Cohort Based Open Leadership Training and Mentoring

The project will deliver cohort based Open Leadership training and mentoring for Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) Fellows, who are primarily dRTPs and often hold leadership roles in their research communities. We will use the SSI Fellow community as a test cohort for adapting existing Open Life Science (OLS) training materials to meet a gap in current dRTP training around soft skills, leadership, and community management.

Training activities will be mapped to the DIRECT Framework to strengthen competencies in topics such as project design tooling, open collaboration, inclusive leadership, open science, and open data & OSS practices. A modular and iterative approach will allow us to tailor these workshops based on participant feedback. The project will generate evidence on effective cohort-based leadership training for dRTPs, testing modular training materials, mentoring approaches, and engagement strategies. Outputs, including workshop resources and skills mapping, will be openly shared, supporting wider adoption across the dRTP community.

This pilot will inform future scaled leadership and professional development initiatives, demonstrating how cohort-based, modular, and evidence-informed training can enhance dRTP leadership and career pathways.