1 day, in-person or online

This course explores what it means to embed social value and sustainability as key criteria for public service delivery today. Participants will deepen their understanding of the concepts of social value and sustainability, learn how to identify and measure social value, consider how to integrate social value into everyday work, and reflect on how to advocate for social value as organisation and system leaders.

In Module 1, participants will:

• Define social value and sustainability in the context of public services
• Explore the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and other relevant legislation and best practices
• Understand the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their relevance
• Learn about case studies of successful social value initiatives across different sectors

 In Module 2, participants will:

• Be introduced to tools and frameworks for assessing social impact
• Map opportunities for embedding social value and sustainability considerations into existing processes and activities
• Explore how to identify supportive stakeholders and build inclusive decision-making processes
• Undertake practical exercises in applying social value tools to real-world scenarios

 In Module 3, participants will:

• Consider co-design and co-production approaches to create shared value
• Explore demand reduction strategies to promote sustainable use of resources
• Be introduced to procurement and commissioning approaches which prioritise sustainability
• Understand how to embed social value considerations into performance reporting

 In Module 4, participants will:

• Practise how to communicate the importance of social value and sustainability
• Discuss how to build coalitions and partnerships for collective impact
• Reflect on how to overcome resistance to change
• Develop leadership skills to champion social value

2 days, in-person or virtual

Challenges across health and care systems are becoming increasingly complex and often require a systems thinking lens to be tackled effectively. This course deepens public leaders' understanding of systems thinking and complexity, equips them to build coalitions and facilitate change within this complexity, and helps develop a support network and learning community of peers.

• Module 1 - Systems Thinking - asks why systems are important, covers key concepts of systems thinking, introduces the systems theory of organisations, and explores case studies of system-wide transformation in health and care
• Module 2 - Complexity in Systems - introduces Complexity Theory and applies it to health and care, examines how change works in complex systems, and discusses how to navigate high levels of uncertainty - through Q&A with a highly respected system leader
• Module 3 - Leadership in Complex Systems - explores adaptive leadership and host leadership, addresses how to convene and facilitate generative conversations, and discuess how to carve out space and time for strategic system leadership 

2 days, in-person or virtual

This course explores the meaning of leadership in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) times. They will develop skills to lead complex public organisations in a fast-changing landscape, and learn the tools and mindsets to lead in a VUCA world whilst looking after their own wellbeing and resilience.

During Day 1, participants will explore:

• What's required of leaders when there are no ready answers
• The insight to action cycle
• Inclusive and resilient leadership approaches in challenging environments
• Integrating techniques from comedy improvisation to navigate uncertainty

During Day 2, participants will explore:

• Traditional and emerging leadership archetypes
• Promoting positive wellbeing in volatile contexts
• Systems leadership in public services
• Crafting compelling organisational narratives to inspire colleagues
• VUCA-related challenges in their own organisations

Following the course, participants can opt for a one-hour 1:1 coaching conversation to discuss how they will apply their learning in their leadership roles. 

1 day, in-person

This course is for groups of senior leaders looking to lead change together. Participants will first engage deeply with the vision and mission of their own organisation, before learning how to apply John Kotter's change management model in practice for themselves and within their teams. They will practically apply the model to a real example that the group is working on and can take forward in their day-to-day work. There will be opportunities across the day for the group to connect and share experiences as peers.

Through a variety of interactive exercises, participants will learn how to:

• Generate urgency
• Form a guiding coalition
• Articulate values underpinning the vision for change
• Communicate the vision
• Remove obstacles
• Create short-term wins

1 day, in-person or virtual

Leading Improvements supports participants to lead and deliver improvement projects on priority issues for their organisation. The course promotes change and improvement as part of “business as usual” – developing a culture of continuous improvement.​ Building on our widely-used "D5" approach, participants learn to:

• Define the problem they want to solve
• Discover the current state and root causes of problems
• Design and refine their solutions
• Deliver their improvement project
• Digest the impact of their work and lessons learned. 

