealand is approaching retirement, the question is ‘who will take their place?’ Leadership programs have become increasingly popular as a way to ‘grow’ future leaders for the profession. This study looks at the impact of the 2003 Aurora Leadership Institute [A6] on participants and mentors: it used a questionnaire to determine individuals’ perceptions of its value to their work and career development. All the respondents found A6 beneficial and they especially valued the interaction with mentors. Although the study did not set out to prove that attendance at A6 resulted in behaviour change and measurable impact on organisations, it provides evidence of the benefits of the 2003 Aurora Leadership Institute through the many examples of leadership activity that respondents attributed to their attendance at A6. This article is an extract from a report to the Aurora Foundation Ltd Board on the impact of the 2003 Aurora Leadership Institute. The full report is available on the Aurora web site at http://www.alia.org.au/aurora/