Fellowships
LDC Fellowships are annually selected research or study awards up to $45,000 for senior leaders. They aim to help senior leaders build on their leadership capability and reflect topic areas that contribute to the wider system. The Fellowship may include formal and/or practical experience, and/or research and study on leadership development, in New Zealand or overseas.
Each Fellowship provides up to $45,000 for travel, accommodation and/or study fees. The Fellowship is sponsored by contributing public sector agencies (see below).
2019 Fellowships
Applications for the LDC 2019 Fellowships are now open.
Fellowship themes for 2019
- Build leadership capability to reflect the future demands of leadership, including leading teams to think and work differently
- Strengthen strategic leadership at a system level to influence a diverse and inclusive culture.
- Explore the future impacts on leadership that enable any of the following:
- Digitally delivered service with a strong customer-centric perspective
- Big data and analytics
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the speed of digital change
- Maintaining the highest standards of integrity, behaviour and conduct.
Information and application pack:
- 2019 LDC Fellowship flyer (pdf)
- LDC 2019 Fellowship application form (interactive pdf)
- LDC 2019 Fellowship referee guide and form (interactive pdf)
* Please download the application and referee forms to your own device, before you fill them out.
Applications must be received by Friday, 8 February 2019.
LDC can assist with application planning and suggest that prospective applicants talk to us first about their study and research proposals.
2018 LDC Fellows
Helen Potiki
Director, Policy, Ministry for Women
Delivering to diverse communities through flexible work arrangements
Helen will examine how public sector leaders can set up, facilitate and negotiate flexible work arrangements and other innovative workplace practices to deliver effective public services to diverse communities. She will meet with leaders in New Zealand, Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom – countries with increasing diverse populations and a focus on innovative workplace practices. Helen will also attend a five-day workshop ‘Putting People First: Quality public services in a changing world’ at Public Administration International, London.
Keep up-to-date with Helen's study and research with her video logs on her LinkedIn page.
Richard Hamblin
Director of Health Quality Intelligence, Health Quality and Safety Commission
Organisations that deliver through data
Richard will investigate how organisations can successfully drive delivery through data and analytics. His aim is to focus on understanding what makes a great leader of data-driven organisations. He wants to contribute to the public sector’s development of the right people to lead transformative data teams.
Richard will undertake research and visit organisations in New Zealand and overseas that have world-leading data and analytics teams, which have helped transform their organisations into being genuinely data-led. He wants to share the lessons of their success with the New Zealand public sector.
30 years down the wrong rabbit hole: how we got there and how we get out
"It’s all very well arguing that we need to use data in a different way and therefore we need data teams that look like this and are led like that, (and by the end of this fellowship process I may have some idea of what this and that look like), but a sceptic could perfectly reasonably ask 'why do we need to use data in a different way?' What follows is my answer, the reason why I embarked on this exercise." Read Richard's report: 30 years down the wrong rabbit hole: how we got there and how we get out (pdf)
Marie Long
Director Planning, Permissions and Land, Department of Conservation
Innovations in natural resources regulation
Marie will explore the innovative approaches that international jurisdictions are taking in natural resources regulation. She wants to find out more about regulation models based on customer-centric design and shared decision-making. She’ll also look at understanding how the rights of indigenous people are applied in the design and application of regulation. Finally, Marie will explore the response to increasing tourism on protected natural areas. As part of the Fellowship programme, Marie will attend the London School of Economics to complete a short course in regulation.
Ezra Schuster
Director of Education, Bay of Plenty-Waiariki, Ministry of Education
How divergent agencies together achieve the best outcomes for young people
Ezra’s Fellowship with look at how divergent agencies and organisations work in partnership with education, health and social providers to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people. Ezra plans to examine diverse cultural and social contexts: a successful education programme in Swansea, Wales, and how the city of Leeds has developed its approach to implementing its vision of a 'Child Friendly City'. Ezra plans to attend a leadership development programme at Oxford University.
Eru Lyndon
Regional Commissioner for Social Development, Northland / Te Taitokerau, Ministry of Social Development
Eru aims to learn more about how to develop customer-centric services and product innovation, using processes such as design-thinking, and how these approaches can be embedded in organisations. By combining this new knowledge with his ability to navigate Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Hurihrui, Eru will explore how transformative business models with a digital focus, can create new ways to deliver products and services effectively to Māori. Eru will apply his new knowledge to three national programmes focused on at-risk children.
