Certification Programme
Become a Collective Leadership Specialist and join our Community!

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi
300+
Collective Leadership Specialists around the world

In 2015, the nations of the world agreed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17th Goal emphasizes the importance of partnerships for realizing the other 16 Goals. Working in collaboration across sectors, topics, and borders requires a set of capacities for leading change collectively. This begs the question: how will the 17th SDG be met by 2030?

Increasing collaboration capacity worldwide will allow for change processes to be carried out in a more peaceful, professional, efficient, and effective way that honours the intention of the global sustainable development movement. To meet this challenge, CLI is training change agents and building a Community of Practice that strives to be “A vibrant, global movement of diverse Collective Leadership Specialists, practitioners who advance regenerative futures for the community of life on planet Earth.”

We need to see leadership as the capacity of a collective to catalyse change for the common good.

Dr. Petra Kuenkel; The Art of Leading Collectively
What is the Certification Programme about?

For the past decade, CLI has conceptualized and field-tested collaboration methodologies and tools with partners, developing high quality and engaging training curricula, materials, and publications. Through our growing network of partners, we seek to transfer these approaches and materials to skilled Specialists around the world and, through them, scale collaboration and impact for sustainability.

We understand collaboration to be the capacity to lead collectively across borders:

  • Collaboration across different sectors from the local to the global levels, such as implementation of the SDGs, the Paris Accord, and other international agreements
  • Collaboration across different identities, such as among different racial, ethnic, religious, generational, sexual orientation, and political groups
  • Collaboration across international borders, such as on the refugee crisis, transboundary watershed management, and transboundary fisheries management

Therefore, the Collective Leadership Institute developed a Certification Programme, which is offered to any individual who would like become fluent in a language and tools for leading change collectively.

In order to become a Collective Leadership Specialist, individuals, teams or CLI course Alumni go through a certification process (the graph below presents the training process).

In order to become a Collective Leadership Specialist, individuals have to take part in at least three of the following four CLI courses:

  • The Art of Stakeholder Collaboration and
  • The Art of Leading Collectively and
  • The Art of Process Facilitation OR
  • The Art of Transformative Change

to learn and apply CLI methodologies: © Dialogic Change Model and © Collective Leadership Compass, as well as facilitation techniques and/or network stewardship.

Collective Leadership Specialist Certification
Overview of all modules and credits

Download our one pager for a full overview of all modules and credits needed to become a Collective Leadership Specialist

Download
Benefits of becoming a Collective Leadership Specialist

CLI Certified Collective Leadership Specialists are able to apply the above-mentioned methodologies successfully in practice. Specialists have proven expertise in designing and invigorating multi-stakeholder initiatives and networks that work to achieve outcomes across the Sustainable Development Goals at all levels. Being a Collective Leadership Specialist is also a compulsory qualification to apply for the CLI Expert Pool (a shortlist of experts eligible to work on CLI projects) and to become an Accredited Collective Leadership Facilitator.

Certified Specialists are fluent in a language for leading change collectively and are able to apply the © Collective Leadership Compass and © Dialogic Change Module successfully in practice. Upon certification Specialists are invited to join our diverse, global Community of Practice that actively engages in exchange, learning, and networking events.

How to start?

The following graph helps you to choose the right foundation course to start with:

The Art of Leading Collectively

- 4 days of training
- core methodology: CLI Collective Leadership Compass
- tuition fee: € 2,000 in-person, € 1,500 online
Registration status: OPEN

24 June — 27 June 2025
Collective Leadership Institute gGmbH, Kurfürstenstraße, Potsdam, Germany
Learn more
The Art of Stakeholder Collaboration

- 4 days of training
- core methodology: CLI Dialogic Change Model
- tuition fee: € 2,000 in-person, € 1,500 online
Registration status: OPEN

11 November — 14 November 2025
Collective Leadership Institute gGmbH, Kurfürstenstraße, Potsdam, Germany
Learn more
The Art of Process Facilitation

- 4 days of training
- core methodologies: CLI Dialogic Change Model and Collective Leadership Compass
- tuition fee: € 2,000 in-person, € 1,500 online
Registration status: OPEN

1 July — 4 July 2025
Collective Leadership Institute gGmbH, Kurfürstenstraße, Potsdam, Germany
Learn more
The Art of Transformative Change

- 4 days of online-training
- core methodologies: CLI Collective Leadership Compass and Dialogic Change Model
- tuition fee: € 2,000 in-person, € 1,500 online
Registration status: CLOSED

16 December — 19 December 2024
Collective Leadership Institute gGmbH, Kurfürstenstraße, Potsdam, Germany
Learn more
Certified Collective Leadership Specialists

We have trained 374 Collective Leadership Specialists worldwide since the start of the programme in 2017. The map, video, table, and testimonials, below, introduce you to the countries, numbers, and personalities of our Specialists. Several have become Accredited Collective Leadership Facilitators or CLI Faculty.

