Over 250 nursing leaders from across North America have attended.  Immediate post-conference evaluations are extremely positive.  Key reasons for the program’s success include focusing on individual learning needs by keeping the participant groups small, use of dynamic and interactive learning, having a strong emphasis on application, learning from extensive clinical examples and having a large cadre of experts available as faculty and consultants.  Teaching methods used during the Institute likely promotes application of learning by participants following program attendance.  An evaluation of the programs long-term impact is currently underway.  Key objectives for the evaluation include determining if participants completed the evidence-based practice projects initiated during the Institute; the impact of the participant’s projects; participants sharing of knowledge gained from the Institute; participant’s mastery of advanced skills for leading evidence-based practice initiatives; and, participant’s ability to apply learning beyond the Institute.  Evaluation results will be reported with implications for education to promote development of advanced skills essential for leading evidence-based practice programs.