STRATEGY, PLANNING & REVIEW + LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

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Elizabeth is a former mentor in the Women Leading and Influencing (WLI) program and, due to her professional experience in the Pacific and in leadership development, was approached to review the previous mentoring program and develop a mentoring strategy for the next iteration of the broader leadership program. WLI is a four‐year, $8 million on‐Award (in Australia) and reintegration (in Pacific) enrichment program of the Australian Government, which aims to develop the leadership skills, confidence and connections of women and men Australia Awards scholars and alumni to drive positive change in the Pacific region.

A series of online interviews and focus groups were undertaken to gather feedback from former and current program participants and mentors, Pacific and gender specialists and leaders. These insights were ground-truthed alongside a comprehensive literature review of gender-specific mentoring frameworks and review of other mentoring programs in the Pacific and Australia. The mentoring strategy articulated an over-arching revised methodology and provided recommendations on the program design, pre-program activities and approaches, on-program resources and activities, and suggestions to help alumna transition ‘back home’ and create strong, supportive networks for leadership development. The strategy also included considerations for resourcing and monitoring and evaluation.