New & Evolving Academic Leaders Program
The program is designed for people in an academic health science context who are committed to becoming change agents in their spheres of influence and beyond by centering principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity and accessibility in their leadership practice. This program is intended for those who are committed to challenging the status quo, and looking to develop tools, skills, and evolving practices to positively shape our future academic health sciences system.
Description
NEAL
Adaptive. Accessible. Connected.
Leading for Sustainable Impact
In the NEAL program, the group builds a learning community through three intensive one-week modules over the year, themed as Foundations, Influence and Adaptation. In these modules, diverse faculty share resources and build capacity for reflective and relational practice, system thinking, influence and impact, and leading from adaptive purpose. Between modules, participants deepen their learning with coaching, peer connections, diverse assignments and leading a capstone project through engaging others.
The program is intentionally shaped to bring together a diverse set of participant leaders to consider how we all need to work collaboratively in shaping and shifting our broader system for positive health outcomes. Learners may have a formal role as a leader, or may be an influencer or change agent with a meaningful purpose. We encourage those who are working in community based settings, academic units, research settings, and hospital-based settings to consider the NEAL program.
Additional Info
Early bird rates are only applicable to CFD Members. You must be registered as a CFD member prior to submitting your application to receive the member rates. CFD General Membership is $90/person for the year. Membership is FREE for Unity Health Toronto staff, physicians, learners and patient/family partners and Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto staff, faculty (incl. status only) and learners. Click here to sign up or for more details.
Application Process
Applications are now closed. Please check back in the winter for the next offering.
Dates
Module 1:
September 29 - October 1, 2025 In-person in Toronto
October 23-24, 2025 Virtual
Module 2:
January 26-27, 2026 In-person in Toronto
January 28-29, 2026 Virtual
Module 3:
April 27-29, 2026 Virtual
May 14-15, 2026 In-person in Toronto
Prerequisites
Applicants are leaders (with or without formal institutional roles/titles) who are engaging in advancing the academic or system innovation/equity missions of education, research or program development in the health sciences.
Program Details
For further details, please visit the NEAL Program page.
Access and Inclusion Bursary
We have established the Access and Inclusion Bursary to enhance financial support for our longitudinal programs, recognizing that funding access varies across health professions and institutions. This Bursary will be applied to your program tuition. For more information and application instructions, please click here.