Fairley Fellows have become an important and influential network in the Goulburn Murray Region.

Numerous graduates have joined community groups and boards in managerial and strategic planning activities, while some have successfully run for council and parliament.  They also serve as role models and mentors within the community.

Networks begin to form during the Program.  Strong personal relationships form among participants as a result of shared and sometimes intense experiences throughout  the year.  Like-minded people and the support of those around you who want you to succeed, fuels passion and commitment.  Group members support of each other throughout the year helps everyone maintain passion.  Often it will take a practical form and members will actively support and become involved in individual projects.

Fellows from different year groups come together regularly at both formal and informal events throughout the year.  All Fellows are invited to a monthly lunch in Shepparton and Fellows in different parts of the region get together less regularly a few times a year.  Graduates are encouraged to attend their local events to meet other Fellows and to expand their local network.

Exposure to leaders across the region with a wide range of backgrounds and interests, from both public and private sectors quickly builds a wide and varied network that would be very difficult to achieve outside a program such as this.

These networks are often used for support, to provide a confidential sounding board and sometimes to provide views from outside a participant’s usual field.

 Achievements

 A recent independent evaluation of Fairley Leadership found that Fairley Fellows were:

• nearly three times more likely than the average adult Australian to do volunteer work for community groups and organisations, and put in twice as many hours;
• much more likely than the typical Australian volunteer to be involved in public speaking, lobbying, influencing and public relations on behalf of community groups; and
• more likely to have an increased understanding of the region and passion for community, combined with confidence and skills to lead ... preparing them ‘to step up to the next level’.

• with ‘a much better understanding of how the groups they’re (professionally) involved with work and how they fit in to the wider community’;
• a ‘well-rounded person’ who is better placed to deal with the diverse demands of customers & stakeholders; and
• ‘with the confidence to step forward into areas where they’ve not worked before’.

The evaluation concluded that “Fairley Fellows have made a substantial contribution to the growth and maintenance of the very fabric of the Goulburn Murray community.”

 Source: The Achievements of Fairley Leadership by Medistat (Melbourne), August 2007