The DELTAH project will develop standards for leadership training in healthcare in three countries. The project will improve the leadership knowledge and skills-base of healthcare workers. The primary target groups for the project will be healthcare managers, manager practitioners and supervisors. The project will consist of a three-phase action research and learning initiative comprising an analysis of needs in healthcare leadership skills, the development and testing of products and the evaluation, dissemination and institutionalisation of the project results. The first phase will comprise: a literature search to determine needs in healthcare leadership; an evaluation of current leadership provision in the healthcare systems of partner countries; development of a project website to act as a vehicle for teaching and learning materials and development of a self-evaluation questionnaire on leadership competence and effectiveness of learning programmes in improving participants' leadership capabilities. The second phase will comprise: the design and planning of a 'Leadership' action-learning programme, in all three partner countries, based upon the results of the first phase; recruitment and running of an initial course in healthcare leadership; evaluation of courses and suggestions for improvement. The final phase will comprise: overall evaluation of the action learning programme; dissemination of project outputs; institutionalisation, with the aim of producing a standardised transferable credit system with accreditation at post-graduate level and qualitative evaluation of the project.