Public Management Programme
January – November

1. Aims of the programme

The Belgian federal government sponsors the Public Management Programme. Every year, 20 federal civil servants participate in this training programme established as a pivotal element in the public sector reforms. The programme is based on principles of interactive and experience-based learning. It consists of training in the field of social skills, public management and change management. It also includes a practical training, an integrated case study and a consultancy project.

The selection of the participants was based on criteria such as motivation, knowledge and experience. After having followed the training programme, these high potentials will be employed throughout the Belgian federal administration to support line functions or staff functions.

2. Contents of the programme

The programme consists of 6 phases, spread over 10 months (January – October 2001), and is based on principles of interactive and experience based learning.

Phase 1: Unfreezing (January)

The first phase aims at developing social skills, necessary for learning in group (e.g. teambuilding, co-ordination, ...). Also the participant’s communicative skills are strengthened (e.g. writing reports, giving presentations, ...).

Phase 2: Vision building (February - March)

The participants are confronted with visions on modern public administrations. Methods and techniques that support the modernisation process are taught. This phase consists of 6 units, relating to the major management challenges in the Belgian federal government:

• principles of public management
• organisation and control
• human resource management>
• financial management>
• e-government and the relation between government and citizens>
• the Belgian federal government within a European context

Phase 3: Practical training (April – May)

During the months of April and May the participants will acquire experience through a practical training in other Belgian or foreign organisations (public or private). The aim of this phase is to confront the participants with the functioning of organisations in a different cultural context and to learn from other experiences.

Phase 4: Change management (June)

Permanent change is a fundamental characteristic of modern organisations. Public organisations have to be able to deal with changes, in order to remain efficient and effective in the future. In this phase the participants develop insights into the principles of change management and identify factors for success and failure of change processes.

Phase 5: Integrative case study (September)

The participants learn to integrate and implement the insights learned in previous phases by use of a case study. The case relates to a major change process within the context of the Belgian federal government.

Phase 6: Consultancy task (July - October)

During this last phase, the participants bring their new skills and competencies into practice. In small groups, consultancy tasks are implemented within the federal government.