Since 1998, the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement has provided a template for political progress in Northern Ireland. Yet, governance arrangements in Northern Ireland continue to be fragile and the legacy of the Troubles remains divisive. Globalisation, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK’s exit from the EU, and the cost-of-living crisis have simultaneously introduced additional complexities that require non-traditional skills for political, business, and civic leaders to navigate.

Leaders are being scrutinised more than ever as their character and competency are consistently called into question from various corners of society. According to research from Jon Stokes and Sue Dopson at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, trust in leadership is at an all-time low and leaders must prove themselves to gain respect. The complex decision-making skills that leaders need to prevent higher levels of distrust, fear, and conflict, are more critical than ever.

Since 2021, the Fellowship Programme has provided the opportunity to reimagine complex political, business, and civic leadership in Northern Ireland through innovation and capacity building to address the challenges of today for the prosperity of tomorrow.

The Fellowship Programme is an independent and non-partisan executive programme for twenty-four ambitious leaders from across the political spectrum, business, and civic society in Northern Ireland. It seeks to support the peace process, foster innovation and capacity building, and encourage collaborative decision-making so that leaders across society are strengthened and equipped to navigate through complexity and deliver real change for the benefit of all.

The Fellowship Programme is delivered by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building (CDPB) working with key stakeholders, policy makers and facilitators from leading academic institutions, including the University of Oxford, with support from its Advisory Board.

Fellowship Programme residentials

Participants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world as well as the top-ranked university in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings). Here in the ‘city of dreaming spires’, Fellows will enter an oasis of learning, where the world’s greatest leaders and thinkers have studied for over 900 years and where research breakthroughs continue today.

In Dublin, the UNESCO City of Literature, participants will have the opportunity to work with pioneers in their own fields of politics, business and civic society as well as engage with policy development, international relations and diplomacy, in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy.