The 2008 Leadership Program review was conducted and provided information to the funders regarding the initial years of the leadership delivery. The present funding round will deliver another review of the program in the final report. This review will include graduates, program sponsors and industry organisations.

Rural Training Initiatives continues to anecdotally assess the processes and outcomes of the program through participant evaluations at the conclusion of each program residential and through conversation with the NSILP advisory group and industry stakeholders. This anecdotal feedback indicates that the program is much more than a positive learning experience.

The need for this project has been suggested in the above sections but there is further evidence of need provided by the goals of the FRDC’s People Development Program,
1. enhance industry leadership within all sectors;
2. build industry capacity to drive change to achieve goals

FRDC’s Working together: The National RD&E Strategy

Priority areas addressed through this project will be:
• identifying and understanding success drivers and factors in comparable industry and resultant opportunities for fisheries
• developing the leadership skills across all stakeholder groups
• understanding and developing strategies to enhance, decision-making and adoption practices
• developing business and business modelling capability
• building stakeholder capacity to move toward co-management of fisheries
• identifying and understanding factors that drive responsiveness or adoption of new practices and innovation and how these can be influenced
• building skills and networks that support knowledge transfer and R&D adoption
• building understanding, and commonality of objectives, between stakeholders, including researchers, managers, fishers and NGOs.

FRDC is in the process of developing a new strategic plan and irrespective of the themes being developed people remain at the core of all industry research and develop therefore developing the future leaders of the industry should remain a priority to the industry.
The 2012-2014 NSILP project is yet to be evaluated however there is data indicating the continued need for the program. This data includes positive outcomes for the participants, building strong understanding of diversity and strength across the industry and positive profile raising for the industry. However the greatest need remains the succession of the industry and the need for ongoing opportunity to skill-up and build the knowledgeable of the individuals who will step into leadership roles.
People development and leadership are currently identified strategies for the industry and the NSILP 2015-2017 will certainly address this strategic need.
The NSILP 2015-2017 will address the needs discussed above through providing skill development in key leadership areas such as inter-personal, team and strategy and planning. The NSILP will also address the needs of building an understanding of the diversity of the industry through ensuring a broad participant cohort and ensuring guests and program speakers reflect industry breadth and deliver addresses that also reflect the diversity of the industry/community.
The NSILP will raise the positive profile of the industry through building professionalism amongst the participants and through the delivery of a number of participant addresses to the industry guests throughout the program.
The NSILP 2015-2017 will address the succession of leadership in the industry by encouraging each of the participants, at the commencement of the program, to identify an aspirational leadership target. There will also be opportunity for program guests to identify participants who should engage with their organisations.