Background
The Kaplan Leadership Program is the Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) first international program whose goal is the development of young leadership in Jewish communities in Europe, the former Soviet Union (FSU) and Latin America (LATAM). The program is designed for young professionals at mid-level positions in Jewish communities who are aspiring to strengthen their leadership and influence, particularly in their own organizations and communities. It focuses on providing tools and knowledge in four areas: leadership, management, community development, and Jewish content and context. The program consists of three cohorts, each of whom participated in three Regional Seminars and one Global Seminar, as well as activities and tasks in between seminars. Fifty fellows from all three regions participated in Cohort 3 of the program, conducted in 2022-2023. This report presents the main findings of Cohort 3, a summary of the program and an overview of all three cohorts of the program.
Evaluation Goals
The evaluation aims to examine the implementation and organization of the program, and the extent to which it has achieved its main objectives.
Methods
The evaluation is based on an examination of the program as a whole. To this end, the research tools used are nearly identical for all the regions, except for features intended to maintain sensitivity to the characteristics of specific regions, including cultural and linguistic differences. Each evaluation cycle included three main stages (before, during and after the program). The evaluation includes quantitative tools (self-administered questionnaires) and semi-structured interviews with the program participants (hereafter, the fellows) and the program team.
Key Findings
The fellows expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the program and the organization of the regional seminars. 94% of LATAM fellows, 77% of European fellows and 70% of FSU fellows reported that the program had met all or most of their expectations in several key areas: networking; the acquisition of tools, skills, and knowledge; and personal and professional growth and motivation.
90% of the fellows in the FSU and LATAM groups, and 62% of the European fellows reported improvement in their level of competence, self-confidence and motivation to be more pro-active in pursuit of their goals, due to their participation in the program.
Comparison of the findings for Cohort 2 and Cohort 3 showed that overall, the program has managed to maintain the relatively high levels of satisfaction measured after Cohort 2.
Program Summary
The Kaplan Program is unique in its focus on Jewish professionals, fostering a sense of community and creating a strong network. It empowers fellows, enhances their motivation, and builds a regional network of colleagues, especially benefiting smaller, less affluent communities. The program combines theoretical knowledge with practical learning through workshops, site visits, mentoring, and peer learning.
The evaluation shows that the program has consistently maintained high standards and has improved over time by incorporating feedback and recommendations from fellows, regional teams and evaluation findings. Follow-up studies indicate that most graduates in all regions continue working in the Jewish community, taking on more responsibilities and advancing in their careers, despite global and regional challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Regionally, the program has achieved notable success in creating regional networks among fellows in the European and LATAM regional groups. In Europe, Yesod supports graduates with ongoing learning activities and personal contact, while in LATAM, the graduates themselves have established a professional network for mutual learning. In the FSU, maintaining the network has been challenging due to regional conflicts, especially the Russia-Ukraine War, which increased the tension within the FSU regional group, affected the ability to create digital and physical contact between all regions.
Concluding Recommendations
There is a continuing need to improve community development learning, work more to increase learning on the integration of Jewish content into everyday Jewish community work, improve and enrich activities between the seminars, promote more peer learning and networking, and enhance the program’s website and database.