Filter by Category
Get to know some of our certified Collective Leadership Specialists
Country Certified Collective Leadership Specialists (Updated Nov 2023)
Germany 108
Ukraine 46
Egypt 39
Senegal 17
Tunisia 17
Ghana 16
Serbia 16
Indonesia 15
Nigeria 15
Morooco 14
Russia 12
Belarus 10
Honduras 8
Laos 6
Jordan 4
Switzerland 4
South Africa 3
United States 3
Canada 2
Denmark 2
Ethiopia 2
Zambia 2
Albania 1
Bangladesh 1
Belgium 1
Bolivia 1
Brazil 1
Cameroon 1
DR Congo 1
France 1
Kyrgyzstan 1
Netherlands 1
Qatar 1
Spain 1
Uganda 1
United Kingdom 1
Some of our Collective Leadership Specialists and Facilitators

Instead of working in competition, I can help people understand that together, we are stronger.

Dorothée Masele - certified Collective Leadership Specialist
Dorothée Masele, Democratic Republic of Congo

 

Why did you decide to become certified as a Collective Leadership Specialist?

“From the very first session, I felt that I could be more effective and fruitful with my work in the community by introducing a way to build collective intelligence through the four phases of the Dialogic Change Model. The Collective Leadership Compass crowned the competences I acquired by making available a tool to evaluate successes and areas for development at all levels from personal to team to company to wider community.”

What does it mean to you to be a Collective Leadership Specialist?

“As a Collective Leadership Specialist, I feel that I am able to lead a team of leaders to gather their different competences and achieve a common goal. Instead of working in competition, I can help people understand that together, we are stronger. For me, it’s a privilege and honor to be part of the prestigious CLS network. This qualification helps me to bring about change in my company, in my environment, and even in my family. I am changing the competitive mindsets of people to understand that we need one another to achieve our goals and celebrate collective successes!”

 

Dorothée Masele is Community Relationship Manager at Tenke Fungurume Mining, and President at Women in Mining, Democratic Republic of Congo

I support the development of my country by applying a collective leadership approach through my work for the TVET education system.

Dr. Mahmoud A. Deab - certified Collective Leadership Specialist
Dr. Mahmoud A. Deab, Egypt

 

Why did you decide to become certified as a Collective Leadership Specialist?

“I highly value the collective leadership approach because it brings a lot of love into the work environment. Using the Compass and the Dialogic Change Model helps me build on the collective emotional intelligence among actors and solve a lot of challenges together.”

What does it mean to you to be a Collective Leadership Specialist?

“Being a Collective Leadership Specialist means a lot to me in my work and personal life because I now have the tools that can help me to have a positive impact on my colleagues and students, family and community. Concretely, I support the development of my country by applying a collective leadership approach through my work for the TVET education system.

Furthermore, being part of CLI’s Specialist community helps me to exchange knowledge and experiences with a diversity of talented Specialists. This helps me in my work and improves my own progress through FeedForward advice from these highly qualified professionals. I’m proud to be a member of such an excellent community and I’m trying to be positive ambassador for it!”

 

Dr. Mahmoud A. Deab is Advisor to the Deputy Minister for Technical Education at the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Egypt

The collective leadership approach offers powerful tools to support change initiatives for sustainability transformations.

Dr. Maike Sippel - certified Collective Leadership Specialist
Dr. Maike Sippel, Germany

 

Why did you decide to become certified as a Collective Leadership Specialist?

“The collective leadership approach offers powerful tools to support change initiatives for sustainability transformations. I find this approach highly inspiring and useful.”

What does it mean to you to be a Collective Leadership Specialist?

