leadership

Noyce Leadership Institute

Program Description Eligibility and Selection Application Guidelines
About Strategic Initiatives Retreat Outline Application Form (PDF)

The Noyce Leadership Fellows (NLF), a program of the Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI), assists leaders of science centers and related institutions to move forward with greater effectiveness and public impact in the 21st century. These leaders act as change agents at the crossroads of societal trends, global issues, and the cutting edge of informal science. They need access to knowledge, tools, best practices, and professional networks to sustain and advance innovation in their own institutions and in the field.

NLF seeks to enable executives of science centers to deepen their institutions' involvement with their communities. This will strengthen the impact of science centers as innovative educational hubs that engage their publics in science at every age – encouraging children and youth to choose interest and careers in science and helping adults to understand the crucial science issues in their lives.

Effective September 9, 2009, applications are being accepted for the 2010-2011 Noyce Leadership Fellows program. The program begins in April 2010 and ends in April 2011. In contrast to prior Noyce Leadership Fellows' cohorts, the 2010-2011 cohort is open first and foremost to senior managers inside and outside the field with the passion and potential to work as a CEO, COO, or another senior executive position within a science center or children's museum. Existing CEO's early in their careers in the field may be considered, based on their possible fit with the senior managers admitted to this year's program.

Click here for a PowerPoint overview of the 2010-11 program.

The Program

NLF is designed using "action learning" principles, which means the program's concepts, tools, and resources are coordinated closely to ensure immediate learning that can be applied in the Fellow's work environment. Throughout the program year, Fellows bring real-life issues into the program, seeking insights and solutions from interaction with faculty, executive coaches, other program advisors, and their peers. Following the completion of the program, Fellows can continue to interact through alumni activities.

Each group of Fellows ranges from 15 to 21 executives and forms a community that enjoys a high level of collegiality, confidentiality, and trust. Three residential retreats provide an opportunity to meet leading experts in leadership, strategy, governance, organizational change, nonprofit management, and fundraising. Before and between retreats, Fellows exchange information with faculty, peers, and executive coaches through audio conferences, telephone calls, and a private website. The program also includes direct contact with "leaders in residence" – accomplished executives from science centers who attend portions of the on-site retreats and participate in audio-conferences as content experts.

In addition, each Fellow works on a major "strategic initiative" of his or her choosing. A strategic initiative is essential work that an institution undertakes to address current challenges and that serves as a focal point for applying new knowledge and leadership skills. Ideally, the strategic initiative will be a seed for growing deeper connections between the institution and its local community in ways that yield greater public impact and contribute to the institution's relevance and sustainability. A strategic initiative can be work already under way or targeted as high-priority going forward. Strategic initiatives do not have to be completed within the NLF program year, but Fellows should be able to make significant progress during this time.

Strategic Initiative Sponsors

Strategic initiatives require Fellows to choose a sponsor – a high level professional, such as the CEO, deputy, or head of a large and complex department – who has some authority or power within the Fellow's center to influence the success of the proposed strategic initiative. A board chair or board member might serve as a Sponsor if the applicant is already in a CEO position. A Sponsor ought to be someone with:


  • access to information, resources and contacts that may be needed during the development and implementation of the strategic initiative
  • some content knowledge and opinions about the strategic initiative
  • formal authority and credibility to sustain the Fellow through successes and mistakes
  • a willingness to be a change agent and expect organizational change to result from this experience
  • a significant commitment to the strategic initiative and the Fellow
  • enough time to attend the required segments of the on-site retreats and to effectively mentor the Fellow

Sponsors are required to participate in 2.5 days of the Opening Retreat in May 2010 and one day of the Closing Retreat in April 2011.

Faculty and Consultants

A core faculty provides a large part of the instruction. Guest instructors, executive coaches, and provocateurs expand the discussion. All instructors are selected for their communications skills, positive ratings in other executive development programs, and capacity to conduct stimulating, experientially-based action learning for executives. Everyone involved with NLF is committed to upholding a high standard of confidentiality, ensuring each Fellow's privacy in the pursuit of personal and professional growth as a leader.

Participating in the Program

Candidates accepted into the program will spend approximately 20 days in direct NLF activities (retreats, audio conferences, individualized coaching, and preparation), over the course of the year. They will engage with some aspect of the program almost every week. Applicants whose responsibilities will not allow this time commitment, or the ability to attend all three retreats in full (see below), ought to consider applying in another year.

Retreat Schedule

May 18-23, 2010 (including May 17-20 for Strategic Initiative Sponsors)

September 28-October 1, 2010 – Honolulu, Hawaii preceding ASTC Annual Conference

April 5-9, 2011 – East Coast, USA (including April 6-7 for Strategic Initiative Sponsors)

(Note: participants from outside North America will be encouraged to come to retreats a day early in order to acclimate to the time change.)

Eligibility and Selection

In contrast to prior Noyce Leadership Fellows' cohorts, the 2010-2011 cohort is open first and foremost to senior managers inside and outside the field with the passion and potential to work as a CEO, COO, or another senior executive position within a science center or children's museum. Existing CEO's early in their careers in the field may be considered, based on their possible fit with the senior managers admitted to this year's program. Applicants must have the express support of their institution's chief executive (or Board of Directors if applying as a CEO) and demonstrate a capacity for innovation. Admission is competitive.

Fees

Tuition is $5,000; Fellows also pay their travel costs to and from the retreats, and for telephone calls with their coaches. A limited number of needs-based tuition scholarships are available. NLI and the program funders invest over $50,000 per Fellow, which covers instruction, consultations, executive coaching, group conference calls, and food and lodging at each retreat.

How to Apply

Please see the Application Guidelines and Application Form (PDF) for specific instructions. If you intend to apply, please communicate with NLI Field Liaison Sheila Grinell and NLI Program Administrator Jennifer Zoffel by e-mail (see Guidelines) on or before December 4, 2009. Your complete application, including a description of the strategic initiative you would wish to undertake, is due on or before January 11, 2010. You will be notified of the status of your application by February 1.

Questions may be directed to Sheila Grinell, NLI Field Liaison, at sheilagrinell@cox.net.

 

Noyce Leadership Fellows was created by the Noyce Foundation in collaboration with the Association of Science-Technology Centers. Lead support for the program comes from the Noyce Foundation, with additional grants to date from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.