Strategic Management in the Public Sector Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Directors and senior managers, Policy and planning managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-GPS-052

Before you join: Participants should have at least three years of experience in government, public administration, development, humanitarian programming or a related regulated service.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Public-sector strategies often fail between approval and delivery. Mandates compete, political priorities shift, budgets are constrained, and agencies must demonstrate visible results while meeting statutory, fiduciary and public-accountability duties. In development and humanitarian settings, these pressures are intensified by donor requirements, fragile institutions, climate risks, displacement and the need to protect vulnerable groups. Senior managers need a disciplined way to turn policy intent into funded, measurable and governable action.

This course equips participants to design, implement, monitor and refresh strategies for ministries, regulators, municipalities, public agencies, development programmes and humanitarian organisations. Participants use PESTLE, stakeholder mapping, Theory of Change, multi-criteria decision analysis, Balanced Scorecard measures and ISO 31000 risk processes. They learn to define strategic outcomes, assess options, align operating models and budgets, establish performance indicators, structure monitoring and evaluation, and run evidence-based performance reviews.

Teaching combines focused briefings with public-sector cases, facilitated group analysis, planning simulations and structured application work. Cases address issues such as service-delivery backlogs, public-health programmes, municipal infrastructure, social protection and humanitarian response coordination. Participants leave with a practical strategic management pack: a diagnostic, results model, implementation roadmap, performance framework, risk register and 90-day application plan tailored to their own mandate or programme.

The course is suited to experienced public-sector and development professionals who contribute to strategy, policy, planning, performance, transformation or programme governance. It is particularly valuable for managers responsible for translating approved strategies into coordinated delivery and credible reporting.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose strategic context using mandate analysis, PESTLE, stakeholder mapping and political economy analysis
  • Formulate outcome-focused strategic objectives using Theory of Change, results chains and SMART criteria
  • Prioritise policy and delivery options using multi-criteria decision analysis and cost-effectiveness evidence
  • Design implementation roadmaps using operating models, RACI matrices, work breakdown structures and milestones
  • Build public-sector performance frameworks using Balanced Scorecard measures, indicator reference sheets and dashboards
  • Establish monitoring and evaluation plans using OECD DAC criteria, data-quality checks and learning loops
  • Apply ISO 31000 risk processes to strategic, fiduciary, safeguarding and continuity risks
  • Lead strategy review cycles using management action logs, decision briefings and reprioritisation triggers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce decision-ready strategy papers grounded in mandate, evidence and public value
  • Translate policy commitments into outcomes, indicators, milestones and accountable owners
  • Challenge weak performance measures and establish usable management information
  • Lead structured reviews of risks, delivery barriers and corrective actions
  • Present strategic trade-offs clearly to executives, boards, ministers and funding partners

For your organisation

  • Clearer alignment between statutory mandates, policy commitments, budgets and delivery plans
  • Earlier identification of implementation dependencies, capacity gaps and strategic risks
  • More credible performance reporting through defined indicators, baselines and data checks
  • Stronger accountability across agencies, partners, programme teams and governance bodies
  • Faster corrective action when evidence shows targets, assumptions or priorities are failing

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can interpret mandates, policy direction and public value requirements as clear strategic choices.

  • Statutory mandates, policy directives and ministerial priorities translated into strategic choices
  • PESTLE analysis distinguishes external drivers, uncertainties, constraints and emerging opportunities
  • Public value framework tests legitimacy, capacity and operational value
  • Clarifying decision rights between ministers, boards, executives and delivery agencies
  • Problem statements separate symptoms, root causes, affected groups and consequences
  • Strategic planning horizons align electoral cycles, budgets and long-term outcomes

Participants can assess strategic conditions, stakeholder interests and evidence gaps before selecting interventions.

  • Stakeholder mapping plots influence, interest, expectations, relationships and engagement priorities
  • Power-interest grids identify consultation, partnership, communication and monitoring approaches
  • Political economy analysis examines incentives, institutions, actors and informal rules
  • Service journey mapping exposes access barriers, handoffs, delays and exclusion
  • Disaggregating evidence by gender, geography, disability, income and displacement status
  • SWOT analysis converts internal evidence into strategic implications and choices

Participants can define measurable public outcomes and build a defensible logic for strategic intervention.

  • Outcome statements specify measurable public benefits rather than organisational activities
  • Theory of Change links interventions, assumptions, outputs, outcomes and impacts
  • Results chains distinguish inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and long-term impact
  • Defining strategic objectives with SMART criteria and explicit beneficiary groups
  • Assumption mapping identifies conditions required for intended results to occur
  • Equity analysis tests who benefits, who bears costs and who remains excluded

Participants can compare strategic options and justify priorities against evidence, affordability and risk.

  • Generating policy and delivery options from evidence, mandate and feasibility
  • Multi-criteria decision analysis scores options against agreed weighted criteria
  • Cost-effectiveness analysis compares alternative interventions using unit costs and outcomes
  • Prioritisation matrices balance urgency, impact, affordability, risk and political acceptability
  • Scenario planning prepares contingent choices for fiscal, climate and security shocks
  • Portfolio maps sequence initiatives by dependencies, benefits, capacity and funding

Participants can convert strategic priorities into owned, resourced and time-bound implementation arrangements.

  • Operating models connect strategic objectives, services, processes, capabilities and accountability
  • RACI matrices assign responsibility, accountability, consultation and information for deliverables
  • Work breakdown structures translate strategic initiatives into managed work packages
  • Critical path method identifies dependencies, milestones, float and schedule risks
  • Resource plans reconcile staffing, procurement, assets and budget ceilings
  • Implementation roadmaps define phases, owners, milestones, decisions and review points

Participants can establish performance measures that support management decisions and public accountability.

