2025 Early Career Leadership Program

The Early Career Leadership Program is taking applications!

Apply Here 

The application deadline is on Fri. Dec. 20th, 2024, at 5:00 pm MT.

Develop leadership skills and a sense of cohort with peers from across the organization. The ECLP is a program for early career scientific and technical staff at NSF NCAR and UCP hosted by NSF NCAR Education, Engagement, and Early-Career Development (EdEC).

When is the ECLP?  Feb. 24 - April 11, 2025. It begins with a virtual 2 hour orientation and welcome on Feb. 24, and ends with a 2.5 day workshop in Boulder on April 9, 10, and 11.

What is the ECLP?  It is a seven-week-long opportunity for early career scientific and technical staff at NSF NCAR and UCP to learn leadership skills such as communication, time management, intercultural humility, and leading and collaborating with diverse teams. Another valuable element is the cohort-building that takes place between staff from across the organization. The skills and understanding gained here will augment participants' ability to be effective and productive team members and leaders, informally or formally. Feedback on the program has bee very good in all of the past three years. 

Who is eligible?  Early career scientific and technical staff at NSF NCAR and UCP who are interested in gaining leadership skills and insights are eligible. We seek candidates from a diversity of labs, disciplines, and job categories. Acceptance into the program will also be based on answers to the short essay questions in the application. 

When is it?  The Early Career Leadership Program or ECLP will start with an online Welcome/Orientation at 10 am MT on Feb. 24th, 2025. Over the next six weeks, groups of four participants - or pods - will meet biweekly three times to discuss provided topics, homework, and a challenge to apply the learning. The program will culminate in a 2.5 day workshop on April 9, 10, and 11, 2025, at the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab in Boulder, CO.  

How will it work?  The program will kick off with an online welcome and pod launch. All participants will get an overview of the program, question the concept of leadership, and meet their fellow 3-4 pod-mates. Pods will meet biweekly three times between the program kickoff and the in-person meeting. All participants must attend the 2.5 day in-person meeting in April. See travel details below for non-local staff.

Registration Fee:  The applicant's Lab/Center/Program/Office will be asked to pay a $200 registration fee per participant. This covers lunches, coffee, snacks, and materials for the onsite program component. 

Travel funding:  Non-local staff will need to work with the lead administrator of their Lab/Center/Program/Office to use REM funds to pay for travel and lodging for the in-person components of the program. They may consider being in Boulder a bit longer to meet with supervisors, colleagues and teams. 

Guidance for NSF NCAR staff charging time for non-science activities: This may be found on this web page in Sun Dog.

Questions?  Please contact Valerie Sloan at vsloan@ucar.edu.