Using a structured approach, the course introduces participants to a range of tools - including a problem definition sheet, 7 types of waste, value stream maps, 5 Whys, hypothesis trees and PDSA cycles. Participants leave with the confidence to use these tools in their improvement work and teach them to others.

2 days, in-person or virtual

An Introduction to Strategic Thinking is for staff from operational backgrounds who need to apply a strategic mindset to their role. The course supports participants to:

• Understand strategic context
• Articulate strategic issues
• Apply strategic thinking in their wor

Over two days, the course introduces a toolkit for strategic thinking, problem solving, planning and change management.

Participants develop skills in:

• Understanding the strategic context of challenging environments
• Articulating a strategic issue using SCQA
• Defining a problem
• Breaking down & structuring a problem
• Developing hypotheses
• Planning their work
• Appraising options
• Engaging & influencing stakeholders
• Communicating with purpose

"This was a great introduction to developing an accessible digital service that meets the needs of a diverse range of users"

2 days, in-person

Digital and User-Centred Projects is designed specifically for people in the public sector who are involved or interested in delivering digital services.

Over two days, participants cover all the key steps from ‘Discovery’ through to ‘Alpha’, ‘Beta’ and ‘Live’, tailored to public-sector standards including the NHS and Government Digital Service Standards, Technology Code of Practice, and the necessary levels of Accessibility and Cyber-security.

We cover the full digital service life cycle through a single case study of taking a service from discovery to live in Government:

• Discovery - service standards, Agile and user research methods
• Alpha - high and low fidelity prototyping, service design
• Beta - Agile in practice (roadmaps, backlogs and prioritisation), introduction to technology concepts (the cloud, open standards and APIs) and how to procure well
• Live - accessibility, privacy and cyber security

We have delivered the training to the NHS (in England and in Wales), Acas, the UK Space Agency and Environment Agency, with 100% of participants agreeing that they would commission the course for their wider teams.

The course is delivered by experienced consultants from The PSC who use these skills on a daily basis with their clients in public services.

"The most useful training I've received in my career."

3 days, in-person or virtual

Delivering Fast Effective Projects (FEP) focuses on applying problem structuring and project management tools to support fast and effective project delivery in public services. Suitable for policy and delivery professionals alike, participants learn and practise a range of structured tools and approaches to navigate demanding project environments and achieve results.

Our facilitators are all experienced consultants at The PSC who use these tools and approaches on a daily basis with their public service clients.

The course is highly interactive, and covers the following modules:

• Module 1 – Launching the project
• Module 2 – Structuring the problem & planning the work
• Module 3 – Engaging stakeholders
• Module 4 – Developing hypotheses
• Module 5 – Gathering data & conducting analysis
• Module 6 – Gathering data & interviewing
• Module 7 – Using continous improvement methods (Plan-Do-Study-Act)
• Module 8 – Appraising options & carrying out modelling
• Module 9 – Developing insight & making recommendations
• Module 10 – Implementing the project
• Module 11 – Communicating recommendations & closing the project

This course can be supplemented by a follow-up mentoring programme which supports participants to practically apply the tools and approaches in their day-to-day work - and to help other colleagues do the same.

You can find further details about the individual modules and course materials below.

"Genuinely one of the most useful and applicable bits of training I've done in the last five years."

Two half-days, with a total of 6 hours training - in-person or virtual

Problem Structuring and Analytical Thinking (PSAT) introduces four powerful and easy-to-use tools which equip participants to define their policy problem, structure their thinking about the issues at play, develop a hypothesis for solving the problem and plan their work accordingly. We've delivered this course to thousands of public servants, who often then introduce the tools to their colleagues and wider teams. 

The initial half-day training session teaches the main content of the course, and covers the four core tools:

1. Problem Definition Sheet
2. Issue Tree
3. Hypothesis Tree
4. Workplan Boat Chart

Our facilitators are all experienced consultants at The PSC who use the tools on a daily basis with their public service clients.

The 2-hour follow-up session - delivered between 4 and 6 weeks later - offers participants the opportunity to further practise and reflect on their use of these tools, as well as covering new content on developing insight and influencing others to deliver change. Participants find the follow-up session valuable in embedding what they learn on the course.