School Leadership

Incubator, Ed-Tech Platform, Fellowship Program; school systems worldwide acknowledge the vital importance of school leadership in building and enhancing the quality of education, to improve student learning outcomes. With a lens on collective efficacy, the work of the Menzies School Leadership Incubator suggests we need a new approach to leadership that supports school leaders to better manage transformational change and a deeper collaborative capacity necessary to lead in complexity, acknowledging the interplay between individual, team, and systemic dynamics in improving student learning outcomes.

Strategic Planning

In partnership with Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Dr Aiden M. A. Thornton, Leadership Scientist and Management Consultant and Menzies Senior Research Fellow in Leadership and Complexity, this research initiative aims to dissect and reassemble the concept of strategic planning within the education sector. 

Seeking to uncover how strategic planning practices can be re-envisioned to foster collective efficacy, align efforts, and enhance coherence across educational systems; the goal is to generate actionable insights that can guide schools and systems in embedding collective efficacy into their strategic frameworks, thereby optimising their improvement efforts and outcomes.

Rising Team for Schools

Parallel to the Strategic Planning research efforts, Rising Team for Schools represents a groundbreaking digital platform designed to empower school teams at scale. This initiative is structured around three pivotal phases:

  • Developmental Readiness Preparing teams to embrace new ways of collaboration and problem-solving.
  • Collaborative Capacity Equipping teams with the skills and mindsets necessary for effective collaboration.
  • Complexity Leadership Enabling teams to navigate and address complex challenges through innovative thinking and collaborative strategies.

This ed-tech platform aims to transform how teams operate within schools, ensuring they are better equipped to foster collective efficacy and tackle complex educational challenges collaboratively.

Menzies Foundation is committed to developing a best practice approach to its philanthropic work and supporting better practice in the sector.

Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.