“As a Collective Leadership Specialist, I try to integrate the collective leadership principles in my sphere of influence. The tools offer me the possibility to analyze complex processes more systematically and derive ideas for interventions that may improve a given initiative. I try to apply these powerful tools in my work – as a teacher, researcher, and change agent.

My experience so far is that the collective leadership approach makes my contributions to change more effective. This inspired me, so I started to find partners for developing a Hub for transformation competencies in my city and region, with collective leadership skills as a basis.”

 

Dr. Maike Sippel is Professor at the University of Applied Science and climate activist in Constance, Germany

Further testimonials

“For me, being a Collective Leadership Specialist means being part of an inspiring network of leaders for sustainability!” – Maria Real Perdomo, private sector, Germany

“Being a Collective Leadership Specialist grants me trustworthiness regarding my multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnership expertise, while complementing my technical expertise.” – Jacob Fink Ferdinand, private sector, Denmark

“For me, being a Collective Leadership Specialist means being part of a visionary, global community.” – Anastasia Sauer, academia, Germany

“In my professional engagements, certification as a Collective Leadership Specialist formally links me to the credibility and experience of the Collective Leadership Institute and thus validates the quality of my training and skills, while for me personally, being a CLS embeds me in an on-going community of practice that helps guide and support my work.” – Barry Shelley, civil society, United States

“Personally, I benefit from being a CLS by participating in and contributing to our global networking events. These help me stay connected with Specialists around the world on the topic of leading collectively for sustainability.” – Berti Shaker, development cooperation, Egypt

“Being certified as a CLS gives me the skills to facilitate engaging dialogue processes, establish sustainable dialogue platforms, and collectively achieve concrete results across sectors.” – Houcine Nejjari, development cooperation, Morocco

Become a Collective Leadership Specialist
Join our network

Click the button below to register for the Certification Programme

Collective Leadership Specialists Register now
A diverse and global Community of Practice

Our Community of Practice was launched in September 2021 with the following vision and mission, co-created with Specialists:

VISION We strive to be a vibrant, global movement of diverse Collective Leadership Specialists, practitioners who advance regenerative futures for the community of life on planet Earth.

MISSION We seek to realize this vision by:

    • engaging in mutually-supportive exchange and learning;
    • self-organizing regular, dynamic network events;
    • co-developing innovative ideas and approaches; and
    • inspiring and enhancing transformative collaborations.

At present, over 100 Specialist from around the world are active in our Community of Practice, especially through regular, Specialist-led “Collective Leadership in Practice” sessions that focus on continued application of tools and concepts through case work, peer coaching, and thematic and conceptual discussions. Being part of our community provides Specialists with safe and creative spaces not only for exchange and learning, but also for mutual support and inspiration!

As a community working across all SDGs and representing a diversity of sectors, countries, and levels, Specialists engage in direct exchange and get the latest content from CLI through our exclusive Collective Leadership Specialist LinkedIn group.

Every September, we hold a unique event for our Specialist community called the “ReConnect.” Our 2024 ReConnect is scheduled for Tuesday, 24 September 2024 from 13:00-16:00 CET. Specialists, make sure to mark the date in your calendars already! 

PAST RE:CONNECT EDITIONS

ReConnect3

CLI’s 3rd annual ReConnect event on 21 September 2023 welcomed 18 Collective Leadership Specialists – new and old, from Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Egypt, Jordan and the United States! Over the past year, 34 new Specialists earned their certification, adding 5 new countries to our world map.

The ReConnect celebrated successes in the community, especially the popularity and value of our new “Collective Leadership in Practice” sessions. The event also included an interactive assessment of the Community of Practice with the “Community Catalysts,” an emerging lens in the Compass that is being co-developed with Specialists. You can check out some of that work in the gallery below. The assessment helped us to identify strengths, as well as areas for development.

ReConnect2

On September 21, 2022, CLI’s second yearly ReConnect took place. We were incredibly #energized by the positive contributions and ideas that flowed thanks to our growing #community!
Over 40 Collective Leadership Specialists from all over the world -South Africa, Senegal, Cameroon, DRC, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Ukraine, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, and USA- attended and invested their time to make our Community thrive!
Not only were we able to highlight all past and upcoming projects and events generated within our our community, but we also discussed in depth three cases that are being led by our Specialists to collect ideas on how to overcome challenges and make them even more successful:
  • Coumba Leye and Malick Bassoum: “Creating a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Platform for Employment Promotion in Senegal”
  • Samuel Okwa: “Firestone Software Developers Network: Making Nigerian Tech Ecosystem more accessible to MSMEs”
  • Dorothée Masele Mwewa: “Women in Mining: Democratic Republic of Congo”
These Specialists left ready to take on entenched challenges with new ideas and inspiration!

