Week 6 marked the final stage of my Leadership in Action project with the Transnational Institute. My focus was on bringing together the research I had conducted over the previous five weeks, refining the final output and considering how the work could be useful to wider research and advocacy. By this stage, I had moved from initially trying to understand the challenges surrounding cross-border infrastructure to developing a more nuanced understanding informed by both policy research and direct engagement with local stakeholders.
A key part of the final week was reviewing and refining the research. I revisited the findings from my interviews alongside the policy and academic material I had examined throughout the project. This allowed me to ensure that the final recommendations were properly supported by evidence and that the perspectives of local leaders and other stakeholders were represented accurately. I was particularly conscious of avoiding overly broad conclusions, given the different experiences and priorities that had emerged during the interviews.
I also discussed the final work with my colleagues and incorporated their feedback. This was valuable because it allowed me to see the research from the perspective of an organisation that would potentially use it beyond the project itself. Throughout the placement, I had increasingly understood that producing good research is not necessarily the same as producing useful research. The final output needed to be clear, accessible and relevant to the organisation's existing work rather than simply demonstrating what I had learned.
Looking back at the project as a whole, one of the biggest changes in my thinking has been my understanding of local engagement. At the beginning, I viewed interviews primarily as a way of gathering additional information for my research. By the end, I understood them as an essential part of determining what the research should actually focus on. The conversations I had with local leaders and other stakeholders challenged some of my assumptions and made the final work more grounded in practical realities. This reinforced the importance of approaching research collaboratively and recognising that expertise does not only come from academic or institutional sources.
The project also changed my understanding of leadership. I initially thought of leadership largely in terms of taking initiative and producing a strong outcome independently. Working with the NGO showed me that leadership can instead involve listening carefully, asking the right questions, accepting criticism and adapting your approach. I became more comfortable taking ownership of my work while also recognising when I needed to seek guidance from people with different expertise and experiences.
Overall, completing the six-week project has strengthened my ability to conduct applied research while developing a more collaborative approach to leadership. I have gained a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges involved in using cross-border infrastructure and transport policy to increase regional interdependence, but perhaps more importantly, I have learned how much stronger research becomes when it is developed through genuine engagement with the people and organisations connected to the issue. The experience has reinforced my interest in using legal and policy research in practical settings and has given me a clearer understanding of the type of collaborative and responsive leadership I want to develop in the future.