As well as visiting organisations in New Zealand and North America, Eru will attend Stanford’s Design Thinking Boot Camp and MIT’s ‘Digital and Social Media Analytics’ programmes.
Past Fellows - studies and research
2017 LDC Fellows
- Kellie O'Sullivan, General Manager, People and Performance, Ministry of Justice - exploring the future of HR and large-scale transformational culture change.
- Murray Young, Chief Information Officer, New Zealand Customs Service and Tracy Voice, Director, Business Technology and Information Services (CIO), Ministry for Primary Industries - jointly undertaking a joint study programme, looking at the use of emerging technologies to improve government interaction with citizens, focusing first on border control.
- Blair McKenzie, Auckland Regional Commissioner, Ministry of Social Development - utilising education and experiential learning opportunities to understand existing best practice for leading diverse ethnic groups in a New Zealand context.
Read more about the new LDC Fellows and their study programmes.
2016 LDC Fellow - Jayne Russell
Jayne Russell, General Manager, Employer Services, Ministry of Social Development, is the 2016 LDC Fellow. Jayne investigated businesses' corporate social responsibility (CSR) approaches. Maximising employment opportunities for clients was a priority objective. Jane applied her Fellowship learning to how relevant government agencies can better take a whole-of-government approach to working with the private sector in their provision of employment. Jayne's proposals was submitted under the 'Better Public Services' theme and she is looking at leadership that builds sustainability, resilience and connections.
See Jayne's findings on creating shared value in this conversation starter (pdf).
2015 LDC Fellows
LDC 2015 Fellows: Lis Cowey, Evelyn Wareham, Tania Warburton, Sally Washington
- Joint winners: Lis Cowey, Programme Director, Service Support and Design, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Sally Washington, Programme Manager, The Policy Project, Improving the quality and performance of policy advice, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Read Lis's and Sally's blog.
- Evelyn Wareham, General Manager, Customer Insights, Analytics and Research, Statistics New Zealand. Read Evelyn's blog.
- Tania Warburton, Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, Ministry of Justice. Read Tania's blog.
Other past fellows
Check out their blogs, which include first-hand insights and learning.
Carolyn Risk, Ministry of Social Development
Robert Brodnax, New Zealand Transport Agency "The LDC Fellowship was the best learning opportunity I have ever had – the chance to mix targeted training with self-directed international research in a specific topic of interest to myself and the sector is simply gold."
Bryan Chapple, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment "The Fellowship gave me a period of time to reflect on my leadership and on the economic challenges and opportunities for New Zealand – with some great input from leadership courses and a wonderful economics library to feed that thinking."
Janine Dowding, Ministry of Social Development “The fellowship gave me the opportunity to learn alongside public and private sector leaders from around the world. I was taken way out of my comfort zone but the rewards in terms of personal growth were worth it.”
David Habershon, Ministry for Social Development and Craig Soutar, NZ Transport Agency "…the best leadership development opportunity I have had … the most educational, enlightening and enriching development experience."
Karl Le Quesne, Ministry of Education
Sponsoring agencies
The LDC Fellowships are sponsored by contributing public sector agencies.
2018/19 Fellowship sponsoring agencies:
- Accident Compensation Corporation
- Antarctica New Zealand
- Civil Aviation Authority
- Commerce Commission
- Creative New Zealand
- Crown Law Office
- Department of Conservation
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Internal Affairs
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
- Education Review Office
- Electoral Commission
- Environmental Protection Authority
- Health Quality and Safetly Commission
- Housing New Zealand
- Inland Revenue
- Land Information New Zealand
- Ministry for Children - Oranga Tamariki
- Ministry for Culture and Heritage
- Ministry for Pacific Peoples
- Ministry for Primary Industries
- Ministry for the Environment
- Ministry for Women
- Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Justice
- Ministry of Social Development
- Ministry of Transport
- New Zealand Customs Service
- New Zealand Productivity Commission
- New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
- New Zealand Transport Agency
- Office of the Controller and Auditor-General
- Parliamentary Counsel Office
- Real Estates Agents Authority
- Serious Fraud Office
- Statistics New Zealand
- Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu - The Correspondence School
- Te Puni Kokiri - Ministry of Maori Development
- Te Taura Whiri I Te Reo Maori (Maori Language Commission)
- Tertiary Education Commission
- The Treasury
