'It can be a lonely job sometimes': The use of collaborative space and social network theory in support of programme leaders

<p>At one University in the East Midlands region of the UK, a core strand of programme leader support centres on the professional space and networks provided by a regular forum which is facilitated by educational developers.  Drawing on the concept of distributed leadership the forum was intended as a low-resource, high-impact means of recognising the contribution of programme leaders to the institution and to facilitate the sharing of best practice and professional networking. This chapter explores the reality of implementing that idea, including the challenges and opportunities of fostering this approach to supporting academic programme leaders.</p>