ReConnect1

In September 2021, CLI hosted a first-ever, exclusive event for our global network of certified Collective Leadership Specialists: “ReConnect: A Community of Specialists for Helping Realize the SDGs.”

36 diverse Specialists attended this first annual gathering, making for a successful and enlivening start! The Re:Connect 2021 edition highlighted the following agenda items:

  • Dr. Petra Kuenkel presented and led a discussion on ideas at the frontier of Transformation Literacy (video recording here).
  • Three Specialists presented on their real cases so as to receive “FeedForward” (future-oriented suggestions) on key collaboration challenges.
  • A networking break.
  • A collective brainstorming on ideas regarding the purpose and key activities of the Specialists’ Community of Practice, as well as how all members can help make it self-sustaining.
CLI Expert Pool

CLI’s unique © Collective Leadership Compass and © Dialogic Change Model methodologies have helped professionals from more than 120 countries to improve their leadership and collaboration skills, and to achieve sustainability transformations at multiple scales. Being fluent in the application of these methodologies is a precondition for working and collaborating with CLI.

People who have been trained in and applied CLI’s methodologies may be eligible to work on CLI projects and/or as a facilitator in our Academy. When you have completed both CLI foundation courses plus one of our advanced courses and have gained some experience applying CL methodologies in development contexts, you are welcome to complete this form to become part of the CLI Expert Pool.

Being shortlisted in the Expert Pool is a precondition to be hired as a CLI external expert through a simplified procedure. Inclusion in the CLI Expert Pool does not guarantee agreements/contracts with CLI. Inclusion in the CLI Expert Pool means that you may receive direct awards or be invited to submit tenders for work with CLI within the areas covered by those specific tenders or direct awards.

If you are interested to be included in the CLI Expert Pool, please (1) register in CLI’s Online Academy and (2) complete the following form (while being logged in) to apply for the CLI Expert Pool:

CLI Expert Pool Application

Please register for or log in the CLI Online Academy first and then start filling in the form!
REGISTRATION OPEN! The round of applications ends 31 December 2024. We will announce new CLI Experts in January 2025.

Application Form

REGISTRATION OPEN!

The call for 2025 Expert Pool applications is open. Please register until 31 December 2024 to become a member of our Expert Pool.

CLI EXPERT POOL MEMBERS 2023-2024:

Name Country
Barry Shelley USA
Ben Corrigan Cambodia
Berti Shaker Egypt
Chris Burton Switzerland
Dominic Stucker Spain
Douglas Williamson USA
Iqbal Hamad Jordan
Jacob Ferdinand Denmark
Johanna Hallbauer Germany
Madison Bannon South Africa
Mai ElAshmawy Egypt
Maryana Zaviyska Ukraine
Miral Omran Egypt
Mostafa Rhlib Morocco
Pia Clausen Denmark
Suzan Joy Uganda

Based on the information you have provided in the form, we will review the applications annually (usually in December; but in special cases also during the year) and select/refresh the CLI Expert Pool for the coming two years. The selection process uses the criteria mentioned in part B (selection process) of the form that you submitted.

Depending on CLI’s project needs and the amount of work envisioned, we will run simplified tendering procedures among the CLI Expert Pool members. These are based on your technical expertise and experiences stated in your Expert Pool application form. Therefore, please make sure to keep your registration data updated. You will be requested to update your profile every two years.

Impact Statement: Movement Building

CLI’s Collective Leadership Certification Programme plays a key role for our strategic pillar Movement Building. Find the current information on the impact of this pillar below.

Movement Building impact 2023
Collective Leadership Practices for Transformative Change

You will find below upcoming research from Dan Harris, PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, that includes his findings on the Collective Leadership Specialists programme and CLI’s Academy courses. As part of his research, Dan Harris surveyed 42 Collective Leadership Academy participants who had taken the certification courses with CLI between 2008 and 2023.

Become a Collective Leadership Specialist
Join our network

Click the button below to register for the Certification Programme

Collective Leadership Specialists Register now
You may also be interested in