The program focuses on cultivating high-impact leadership skills for a small group of hand-selected leaders, preparing candidates for managing complex social change by drawing on the resources available via the presidential centers of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, William J. Clinton and Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Presidential Scholars needed outside help to refine program targeting, messaging and recruitment for the inaugural class.  Given the high-profile nature of the Presidential Scholars program the application process had to be manageable and cast a wide net to identify the next generation of leaders who weren’t necessarily in the limelight.

Dialog helped to define the target and recruit the inaugural class. Successfully developing candidate profiles, recruiting strategies, and an application process to meet the needs of various stakeholders, including: all four presidential centers, Program leadership, auxiliary academic institutions, and subject mater experts through:

• Meta-analysis of Leadership Maturation theories to refine program targeting and acceptance criteria
• Development of the ideal candidate profile
• Industry benchmarking of similar programs
   
• Candidate outreach and recruitment
   
• Designing an application with self-selecting criteria to help program staff identify the most desirable candidates
   
• Completing all commitments within a tight timeframe to meet the deadline for a formal presidential announcement of the Program launch.

• Successfully developing candidate profiles, recruiting strategies, and an application process to meet the needs of various stakeholders, including: all four presidential centers, Program leadership, auxiliary academic institutions, and subject mater experts
• Designing an application with self-selecting criteria to help program staff identify the most desirable candidates
• Completing all commitments within a tight timeframe to meet the deadline for a formal presidential announcement of the Program launch