The paper contains a practical case description of a program for women with ambitions to advance in leading positions in the Swedish higher education system. The program, called IDAS, was based on a national network including approximately sixty women with interest in academic leadership and occupying leading positions on different levels in the Swedish Academia. The network is hosted by The Association of Swedish Higher Education and gathers in two day seminars twice a year since the year 2000. For four years, 2003-2007, the IDAS-program was carried out based on grants from The Council for development of government workplaces in Sweden. The project included different kind of activities to Identify women candidates, Develop their skills, make it easier for women to Advance and to Support them in academic leadership. The idea of IDAS came from the United States but was transformed and implemented in a way adjusted to fit Swedish conditions.