Recognising that people learn most effectively from the solution of real life problems, the emphasis throughout is on the application of what is being learned to the individual’s organisation and job. In order to do this a high emphasis is placed on one-to-one personal tutoring and consequently the number which can be taken on the programme in any one year is limited.

From the outset, each participant is allocated a tutor drawn from the programme staff. It is the tutor’s job to help the participant pace themselves through the programme, to give guidance in reading and study, to help in the choice of topic for the action learning project and to give ongoing guidance in the research.

Each month a set of tasks is completed by each participant using the ideas they are reading about to describe and analyse their organisation and job. These form the basic building blocks of each of the major documents submitted.

The initiative which forms the basis for the thesis is selected by each participant in consultation with his/her tutor and the Programme Director. While the theme is an individual choice, they will typically focus on strategic change, organisational structure change, or organisational process change. All projects will focus on management issues and problems, not technical problems.

While the thesis submitted at the end of the programme is the principal form of evaluation, the other main evaluation points on the programme are as follows:

• The orientation paper, submitted 8 months into the programme— subject to satisfactory performance, participants proceed to the second phase.
• The thesis proposal and literature review, submitted 12 months into the programme—a document outlining the proposed initiative as well as pinpointing and reviewing the relevant literature,  submitted both verbally and in writing.
• The position paper, submitted 16 months into the programme. This is another major report submitted to the programme staff, enabling them to isolate any problems and provide required assistance.
• The first draft of the thesis, submitted 21 months into the programme—feedback from programme staff and tutors provides the impetus for refining this draft and preparing the final thesis.
• The thesis, submitted 2 years after the start of the programme.
• Ongoing assessment (monthly tasks) are also evaluated and feedback given to the participants.