About Us

Founded in 2014, our team brings together expertise in programme design, leadership development, and interdisciplinary research. Our work bridges research and practice, advancing knowledge through journal articles, books, and industry reports, while delivering character and leadership development programmes at Oxford and in partnership with universities and organisations around the world. We have led a major £2.6 million research project on culture, character, and leadership in organisations and business sectors across the UK, and are now collaborating with an international network of thought leaders and practitioners to explore values-based leadership development around the world.

Our leadership development programmes integrate proven character-based strategies to help students and professionals to navigate complexity and uncertainty, enabling them to engage challenges, lead across boundaries and contribute positively to organisations and society. Our core Oxford programmes are the Global Leadership Initiative, Oxford Future Leaders Programme, and the Global Leadership Challenge, delivered in partnership with the St Gallen Symposium.

The Oxford Character Project is an interdisciplinary initiative led by researchers and educators from the humanities and social sciences, focusing on character and leadership in higher education, business, politics, and sport. We are based in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford.

We work in conjunction with faculty members from the University of Oxford’s Social Sciences Division, Department for International Development, Saïd Business School, Oxford Internet Institute, and Faculty of Law. Our work is funded through the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, the Legatum Foundation, the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and the Laidlaw Foundation.