Balance the demand for public services with the constraints of political life
The Executive Public Leaders Programme is an intensive two-week programme bringing senior public sector leaders to Oxford to learn from world-renowned scholars, outstanding practitioners and one another, in highly interactive discussions, debates and simulations.
The programme is designed for those at the top of their department, ministry, agency, commission, or multilateral organisation, in roles such as permanent secretary, director general, general manager, secretary general, executive director, managing director, or the equivalent. We welcome all such leaders, including career civil servants, political appointees, and elected officials.
You will be immersed in a multinational, multidisciplinary experience through which you gain skills and confidence in your management of people, technology, and organisational culture; your partnerships and negotiations with business entities and non-profits; and your navigation of challenges to personal and organisational integrity.
Participants will establish an ongoing connection with us and will become executive alumni of the Blavatnik School.
At a glance
Applications for 2025 are now open
Programme dates22 June – 3 July 2025
Duration12 days
LocationOxford
Cost£18,000
About the programme
I landed in Oxford on a sunny Sunday, greeted by top scholars in the field and by a rainbow array of talent from around the world.
During the programme I practiced my negotiation skills with a high-ranking official in the Pakistani government, I laughed and shared stories with senior members of Ireland's government, I engaged in deep conversations about corruption and anti-corruption efforts with leaders from across Africa. Every one of these interactions has inspired me to continue my work and reminded me of the immense challenges we face as leaders. This is why we really do need to come together to build community and share lessons and learnings to enhance our leadership skills and our ability to serve the public.
Already, based on insights from the programme, I’ve cancelled some of our standing meetings and restructured upcoming ones after learning so much about better processes for decision making than the ones that we were employing. Perhaps most importantly, the programme encouraged me to scrutinise the practices and procedures that I inherited and think really critically about whether I am putting people in positions, including myself, to make the best possible decisions that can have the best possible outcome for the communities we serve.
Lucy Lang, Inspector General, State of New York, United States of America, 2024 participant
Skills and frameworks
Reach peak performance in just two weeks
The programme aims to strengthen the skills that senior public servants need to build cultures of excellence, effectiveness, and integrity throughout the institutions they lead and across the public sector more widely.
While these are taught as distinct modules, you will work with your peers, faculty, and individual coaches to pull lessons together and apply them to your role.
Communicating effectively
Examine how leaders of public organisations communicate to best effect: internally, across government, and beyond. This requires an ability to listen and communicate with the clarity necessary to catch attention amid a jumble of competing messages around government. These sessions will leave you with a fresh understanding of the role of storytelling as a fundamental part of leadership.
Harnessing digital technology
You will explore the complex political, regulatory, and technological challenges leaders face, using a case study on the development of 5G technology. The programme also examines questions of cybersecurity, including threats newly enhanced by artificial intelligence. You will have the opportunity to dive deeper into a specific topic that is most relevant to you and your organisation.
Reducing cognitive bias in decision-making
Explore framing bias, confirmation bias, overconfidence bias, and sunk-cost bias, as well as examples of groupthink. You will consider the consequences for decision-making, and test some simple techniques to overcome these biases in individual and group decisions.
Strengthening organisational effectiveness
Understand the trends and cycles in organisational reform and what evidence there is to support strategies of radical reform or incremental improvement. You will look at the tools that different administrations use to improve performance, including target-setting, data generation and outsourcing.
Negotiating in the public interest
Refresh and extend your familiarity with core concepts and expand your knowledge of more advanced negotiation tactics. Through interactive simulations, you will learn and practise specific analytical tools for conducting multi-stakeholder deliberations across international boundaries, with powerful commercial interests and multiple governments.
Maintaining personal integrity
Build a moral language for understanding ethical challenges and have greater confidence in handling the pressures that public leaders inevitably face. Examine how difficult it can be to recognise integrity, understand the factors that cloud our ethical decisions, and appreciate the long-term damage to one’s leadership that can flow from a single misjudgement.
I have been able to translate the learning back into my work immediately. The support was amazing, and the related activities fitted well. I have been on many courses over my career, and this has surpassed them all by far.
Maree Roberts, Deputy Director General, Strategy, Policy and Legislation, Ministry of Health, New Zealand, 2023 participant
Meet the faculty
Start your transformational journey
How to apply
The Executive Public Leaders Programme is designed for senior public leaders who head a ministry, agency or international organisation (ministers, permanent secretaries, chief executives or equivalent), or are likely to move into such a position within the next two years.
To apply, please complete the form online. You will be asked to upload a résumé/CV and organisational chart if available.
Admission to the programme is selective and is based on professional achievements, organisational responsibilities, and personal motivation.
I recommend this programme to anyone looking to increase their leadership skills, grow personally and professionally, and find a space to reflect, feel supported, and be challenged. When you become part of the programme, allow yourself to be part of a group that will sharpen your leadership skills, share expertise and experiences, and provide different perspectives. Engage in sharing experiences without fear of judgment. Having an open mind and willingness to learn will make this experience rewarding. Be ready to enjoy the whole experience of learning, growing, and further developing your leadership.
Eglantina Gjermeni, Permanent Representative of Albania to the International Organisations in Vienna, 2024 participant
Take the next step
Complete our registration form to be contacted by one of our recruitment advisers.
If you have specific questions, please email executive.admissions@bsg.ox.ac.uk.
Get in touch
If you have specific questions, please email executive.admissions@bsg.ox.ac.uk.