In May 1993 representatives of ten countries met for two days in Dublin under the auspices of the European Healthcare Management Association to explore similarities, differences and potential ways forward to strengthen management development for those doctors managing clinical resources. Prior to the conference the co-ordinators from each participating country had produced a paper examining the state of management development for doctors in their respective country and identifying strengths and weaknesses in the approaches currently in use; they were also asked to speculate on possible future directions for this work. The specific goals of the project were to: understand the similarities and differences between participating countries in the roles of doctors in the management of clinical services;