THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DEVELOP A SERIES OF HYPOTHESES REGARDING THE LEADERSHIP AND SCHOOL CLIMATE CHARACTERISTICS THAT RELATE TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS FUNDED UNDER TITLE I OF THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. UTILIZING AN INFORMAL FIELD SURVEY TECHNIQUE, INVESTIGATORS STUDIED A TOTAL OF 78 TITLE I PROJECTS, DISTRIBUTED AMONG 11 SCHOOL DISTRICTS. INTERVIEWS WERE HELD WITH 280 INDIVIDUALS FROM ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL HIERARCHY AS WELL AS FROM THE COMMUNITY. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE FIELD SURVEY, 28 FACTORS RELATING TO THE PERSONALITY, BEHAVIOR, ATTITUDES, AND BACKGROUND OF THE LEADER ARE HYPOTHESIZED AS DETERMINANTS OF PROJECT SUCCESS. IN ADDITION, 27 SCHOOL CLIMATE CHARACTERISTICS ARE IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A MAJOR IMPACT UPON EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE LEADERSHIP ROLE. A RESEARCH DESIGN IS PRESENTED TO TEST THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FINDINGS UNDER VARYING ENVIRONMENTAL AND PROGRAM CONDITIONS. (NH)