The phrase "a leading development" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to a significant or influential advancement in a particular field or area of study.
Example: "The introduction of renewable energy sources has been a leading development in combating climate change."
Alternatives: "a major advancement" or "a significant breakthrough".
Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a leading development economist and director of the Earth Institute, has said: "The cellphone is the single most transformative technology for development".
"When you think of it, they already control the departments in charge of every one of our income-producing sectors," said a leading development expert who supported the democracy movement and is now concerned about where it is going.
Assignments will be drawn from (and will contribute to) a current migration of a campus museum from a legacy system to CollectionSpace, a community-source project in which UC Berkeley is a leading development partner.
The U.S. food industry must take blame for our huge intake of sugar and unhealthy processed foods, and the rising levels of heart disease and diabetes, says a leading development economist and adviser to the United Nations secretary-general.
This is probably most developed in Colombia, where a leading development organization called Fundación Capital has been the technical assistance provider.
Nolan went on to coach the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, a leading development league of the N.H.L. for teenage players.
The Copenhagen Consensus, a group of leading development experts, found that vitamin A supplements yield a benefit:cost ratio as high as 100 1.
In anticipation of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, a group of leading development experts has released a report analyzing the ability of the world's poorest countries to escape poverty in the next decade.
In fact, I've just started a new role at a British company called Talis leading development of the Silkworm project, a platform for enabling Web 2.0 applications.
He did a very good job leading development of the children's national service framework.
The most ambitious of these is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a joint effort among leading development agencies and environmental groups.
