Public Policy Leadership Program

About the Program

The Public Policy Leadership Program (PPLP) is designed for practicing policy professionals who are interested in increasing their capacity to navigate the complexities of contemporary government policy development and to provide breakthrough policy responses using effective leadership, engagement, and collaboration. PPLP is offered jointly by the Public Policy Forum PPF Academy and Telfer Executive Programs at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. We have partnered to offer a highly experiential blended program that will enhance your understanding of current and emerging policy challenges, while developing the leadership skills and mindsets needed to be effective and adaptable in an increasingly complex government system.

This program is one-of-a-kind, designed to address an identified gap in learning opportunities for the policy community, with our unique cross-disciplinary approach, integrating personal leadership development with an advanced and applied exploration of domestic and global policy issues.  Graduates of this program will form a stronger network of policy leaders that can address the complex issues facing modern governments.

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Who Should Attend?

Public policy professionals from all levels of government across Canada in supervisory or management roles (EX minus 1, EX minus 2 & EX-1 or equivalent) who are mid-career and looking to grow and refine your leadership skills to step up to the next level of your career path.  You are intending to deepen your understanding of how to lead groups and teams in a complex public policy environment, while navigating the policy development process.

We welcome participants from all levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal.

To ensure diversity within the participant group, the number of participants attending from each department will be limited as this maximizes the participants’ learning and networking experience. If your department would like to send more than 2 people to the program, please contact us at executiveprograms@telfer.uottawa.ca before completing registration.

Program Themes

The Public Policy Leadership Program is designed to specifically address the needs and questions of current and emerging public policy leaders.  Our team is focused on working with you to explore following themes:

• Policy Futures: Taking a strategic look at emergent policy issues in the ever-changing context of government goals, advancements in technology, communications, and relations with the public.
• Crafting Policy in the Face of Complexity: Navigating different types of policy development, and developing judgment and resilience.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Knowing when, how, and why to engage stakeholders, and exploring the spectrum of engagement possibilities, from consultation to collaboration, and effective leadership in the context of complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Personal Leadership Effectiveness: Developing greater self-awareness of who you are as a leader, your emotional intelligence, leadership styles and strengths, and engaging in a process of self-reflection and personal growth. Developing your leadership effectiveness and your communications ability is central to policy leadership,  working with public and political officials, and advancing the policy agenda through effective leadership of departmental, interdepartmental and cross-functional teams.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate and debate emergent policy issues
• Navigate complex policy development using sound judgment, tools, and resilience
• Articulate when, how, and why to engage stakeholders
• Develop and demonstrate their leadership skills in communication, collaboration, and coordination
• Reflect on and develop their leadership self-awareness and emotional intelligence

Facilitators

Greg Fyffe

Facilitator

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Greg Fyffe

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Facilitator

Greg Fyffe served in ADM positions in Solicitor General, Citizenship and Immigration, and the Privy Council Office, where he was Executive Director of the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat (2000-2008). After retiring from the Public Service he was a senior fellow with the Advanced Leadership Program of the School of the Public Service (2008-2011). From 2008 to 2014 he was also a Senior Fellow in the Graduate School of International Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Ottawa, where he co-taught a graduate course on intelligence (2009-2016). He is a facilitator with the Public Policy Leadership Program and a co-facilitator for the short course on Strategic Thinking, both at Telfer CEL, and also for a summer course on intelligence. He is the Past President of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies.

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Marie Schingh

Facilitator

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Marie Schingh

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Facilitator

Prior to retiring from the public service in 2020, Marie was a faculty member at the Canada School of Public Service and led the launch of a new Executive Leadership Development Program for senior public sector executives. 

Over the past 32 years, Marie has held various positions at Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Industry Canada and Finance Canada, where she provided strategic advice and managed a number of programs relating to energy, transportation, environmental and science policy.  Since 2007 she has held executive positions with responsibilities in leading transformational projects, corporate planning, business & vision process reviews and managing inter-departmental initiatives. Over the course of her career, she has launched several people-management & leadership development initiatives.

Marie is an accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and holds a B.Sc., and an MBA from the University of Ottawa as well as a Certificate in change management from Queens University.

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Sara-Christine Gemson

Facilitator

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Sara-Christine Gemson

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Facilitator

Sara-Christine Gemson has worked in journalism, communications, and non-profit management. 

She was previously Vice-President of Programs and Director Communications at Teach for Canada, a non-profit that partners with remote First Nations to recruit, prepare and support educators. 

Sara-Christine also worked as a television, radio and digital journalist for many years, primarily for Radio-Canada in Toronto and Regina. She was also an Aga Khan journalism fellow in Kenya, where she wrote for the Daily Nation. 

Sara-Christine completed a B.A. in Philosophy and Communications at the University of Ottawa and an M.Phil in Comparative Government at Oxford University. She is an Action Canada alumna. 

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