Public Leadership Programme
The Public Leadership Programme offers you a springboard to becoming a great public leader and meaningfully improving the country. We will work with you to examine the biggest issues Britain faces and explore how you can help to address them.
We are looking for exceptional people with more than a decade of career experience who want to transform systems of governance and drive Britain towards prosperity and abundance.
Applications are open now and close at 10pm on Sunday 16 March 2025.
The Programme
The Public Leadership Programme is aimed at those with more than a decade’s career experience.
It is a unique programme which aims to support participants’ successful entry into government and public life. The Programme is offered at no cost to participants and is carefully structured to accommodate people in full-time work. Across five months – September to January – you will enjoy:
- Carefully-chosen readings, deepening your understanding of key topics;
- Monthly seminars, with a chance to discuss big ideas and hear from leading politicians and sector experts;
- A weekend retreat in January 2026, the culmination of the Programme, which will support you to chart your future course.
Participants will gain fresh insight into how our system works – and doesn’t work – and what they can do to change it. We will answer questions like:
- Why does Britain feel stuck?
- Why has economic growth proved elusive?
- Why can’t we cut crime?
- Why does it seem so difficult to control our borders?
- How can we overcome the barriers to change?
- What can you do to help?
This is a chance to accelerate your entry into public leadership, build a network of like-minded individuals, and learn how to effect political change.
Learn More
Who are we looking for?
Our ideal Programme participant has at least a decade’s career experience and a strong track record of success. You may already have political aspirations. Or perhaps you have excelled in one field and are wondering where next to apply your talents.
If you are interested, but are earlier in your career, the Civic Future Fellowship may be better for you.
We’re looking for exceptional people – not a specific type of person. We want thinkers and doers who will bring demonstrable value to government and public life. We are open to leaders from all walks of life, and of all ideological persuasions. Don’t be deterred by thinking you’ll be different – or see the world differently – from other applicants (or those currently in politics).
If you’re a highly-driven individual who wants to break Britain out of stagnation, and if the Programme sounds exciting, we strongly encourage you to apply. It is easy to do and the potential upside for you – and the country – is very high.
Programme Overview
What does the Public Leadership Programme involve?
The Programme is provided at no cost to participants. Across five months, you will:
- Read widely each week, encountering a range of original perspectives on British government and politics and specific challenges;
- Attend monthly seminars discussing your reading;
- Hear from experts in government, politics and public services;
- Attend a final retreat which brings together all you’ve learned and helps you chart your next steps.
The programme is designed to accommodate people in full-time employment.
Programme Content
What is the content of the Programme?
- Programme Launch
- Autumn Seminars
- Final Retreat
Programme Launch
The Programme Launch will be an opportunity to hear from a leading political figure. You will also meet the rest of the Programme cohort and, we hope, begin to forge meaningful relationships with them. You will leave feeling prepared for the Programme and inspired by what is to come.
Autumn Seminars
Learn why and how Britain works – and doesn’t
When you enter public life, we want to ensure you have a strong sense of the biggest issues, and what you can do about them. Each week, we will read key texts, old and new, exploring what government is, could and should be doing. We will take a deep look at a few specific issues, including infrastructure, economic growth, security and borders, and public services. Every month, we will meet for a seminar: a chance to hear from experts on our current topic and to discuss what we have read and are thinking.
Final Retreat
Conclusions and commitments
We will finish the Programme with a two-day retreat. Building on all that we have read and discussed, we will hear from leading figures in public life and seek to draw conclusions about Britain’s biggest challenges. It will be a chance to establish their causes, their consequences – and what can be done to address them. This will be your chance to commit to a future path, planning your next steps into public life. All participants will be expected to attend the retreat and arrange other commitments to make this possible.