2027 Regional Leadership Program

expressions of interest are now open

Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North (RDA Yorke and Mid North) has received funding from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) through the Thriving Regions Fund to conduct a place-based leadership development program with the aim of growing future leaders and enhance the skills of those already in leadership positions in support of communities across the Yorke and Mid North region.

The current (2026 – 2028) program is the third iteration of the program, building on the successes of the previous two programs (2022 – 2024, and 2024 – 2026); the current iteration is informed, but not bound, by previous iterations of the program. The current program is being overseen by a Steering Committee of local community leaders, with delivery undertaken by RDA Yorke and Mid North as the commissioning (and contracting) entity.

Click here to view the Request for Proposal

Click here to view the RFP tender response template

Information on the 2024-2026 Regional Leadership Program can be found below.

2024-2026 Program Facilitators

The 2024-2026 program was facilitated by Coo-ee Collective.

The Coo-ee Collective team; Jeanette Long, Beck Burgess, Danielle Lannin England and Jeanette Gellard, are trained and experienced facilitators who are passionate about developing people within regions. They have developed and delivered a range of leadership training in industries and communities across South Australia. Living and working in regional Australia, they ‘live and breathe’ what they teach. They provided personal experiences about being on boards and committees within industry and their local communities. The modules they delivered were interactive and engaging with opportunities to apply learning through practical activities.

Annabelle Homer is a former ABC rural broadcast journalist who has reported on rural affairs for 12 years across Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia. Annabelle grew up on a cattle station in central Queensland and now lives in South Australia’s Clare Valley. She spent 12 years presenting the ABC SA Country Hour with brief stints on ABC Landline and Behind the News. She now runs Voice it, a voice coaching, MC and podcasting business and was recently acknowledged as SA finalist in the 2025 Rural Women’s Award.

testimonials from 2022/23 emerging leaders participants

Thank you so much for offering this super valuable program, I’ve found it so helpful in my role as a volunteer, on committees & boards, as an employee and as a volunteer recruiter!

Thank you very much for the opportunity to attend the training and for such an affordable cost. It was a fantastic opportunity and has definitely broadened my knowledge and built my confidence.

Our regional areas thrive on the contributions made by volunteer organisations. These small under resourced organisations are made of dedicated people who do not always have the skill sets required to manage an organisation. This program certainly allowed me to develop new skills while sharpening old skills. This program meets the shortfall head on and should continue to be funded so that other organisations can benefit like ours have and other individuals can benefit as I have.

The content and the facilitators were great. I hope the training can continue to be offered as the community does benefit greatly from all the groups and committees' contributions and having more informed and confident members.

This is a great initiative. So many things in rural communities are ran or supported by volunteers. Providing opportunities to upskill the volunteers allows a step change in the quality of service provided, confidence of the individuals involved and a fantastic network of leverage to support the community here.

The Emerging Leaders Program with RDAMYN has given me a greater sense of awareness and understanding of how to lead by example, how to implement strategies and ideas without creating or increasing conflict, and how to work confidently with a variety of people. I found this group of people and facilitators to be like-minded and generous with their information sharing and their time and I have been astounded at the array of skills and experiences everyone has. This is a terrific 'short' course in a comfortable and engaging forum and I've really enjoyed my time.

2022/23 EMERGING LEADERS Case Studies

Useful link

Committee Toolkit – A comprehensive toolkit to assist committees/board with the management of their community organisation

Program Partners:

This program is made possible through funding provided by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia and the support of Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North as project manager.

Program Coordinator

Amanda Redden
Project Coordinator, Regional Leadership Program
Send her an email
0438 641 477