CEO and deputy CEO-level development
Events courses and programmes to develop skills, knowledge and networks for chief executive officers, deputy-CEOs and their equivalents in public service.
We offer a selection of events, courses and programmes to the top two tiers of the largest public sector and civil service organisations (CEO and deputy CEO equivalents). More information about eligibility can be found at the bottom of this page.
These are designed to help leaders:
- enhance their practical, evidence-based knowledge and expertise around facing complex systems challenges
- build strong networks between peers and break down silos between the Civil Service and wider public sector
- inspire and encourage measurable improvements in public service delivery.
2025 Calendar
28 to 30 January 2025 (Edinburgh) and 24 to 25 March 2025 (Nottingham)
Leading Collaborative Organisations
27 February 2025 16:00 - 17:00
Conversation with Civil Service Chief Operating Officer
12 March 2025
National Leadership Forum 2025 - our CEO Conference
Conversation with Civil Service Chief Operating Officer
Please join us for a series of calls with the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office Cat Little.
Cat will jointly host each call with a different senior leader from the public sector. They will talk about their early insights of working with the new government, as well as their missions and priorities.
The calls are planned as follows, with joint hosts to be announced soon. Please click on the links to register for the calls you are available to attend:
- 27 February, 16:00-17:00
- Dates of future calls will be announced soon
Please note that these calls are exclusively for CEOs (or equivalent level) only.
Leading Collaborative Organisations
Participants of this programme will broaden their understanding of collaboration across three programme elements; two residential modules and a webinar.
The programme will include several different types of learning sessions with a strong personal reflective element running throughout. From presentations, experiential visits and facilitated discussions, to cross-sector panels and real-life case studies, participants will identify the challenges and enablers, and the impact they have on their own motivations, structures and relationships as public service leaders.
The programme will run with two cohorts; participants will join either a cohort of CEOs or a cohort of Deputy CEOs (or equivalent role titles), each carefully selected to ensure broad cross-public sector representation. Both programmes will run concurrently in each venue with tailored content for each cohort. Cohorts will come together for networking opportunities throughout the programme. You will be asked to confirm your sector and role at registration.
Register for the Leading Collaborative Organisations programme
National Leadership Forum
Our CEO conference brings together the most senior levels of the public sector. Our 2025 event promises to bring brilliant inspiration and challenge, and the invaluable opportunity to build your community of public sector leaders, with inspirational speakers to be announced.
Register for the National Leadership Forum 2025.
Coffee Connect
This programme focuses on building your personal network. Once a month, we pair participants with a leader from a large public sector organisation or Civil Service department. Participants get in touch with each other to arrange a convenient time to meet either over the phone or by video-conferencing platform. Each month, participants are offered the opportunity to opt out if they aren’t available.
Connections schemes
Our Connections schemes are relationship building and job shadowing schemes. They allow participants to grow their peer network, learn about other parts of the public sector, and develop collaborative leadership skills.
Participants are matched with a small group of peers from different areas of the public sector and meet regularly over an eight-month period to work to solve problems and job shadow one another.
CEO Connections is aimed at CEO-level leaders and Civil Service equivalents. Leadership Connections is aimed at deputy CEO-level leadership and Civil Service equivalents. The scheme will return in 2024. You can find out more and register for these schemes using the following link:
Register interest for the Connections schemes
Eligibility requirements for our courses
The Leadership College for Government (LCG) works with representative bodies from across the public sector to agree and review the criteria we use to determine eligibility for our programmes.
The two most senior levels of leaders of the largest public sector and civil service organisations in the UK are eligible to participate in our programmes. This typically includes CEOs (and equivalent level roles) and the second-highest level authority within the organisation, which is usually (though not always) the CEO’s deputy*.
The following is a list of the CEO and deputy CEO level roles which would typically be eligible for our public sector leadership development programmes.
- CEOs and deputy CEOs in the National Health Service, including NHS Trusts, Ambulance Trusts, and Integrated Care Systems
- vice-chancellors, and deputy vice-chancellors of universities with over 10,000 students, or 5,000 students where higher education isn’t represented in that region
- principals and deputy principals or CEOs and deputy CEOs of large further education colleges (turnover of £30m+)
- CEOs and deputy CEOs of academy chains (25 or more linked schools or 10,000 or more students)
- local authority CEOs and deputy CEOs
- chief constables and deputy chief constables of police services
- chief and deputy chief fire officers of fire and rescue services
- Civil Service Permanent Secretaries, Directors General and Directors (SCS 2, 3 and 4)
- three and two star military officers
- CEOs and deputy CEOs of the largest Arms Length Bodies and Regional Transport Authorities (SCS 2, 3 and 4 equivalent level roles)
All applications are non-selective but the LCG reserves the right to ensure that there is a reasonable distribution of different sectors across the organisations attending. Where courses are extremely popular, the LCG will look to repeat them as soon as possible.
*For organisations without a deputy CEO (or equivalent), then we would determine the organisation’s second-in-command role through reviewing the organisation chart, and/or by contacting post holders directly to request further information.
Updates to this page
Published 6 April 2023Last updated 12 December 2024 + show all updates
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Updated to remove out of date events
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Updated the guidance on the Eligibility requirements for our courses section
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Updated the events list to include new events and details on cancelled events
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Updated the date for the 'Leading Collaborative Organisations' event
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Added Eventbrite links for Working with Whitehall, Parliament(s) and Government(s) dates
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Dates added for "Connections" networking event.
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Updated location details for 'Leading Collaborative Organisations' short course, removed details of the 'Innovation for the Public Sector' event, added details of the 'Connections' networking event, added details of Civil Service grade levels to the eligibility section.
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Added details about the panellists for the 'Innovation for the Public Sector' event.
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Details on the 'Innovation for the Public Sector' panel and networking event havve been added.
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