Course overview
Government agencies are expected to convert policy commitments, budgets and public resources into services that citizens can access and trust. Managers must work through political direction, statutory duties, constrained funding, procurement rules, partner dependencies and public scrutiny while maintaining service continuity. In development and humanitarian settings, agencies also face donor conditions, emergency response demands, decentralised delivery structures and coordination with NGOs, UN bodies and local authorities.
This course develops practical management methods for running government agencies with clear mandates, accountable governance, measurable results and controlled delivery risk. Participants learn to translate policy into operating plans, define outcomes through logic models, set service standards, prepare budgets, manage procurement, supervise teams, monitor performance and report credibly to oversight bodies. The programme addresses public financial management, internal controls, stakeholder engagement, inter-agency coordination, risk management, integrity and service improvement.
Teaching combines short instructor briefings with government case work, facilitated group analysis, management simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect public health, social protection, municipal services, infrastructure, regulatory bodies and humanitarian coordination. Participants progressively build an agency management pack using their own mandate or a realistic case: a mandate analysis, results framework, annual operating plan, performance dashboard, risk register, stakeholder plan and governance reporting cycle. The final capstone requires participants to review and present the complete pack as they would to an executive committee or ministry.
The course suits managers and technical leads who are responsible for converting public policy into reliable delivery, particularly where several institutions, funding sources or accountability arrangements must be coordinated.



