THE FUTURE NEEDS
A DIFFERENT KIND OF ORGANISATION.
ARE YOU READY TO BUILD THEM?
Our fellowship takes curious emerging leaders, and gives them skills and networks they need to lead organisations fit for a changing world.
Apply for our founding cohort now >
BECOME A FOUNDING FELLOW.
Join our first ever cohort. A 10 month accelerator programme that gives you the skills you need to lead in a changing economy. At the same time, you’ll have an active stake and role as Act with Purpose develops.
Deconstruct the systemic issues facing our economy
Work with leading academics & business leaders, and build the frameworks to reimagine how organisations operate.
Learn to lead the organisations of the future
Develop real leadership skills with our partners including the University of Cambridge.
Work on a real applied challenge
Not a case study, a live problem for a partner organisation that needs it solved
PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
Phase 1: understanding the moment
September-December 2026
Before you can lead differently, you have to see clearly.
Interrogate how our economic and institutional systems were built, why they're under pressure, and what that means for the leaders our future needs, alongside academics and practitioners including Dr Victoria Hurth (academic)and Andy Haldane CBE (Economist and President of the British Chamber of Commerce).
Phase 2: from useful theory to agile action
December 2026–Summer 2027
Take the theoretical frameworks you've built, and put them to work on a real challenge, in a small team, with support from partners across civil society, government and industry; while hearing directly from leaders who've navigated systemic change first-hand, from values-based leadership to the energy transition, including Andy Brown OBE (Vice Chair, Orsted).
Become a life long leader for change
Perpetuity
Consolidate everything into your own leadership approach. Refine your leadership skills with an away-day at the University of Cambridge.
“Leadership isn’t exclusive to the c-suite and can be expressed from the moment we see a way to help our colleagues complete a task or realise a dream.
The true leader doesn’t look for adulation but thrives upon enabling other people to realise their full potential and become leaders themselves one day.”
-Edwin Booth CBE DL, Chairman of Booths | Honorary Fellow, Act with Purpose
FAQs
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We aren't looking for perfection. We're looking for people with:
Genuine curiosity about how things could work differently
Commitment to impact
Honesty about yourself and your context
Willingness to sit with complexity and uncertainty
A CV or experience is not necessary to become a Fellow. This programme is designed for emerging leaders
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The vast majority of the programme will be delivered online.
However, there will be the opportunity to attend in person events further down the line.
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The Fellowship is designed in a way that it can be completed alongside work or study.
For the duration of the programme (10 months) there will be, on average, 3 hours of meetings per month with some additional prep time required. Many of these sessions will occur within the working day. -
The programme is delivered free of charge.
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Unfortunately, we cannot cover travel costs related to your attendance.
The vast majority of the programme and activities related to the fellowship will be delivered online.
This being said, we plan to host some events at the University of Cambridge.
If you are in employment, we encourage you to reach out to your work to see if they would fund your travel. If travel costs present a barrier to your engagement, please reach out to us (hello@actwithpurpose.org) and we’ll do our best to see what we can make happen. -
Learn more here.
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Applications are now open. You can apply here.
Please note that applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and so we advise you to apply as early as possible.
Applications will close soon, and are reviewed on a rolling basis.
ORGANISATIONS ARE THE VEHICLES OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE.
YET WE AREN’T EQUIPPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS TO LEAD THROUGH THIS CHANGE.
OUR APPROACH
Climate crisis, technological disruption and social & economic transformation.
The challenges ahead demand organisations that operate fundamentally differently. Yet most leadership development teaches us to optimise systems that are already broken. We're taking a different approach.
We prepare emerging leaders to ask existential questions about organisational purpose, reimagine economic models, and confidently build the institutions our future requires. Through 10 months of learning, real-world application with pioneering organisations, and a lifelong network of peers, we're cultivating the leadership capacity the 21st century demands.
ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
You don’t need to be a Fellow to join the conversation. We convene together leaders across civil society, government, business, and academia.
Our mission is to help leaders turn purpose into action and build stronger, more purpose-driven organisations.
