Executive Public Leaders Programme

The Executive Public Leaders Programme brings together an international group of those who head ministries, agencies or international organisations (permanent secretaries, chief executives or equivalent), or are likely to move into such positions soon.

The intensive two-week programme, running in July 2019, brings these leaders to Oxford to learn from world-renowned scholars in varied fields, from outstanding practitioners across different sectors, and from one another.

The programme will provide a multinational, multidisciplinary forum for these public service leaders to sharpen their approach to using technology; to managing people, performance and organisational change; to working with business and non-profits; and to bolstering personal and organisational integrity.

Participants will establish an ongoing connection with the School and University and will become associate alumni of the University Of Oxford.

Outcomes

The programme will help you respond to fundamental changes confronting your organisation, drawing on lessons from across the globe and from your fellow participants. You will leave Oxford better equipped to tackle immediate issues and better resourced to deal with challenges in future. In particular, you will have strengthened your capacity to respond to four challenges facing all leaders of major public organisations:

• Adapting to changing digital technology and the role of big data – harnessing the benefits and managing the challenges
• Achieving outstanding people and organisational performance to support public sector transformation
• Creating effective partnerships with businesses and nongovernmental organisations to deliver better outcomes for citizens
• Building a culture of integrity
  

The programme will help you to develop a personal and organisational action plan, supported by programme faculty, executive coaches and your peers.

Programme content

The programme recognises the speed and depth of change confronting today’s leaders, and will open with an overview of the key drivers of change: technological, social, political and environmental. The programme is led by faculty who research these changes and their impact on public organisations, and by practitioners – from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors – who have experience of leading organisations in these contexts. Throughout, you will draw on your peers on the programme as sources of expertise, strength, and resilience in challenging times. In doing so, you will establish a network that will support you into the future. The programme will acquaint you with new frameworks, skills, and good practice, and is taught through a combination of interactive classes, case studies, simulations, and individual and group problem-solving. You will also benefit from Oxford’s long tradition of tutorial learning, with time allocated for private meetings with faculty and for personal coaching alongside the central group work.