Housed within the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Research Center for Leadership in Action (RCLA) creates collaborative learning environments that break down this isolation, foster needed connections and networks, and yield new and practical insights and strategies. We engage the leadership of a diverse spectrum of public service organizations from government agencies to nonprofits large and small to community-based and social change groups, both across the country and around the world.
Launched in 2003 with core funding from the Ford Foundation, RCLA crafts and runs customized, experiential leadership programs that both expand individuals' skills and strengthen the organizations in which they work. We develop structured convenings where leaders explore the complexity of the challenges they face and together advance their efforts to make change possible. As an academic center, we conduct rigorous social science research, employing a variety of innovative and participatory methodologies to the issues of contemporary leadership.
All of our work exemplifies NYU Wagner's core commitment to integrating theory and practice. Our programs, developed from the "ground up" in collaboration with leaders in the field, draw on the best of the leadership literature, practitioner wisdom, and peer-learning.
RCLA's efforts in the United States and globally continue to garner broad support from a wide range of partners. These have included-in addition to the Ford Foundation-Rockefeller Foundation, Open Society Institute, Annie E. Casey Foundation, AVINA Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Center for Creative Leadership, Center for Action Research in Professional Practice, Accenture, and a broad network of leaders in the field.
