Purpose - Professional practice doctorate programs' purpose is to prepare practitioners in the industry to lead and solve current and future complex problems with the application of research. The authors aim to argue that leadership, critical friends, and engagement of the education community together have the potential to assist in enhancing professional practice doctorate graduates' outcomes. Design/methodology/approach - From three case studies of redesign and implementations of Ed. D. programs associated with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, the authors discuss how distributed leadership and implementation of contemporary motivational concepts within a university empowers and incentivizes faculty to develop and enhance effectiveness of professional practice doctorates. Findings - The concept of critical friends, those who are not invested in a specific situation, can provide objective and fresh insight and is applied as a reform strategy. Engaging the industry, that is, the education community, to further in-context experiences for both faculty and graduate students provides not only venues for research and continual updates in the field, but also access to data, participants, and information needed for both doctoral dissertations in practice, but also faculty research. The authors conclude that the three concepts support enhancement of effectiveness of professional practice doctorate programs and accountability for graduates' impact in the workplace. Originality/value - The authors' analyses of two professional doctorate programs generated three themes as important contributors to the (re) design, implementation, and evaluation of the Ed. D.: leaders, critical friends, and the education community. By considering the roles of leaders, critical friends, and the education, a conceptual model can be developed to support success.
