The BCDI program, funded by the Canadian government and run through Global Affairs Canada and Universities Canada, aims to strengthen the strategies of eligible partner countries to train female and male leaders as agents of change who will influence their communities through their knowledge, skills, and attitudes, promoting active citizenship. The objectives of the program include granting scholarships to at least 51% women, responding directly to national priorities and the needs of partner countries, ensuring that scholarship recipients return home to contribute to institutional capacity-building in their countries, and providing equal opportunity for all.

The program Dr. Leitch will lead is "Best Practices in Sustainable Natural Resources Management", which will see three Master’s degree students coming to Lakehead with full scholarships, as well as one-month training for up to nine senior-level instructors from partner institutions, and up to 23 participants in custom-designed certificate programs. The three main themes of the grant are wood science and technology, remote sensing/geomatics, and ecological studies.

Dr. Leitch has nine signed MOUs with institutions in Ghana (the Forestry Commission; the University of Ghana; the University of Energy and Natural Resources; the University of Cape Coast; the University for Development Studies; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Forestry Research Institute of Ghana; Samartex Timber and Plywood Company; and the Charcoal Chamber of Commerce – Ghana). This grant builds on the long history the Lakehead University Faculty of Natural Resources Management has in Ghana.

Additionally, Dr. Leitch undertook his sabbatical leave in Ghana for the first six months of 2025, conducting research with partners and the United Nations, while also recruiting participants for this BCDI 2030 grant. To date, there are two Master of Science in Forestry (MScF) students from Ghana funded by this grant at Lakehead, enrolled in their MScF degrees, who began in September 2025.

There will also be seven employees and two senior-level employees arriving in June 2026 on BCDI scholarships for a one-month training session on wood science and forest products, as well as senior-level training in management and related areas. These one-month training scholarships will occur again in 2027 and 2028, and one more MScF student will begin in 2027 with a full scholarship.