  • Balanced Scorecard perspectives adapted for public value, stewardship and service quality
  • Indicator reference sheets define formula, source, frequency, owner and disaggregation
  • Leading and lagging indicators distinguish delivery control from outcome assessment
  • Baseline, target and threshold setting accounts for trend, capacity and uncertainty
  • Performance dashboards present exceptions, trajectories, equity gaps and management actions
  • Data quality assessments test validity, reliability, timeliness, completeness and integrity

Participants can design monitoring and evaluation arrangements that inform strategic decisions and adaptation.

  • Monitoring plans link indicators, collection methods, schedules, responsibilities and reporting routes
  • Evaluation questions apply OECD DAC criteria to strategic interventions
  • Sampling approaches balance representativeness, cost, ethics and operational constraints
  • Contribution analysis examines plausible influence where attribution cannot be proven
  • After-action reviews capture decisions, evidence, lessons and corrective commitments
  • Learning loops convert monitoring findings into strategy adjustments and accountability

Participants can integrate risk management, assurance and governance into strategy delivery arrangements.

  • ISO 31000 risk process identifies, analyses, evaluates, treats and monitors risks
  • Risk registers record causes, events, consequences, controls, owners and ratings
  • Risk appetite statements distinguish tolerable exposure from escalation triggers
  • Fraud, safeguarding and fiduciary risks receive targeted control measures
  • Business continuity plans address critical services, recovery priorities and communications
  • Governance calendars schedule board oversight, management reviews and ministerial decisions

Participants can build stakeholder commitment and coordinated action for strategic change.

  • Change impact assessments identify affected groups, behaviours, systems and resistance
  • ADKAR model structures awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement actions
  • Communication plans specify audiences, messages, channels, timing and accountable spokespeople
  • Partnership agreements clarify shared outcomes, contributions, governance and dispute resolution
  • Consultation records demonstrate participation, feedback responses and decision transparency
  • Escalation protocols resolve implementation barriers across agencies and funding partners

Participants can run strategic review cycles and prepare a practical plan for immediate application.

  • Quarterly performance reviews compare results, risks, resources and strategic assumptions
  • Strategy refresh triggers identify when evidence requires reprioritisation or redesign
  • Management action logs assign corrective actions, deadlines, owners and evidence
  • Annual planning cycles connect strategy, medium-term budgets and operational plans
  • Briefing notes present decisions, trade-offs, recommendations and implementation implications
  • Personal application plans schedule first actions, sponsors, milestones and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic mandate and context diagnostic
  2. Theory of Change and results-chain template
  3. Multi-criteria option appraisal matrix
  4. Implementation roadmap and RACI template
  5. Performance indicator reference-sheet pack
  6. Strategic risk register and 90-day application plan

Who should attend

  • Directors and senior managers — accountable for converting mandates into deliverable strategic priorities
  • Policy and planning managers — responsible for producing credible strategies, plans and decision briefings
  • Programme directors — managing complex public, development or humanitarian portfolios
  • Monitoring and evaluation managers — establishing performance evidence and learning arrangements
  • Public-sector transformation leads — coordinating service reform across functions and agencies
  • Donor-funded project managers — aligning programme delivery with government priorities and reporting requirements

Skills and tools covered

Strategic diagnosisPublic value planningPerformance measurementResults-based managementRisk governanceImplementation planning

Tools and standards

PESTLE analysis, Theory of Change, Balanced Scorecard, ISO 31000

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each method, followed by public-sector cases, facilitated group analysis and planning simulations. Participants assess realistic mandates, stakeholder pressures, fiscal constraints, service-delivery evidence and risk scenarios. Group work applies structured tools such as Theory of Change, multi-criteria decision analysis, RACI and indicator reference sheets. Facilitated discussion compares choices and trade-offs. Individual application planning helps participants adapt the methods to a current strategy, programme or institutional priority.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of experience in government, public administration, development, humanitarian programming or a related regulated service. They should understand their organisation’s mandate, planning cycle, budget constraints and current strategic priorities. Experience contributing to a strategy, annual plan, programme, performance report or policy initiative is useful. The course does not require prior study of management theory, formal economics, statistics, project-management certification or expertise with specialist software. Participants should be prepared to discuss a current strategic delivery issue without disclosing restricted information.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have professional experience in government, public administration, development or humanitarian work, ideally with planning, policy, programme or performance responsibilities. They do not need formal strategy qualifications or advanced quantitative training.

Bring a non-confidential strategy, annual plan, programme document, performance report or current delivery challenge if available. This provides useful material for individual application planning, but no organisational documents are required.

It is designed for senior managers, policy and planning professionals, programme directors, monitoring and evaluation managers, transformation leads and donor-funded project managers. It suits people responsible for shaping or delivering strategy rather than those seeking an introductory public-administration course.

Project management focuses on controlling defined projects, while policy analysis concentrates on diagnosing and developing policy choices. This course connects strategic direction, portfolio choices, operating arrangements, performance evidence, risk and governance across the full management cycle.

Participants can use the templates to assess a current strategy, clarify outcomes, set indicators, identify delivery risks and prepare management review materials. The 90-day application plan identifies actions, sponsors, milestones and review dates for immediate use.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is distributed across ten modules covering diagnosis, design, prioritisation, implementation, measurement, monitoring, risk, change and strategy review.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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