GSB lands major grant from Kellogg Foundation

The Centre for Leadership and Public Values (CPLV) at UCT's Graduate School of Business (GSB) has received a $300 000 grant (about R1 800 000) from the WK Kellogg Foundation to strengthen and enhance one of South Africa's premier leadership programmes.

Over the next two years the substantial grant is set to play a major role in building on the success that the CLPV's Emerging Leaders Programme has achieved since its inception two years ago. According to Ceri Oliver-Evans, CLPV director, the grant is a testimony to the centre's innovative work and will enable it to take further strides in developing leaders.

"Since its inception many fellows have emerged from the programme changed profoundly in their approach to leadership. As the programme is currently fully funded by grants, this is a welcome boost to help us continue this successful work and to make the programme more self-sustainable in the long-term."

The ELP is a unique leadership course that is run jointly between the GSB and Duke University in the United States. It was set up specifically to address the growing need for high-level leadership development and is a pioneer in its focus on transformative leadership and in embracing ethics and accountability.

The programme makes innovative use of coaching and mentoring, which involves renowned leaders being on hand to assist fellows in their development. It also includes life-partners in the process of development.

"Leadership does not happen in a vacuum, and we find that leaders benefit from the variety of support that the programme offers,' said Oliver-Evans. "I am not aware of any other programme that takes this holistic approach to leadership development."

She added that current events around the world had emphasised the need for leaders committed to the highest standards of ethics and accountability in the business, public and NGO sectors.

The WK Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations. To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism.

Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.