Global Trends in Public Sector Management

The public sector is under great pressure to change. The economic, social, demographic, environmental and technological drivers and trends that propel these changes are global in nature. Governments and public-sector organizations must develop innovative practices to adapt to and deal with these changes.

• Understand how public service is evolving in Canada
• Obtain an overview of the global drivers and trends that propel changes in the public sector

• Identify examples of innovative practices used by government and public sector organizations to deal effectively with these global drivers and trends.

Developing a Strategic Mindset

Strategy is challenging in the government and the broader public sector due to changes in political leadership, external factors, stakeholder advocacy and scrutiny by the media. Exceptional leaders recognize that only when strategic thinking becomes a part of everyday working life will it strengthen options to take actions today that position the organization effectively in the future.

• Understand why a “systems” approach is critical to effective strategic thinking and planning
• Cultivate a “growth” mindset versus a “fixed mindset” to improve your personal and strategic leadership abilities
• Foster a strategic thinking mindset within your teams and culture

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Gain new critical thinking skills; improve your ability to examine issues from new perspectives, reframe them, and resolve them with creative problem-solving techniques.

• Improve competence in anticipating and preventing problems before they occur
• Determine the causes of problems using root cause analysis
• Develop new approaches to decision making, problem solving and managing public policy dilemmas

Stakeholder Relations, Strategic Alliances and Political Acuity

Successful policy, program design and delivery require effective stakeholder relations, strategic alliances and partnerships. Political acuity is an essential competence to managing stakeholder relations and realizing your goals.

Leading Innovation

The ability to innovate, to address constant change and solve increasingly complex problems, has become a critical competency for public-sector leaders. Obtain practical advice and tools to manage the innovation process from idea generation to idea selection to idea implementation to idea diffusion.

• Lead successful innovation initiatives in any area of your organization
• Embed an innovation process in your team or organization
• Implement innovations through change management and innovative planning

New Techniques for Funding Public Sector Projects

With ongoing austerity, governments and not-for-profit organizations are looking for new approaches for funding high social impact projects. New funding techniques can promote projects and programs that otherwise would be postponed or eliminated.

Government can also create an environment conducive to greater discretionary giving from corporations and foundations.

• What are the important factors in successful public-private partnerships?

• What are the most prominent social financing instruments and how do they work?

• How can government work with charitable institutions, companies’ CSR functions, and new sources of financing to address social problems?

Program Evaluation to Improve Performance

Learn the tools and techniques of program evaluation to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of programs and services to discover ways to improve results and value for money.

• Understand how to develop meaningful and useful performance measurements

• Learn how to analyze performance information to assess relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability

• Understand the fundamental tools of improving program performance

Leading Organizational Change

Change is never easy. To bring about significant organizational change, leaders must be able to identify what stage of transition employees are at, respond to resistance, communicate difficult change news in a way that fosters “buy-in” and build a critical mass of energy and support early in the change. The key is to understand what motivates employees and other stakeholders.

• Understand the strategic framework for effectively planning, launching and implementing change
• Learn practical tools and templates for working through difficult change issues
• Increase confidence in how to motivate others and respond effectively to people’s concerns

Communicating With Impact

Effective leadership requires polished skills to engage diverse audiences at all levels. Critical communication skills, both written and verbal, accelerate career success and are essential to the cohesive and prosperous operation of any organization.

• Gain new insights about your communication style tendencies and how they can both engage and disengage others
• Present your ideas to executive audiences convincingly for increased buy-in and commitment
• Write more clearly and persuasively to diverse readers

The Leader’s Challenge

The changing and complex public-sector environment requires a paradigm shift in thinking about leadership. This module explores the dynamics of individual and organizational leadership – how to lead with clarity and authenticity, and with courage and passion, from where you are in your organization.

• Examine the relationship between leading and managing
• What distinguishes effective leaders?
• Clarify your vision, values and your leadership “brand”

Integrative Case Study and the Future of Public Management

Apply all the skills learned in this program to identify common issues and opportunities in public sector management.

• Work on a case study where you will analyze, prepare options and propose recommendations
• Senior public service guest speakers give their perspectives on advancing in the public sector