In 1991, the International Federation of University Women (IFUW) launched an Organizational Development Programme designed to train women leaders of its affiliates and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs, to enable them to build the capacity of their organizations, develop strategtic strategies to manage change and create strategic plans of action to achieve their goals. The programme has included series of international, regional and national seminars and workshops on leadership skills,organizational management, programme/project development and conflict management.

To assist in the training, IFUW published and tested two handbooks with practical guidelines and training exercises. The first, Planning for Change: A Handbook for Training Workshop Leaders in Organizational Development and Strategic Planning appeared in 1995. The second, Planning for Growth, A Guide To Membership Development, followed in 1998. Both have been widely used in IFUW affiliates throughout the world and have been translated or summarized in a number of languages.

Leadership Resources is an on-line manual comprised of modules drawn from these two guides and other material. The "How To" modules are based on participatory techniques and provide a framework designed to draw on participants experience and expertise. A complete list of the units can be found in the Index and the section on Where To Begin explains how the material is organized and meant to be used.

IFUW and other interested leaders are encouraged to use and adapt the on-line modules to form workshop plans that best meet the needs of their respective organizations, the number of participants and the time available for training. The material may be downloaded and copied for non-profit training purposes as described in the section on Reproducing the Material.

IFUW national federations and associations (NFAs) throughout the world face many of the same problems. The Ideas Corner shows how some IFUW affiliates are using the material and highlights planning approaches and strategies they are using to meet these challenges.