The Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (SALI) is managed by the HEA on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS). It was envisaged that 45 senior academic leadership posts would be awarded to HEIs through competitive processes to assist in accelerating gender balance at senior levels.

The Senior Academic Leadership Initiative first launched on 21^st of June 2019. Higher Education Institutions were invited to submit applications for funding under the SALI Call, in line with the requirements set out in the Call for Applications.  Following a competitive process, the HEA approved a defined number of new and additional senior academic leadership posts to successful higher education institutions. The second and most recent Call for Applications was in 2020 with outcomes announced in Q4 2021.

In 2024, at the request of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the HEA commissioned an independent evaluation of the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative. The evaluation was proposed in order to assess the effectiveness, value for money and impact of the initiative. The evaluation considered the call process and awarding of posts, the experience of higher education institutions awarded posts and the experience of appointees under the initiative.

The evaluation report is available to download from the link on the right hand side.