This project seeks to build upon the findings of the Oxford Character Project's (OCP) comprehensive Character and Global Leadership Survey 2023 (CGLS), and to test and further develop a character-based leadership online course with a focus on students at universities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Along with Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, and a global group of leadership development academics and practitioners funded by the Legatum Foundation, OCP has been working to develop resources for character-based leadership designed for a global audience. The group featured members from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, and the USA, and has produced an online course called “Leading with Character.” The course can be taken in a self-guided way or used to resource small groups in facilitated contexts.

Aims of this project include building networks and communities of practice; creating accessible, high-quality educational programs and materials to take character-based leadership to scale; and conducting rigorous mixed-methods studies to support leader development, including qualitative analysis and case studies.

Planned activities include: creating an online hub for researchers, practitioners, and funders, alongside resource documentation; collaborating with Legatum to expand and disseminate the course; crafting additional educational materials for wider use in higher education; and research assessing the effectiveness of the course.

This project will be housed within a new Global Leadership Program at Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations.