2010 IIMHL Exchange & Conference

Leadership is fundamental to reforming systems and bringing about change.

The International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) is a government-to-government endeavour of seven countries. It aims to facilitate the sharing of best practices and to provide needed support and collaboration for leaders of mental health services to develop robust and effective managerial and operational practices. The ultimate aim is to improve services for people who use them.

Find out more about the background or read about the 2009 leadership exchange.

2010 Leadership Exchange in the Republic of Ireland

IIMHL is a government-to-government mental health leadership development exchange programme and, like any leadership development programme, it is expected that participants will be involved for a finite period (preferably for 3 consecutive exchange meetings, and a maximum of five years).

The main focus of IIMHL is to develop leaders in mental health, from the international exchanges of experience, ideas, and evidence, and through the formation of relationships with similar services, initiatives, policy or funding departments. IIMHL also provides an infrastructure for ongoing learning and development around specific service issues, research evidence, innovative practices, evaluation of initiatives and evaluation of mental health leadership itself, including the effectiveness of IIMHL as a programme.

For the international exchange event, and the linked meeting held every 14-15 months, New Zealand has usually comprised a contingent of between 60 and 70 participants. Due to reviews of public monies, and a financially constrained environment, the Ministry of Health has advised that New Zealand may only send 30 participants to Ireland in 2010.

Please remember that the exchange and the relationship with the other international centres or services can happen at any time, independent of the formal arrangements of the associated and organised meeting. It is anticipated that participants will maintain their links and relationships with their international partners after graduating from regular participation in IIMHL.

For the exchange and meeting in Ireland in 2010 only one person per organisation may attend. The Ministry of Health would prefer that if a person has attended three consecutive organised exchanges and network meetings then they make way for emerging leaders, as the point of the leadership process is to grow and develop leaders over time. We realise these requirements will be challenging for many organisations and that this may disappoint those who may be constrained by the selection process. Another way of continuing your IIMHL networks and activities locally will be through the regional breakfast meetings that have started this year.

The process, the number of people per category, the criteria for selection and the information required from interested parties are described below.

Category 1 - for leaders who have attended IIMHL exchanges and associated meetings previously

There will be 19 attendees in this category. These will be leaders who:

have attended less than three times
may include NGO, Maori or Pacific people, clinical workforce leaders, DHB staff, service users and family members
can demonstrate that they are part of a strong, ongoing IIMHL leadership partnership group.

Category 2 - for new and emerging leaders who have not attended IIMHL before

These will be 6 people who:

are in a senior leadership position in the mental health or addiction sector
can clearly describe a leadership area of interest relevant to their organization/region they wish to explore with international colleagues
may include NGO, Maori or Pacific people, clinical workforce leaders, DHB staff, service users and family members.

Category 3 - Scholarships

Late in 2009, applications were invited for scholarships to attend the IIMHL Leadership Exchange and Network Meeting in Ireland in May 2010. Six people applied, all met the criteria, and were selected to receive scholarship grants to support their attendance. We are pleased to announce the following six people received grants:

Frances Caldwell, who is a Service Leader and Family Peer worker at Bipolar Support Canterbury
Michael McAlevey, who is a Consumer Consultant from Otago Mental Health Support Trust
Sara McCook Weir, who provides consultant training services to Blueprint for Learning through her business Associated Professional Trainers Mental Health
Claire Moore, who is the PER (Partnership – Evaluation – Recovery) Team Leader at Counties Manukau District Health Board
Lee Lawrence, who is a Coordinator at L.I.N.K. Recovery Service, Presbyterian Support Upper South Island
Sonja Goldsack, who is a Project Manager and Facilitator at Blueprint for Learning.

Scholarship criteria
In collaboration with IIMHL and the Ministry of Health, Te Pou has set criteria for these scholarships that reflect the aims of IIMHL and the limited number of places available. All applicants must meet the following selection criteria:

They are a New Zealand citizen or resident.
They are an employee of a DHB contracted mental health or addiction service provider within New Zealand.
They represent Maori, Pacific, NGO or service user agencies.
They must be a new or emerging leader.
They have not previously been on any IIMHL exchange.
They supply a supporting letter from their Chief Executive, senior manager or Board outlining:
- Why they believe the applicant is a suitable representative of New Zealand at IIMHL.
- How their organisation will support the applicant.
- Their agreement to manage the scholarship fund on behalf of the recipient.
- Their agreement to release the applicant to complete their responsibilities during IIMHL.
A completed application form is received by the closing date – 15 November 2009.
The applicant provides a written information outlining:
- The leadership qualities which make them a suitable representative at IIMHL.
- How their participation in IIMHL will enhance their, their organisations and the mental health and addiction sector's ability to provide better services for New Zealand consumers.
- An explanation of why financial support from their organisation is limited, or not possible.

Further funding assistance available for IIMHL 2010

Further funding assistance, additional to the Te Pou scholarships, was available through an Irish organisation - the National Service Users Executive (NSUE). The National Service Users Executive represents the voice of service users and family members/friends in Ireland. They are event partners in the IIMHL Exchange and Network Meeting in Ireland in May 2010.

This additional funding support:

was administered from Ireland
took the form of four (4) bursaries per IIMHL participating country
was available to three (3) service users per country plus one (1) for a family member/friend per country.

Each bursary was the approximate equivalent of €500 in local currency.

Applications are now closed. Further information is available on the NSUE IIMHL bursary web page.

Queries should be directed to:
Jennifer Kelly
iimhl "at" nsue.ie
www.nsue.ie
+ 353 85 1212386

For more information about the 2010 IIMHL exchange and conference, view our Q&A page.

Page last updated: 27 May 2010