masters in public sector management
Background
The Public Sector Management Training Programme (PSMTP) is a two-pronged programme consisting of an innovative Master’s degree in Public Sector Management and short-term professional training in four Management Development Institutes in Eastern and Southern Africa. The programme falls under the Faculty of Management and Administration (FMA) and is offered in partnership with the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance (IPLG). It was originally funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and Africa University is one of the four institutions of higher learning in Africa that were selected to implement the programme. Africa University has the largest region and caters for Eastern and Southern Africa. Fifty-six graduates of the first and second cohorts of the Master’s programme were from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Rationale
The changing political, social and economic environment in Africa underscores the need for countries to have an efficient public sector. The public sector, especially the civil service, is one of the key institutions responsible for the formulation and implementation of strategies, policies, programmes and projects for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). In each country, the public sector also spearheads the implementation of Comprehensive Development Frameworks (CDFs), and co-ordinates the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as well as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). This role presents important challenges, which are all the more daunting as the African public sector operates in a complex internal (for example, demand for accountability, transparency, citizen participation, and good governance) and external (for instance, globalization, the information revolution, regional and international public goods and bads) environments.
The new African public sector manager therefore is expected to possess not only the requisite traditional skills in personnel, financial and procurement management, but also to demonstrate competences in public policymaking and service delivery and to be able to engage and dialogue with diverse domestic and international stakeholders in the public and private sectors, on public policy issues. The PSMTP constitutes one of many responses to the multi-faceted capacity needs (Capacity building, capacity retention, capacity utilization and capacity regeneration) in sub-Saharan Africa. The programme is therefore designed to help equip African countries with a critical mass of public sector managers with the skills and competences to enable the continent to meet its development challenges.
Sponsorship
The PSMTP programme was sponsored by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for an initial period of four years. The sponsorship includes scholarships for participants.
Overall Structure of the Programme
The PSMTP provides both graduate and short-term professional training in Public Sector Management. The graduate programme consists of the Master of Public Sector Management which is offered at Africa University and the short-term professional training component which takes place at four Institutes of Public Administration/Management Development Institutes in Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. The short-term training is aimed at capacity building in the four institutes as well as promoting networking relationships in management development in the region.
The Public Sector Management Training Programme (PSMTP) is a two-pronged programme consisting of an innovative Master’s degree in Public Sector Management and short-term professional training in four Management Development Institutes in Eastern and Southern Africa. The programme falls under the Faculty of Management and Administration (FMA) and is offered in partnership with the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance (IPLG). It was originally funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and Africa University is one of the four institutions of higher learning in Africa that were selected to implement the programme. Africa University has the largest region and caters for Eastern and Southern Africa. Fifty-six graduates of the first and second cohorts of the Master’s programme were from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Rationale
The changing political, social and economic environment in Africa underscores the need for countries to have an efficient public sector. The public sector, especially the civil service, is one of the key institutions responsible for the formulation and implementation of strategies, policies, programmes and projects for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). In each country, the public sector also spearheads the implementation of Comprehensive Development Frameworks (CDFs), and co-ordinates the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as well as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). This role presents important challenges, which are all the more daunting as the African public sector operates in a complex internal (for example, demand for accountability, transparency, citizen participation, and good governance) and external (for instance, globalization, the information revolution, regional and international public goods and bads) environments.
The new African public sector manager therefore is expected to possess not only the requisite traditional skills in personnel, financial and procurement management, but also to demonstrate competences in public policymaking and service delivery and to be able to engage and dialogue with diverse domestic and international stakeholders in the public and private sectors, on public policy issues. The PSMTP constitutes one of many responses to the multi-faceted capacity needs (Capacity building, capacity retention, capacity utilization and capacity regeneration) in sub-Saharan Africa. The programme is therefore designed to help equip African countries with a critical mass of public sector managers with the skills and competences to enable the continent to meet its development challenges.
Sponsorship
The PSMTP programme was sponsored by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) for an initial period of four years. The sponsorship includes scholarships for participants.
Overall Structure of the Programme
The PSMTP provides both graduate and short-term professional training in Public Sector Management. The graduate programme consists of the Master of Public Sector Management which is offered at Africa University and the short-term professional training component which takes place at four Institutes of Public Administration/Management Development Institutes in Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. The short-term training is aimed at capacity building in the four institutes as well as promoting networking relationships in management development in the region.
The Master of Public Sector Management (MPSM)
The Master of Public Sector Management is an intensive, full-time, 12-month long training programme consisting of four modules and a research project. The four modules include:
MODULE 1: Background and Perspectives
· Public Sector Management in Africa: Context and Development
· Politics and Public Sector Management in Africa
· Public Policy Formulation, Evaluation and Management
· Governance and Leadership
· Macroeconomic Policies and Development Issues
MODULE 2: Strategic Planning
· Strategic Planning and Management
· Decentralisation and Local Governance
· Entrepreneurship and Public Enterprise Management
· Programme and Project Management
· ICT and Public Sector Management
MODULE 3: Public Sector Resources Management
· Human Resources Management
· Performance Management
· Ethics and Professionalism
· Applied Research and Quantitative Methods
· Public Sector Economics/Finance
MODULE 4: Global and Regional Organisation and Issues
· International Relations
· International Trade and Finance
· Diplomacy and Negotiation
· Conflict Management and Post Conflict Reconstruction
· Regional Co-operation and Integration
· Research Project
MODULE 1: Background and Perspectives
· Public Sector Management in Africa: Context and Development
· Politics and Public Sector Management in Africa
· Public Policy Formulation, Evaluation and Management
· Governance and Leadership
· Macroeconomic Policies and Development Issues
MODULE 2: Strategic Planning
· Strategic Planning and Management
· Decentralisation and Local Governance
· Entrepreneurship and Public Enterprise Management
· Programme and Project Management
· ICT and Public Sector Management
MODULE 3: Public Sector Resources Management
· Human Resources Management
· Performance Management
· Ethics and Professionalism
· Applied Research and Quantitative Methods
· Public Sector Economics/Finance
MODULE 4: Global and Regional Organisation and Issues
· International Relations
· International Trade and Finance
· Diplomacy and Negotiation
· Conflict Management and Post Conflict Reconstruction
· Regional Co-operation and Integration
· Research Project
admission requirements
The PSMTP will accept applications from candidates who possess all the following minimum qualifications and attributes:
· A good first university degree (equivalent professional qualifications obtained by formal study and examination and recognized as a degree equivalent by the Africa University Senate) and 4 years of relevant post-qualification work experience;
· Be a middle-level African professional or manager employed by a government or state enterprise located in Eastern or Southern Africa. (More senior officials located in the same region may also be eligible for special consideration); and
· Competence in basic Mathematics not below GCE .O. level shall be an added advantage.
Preference will be given to candidates recommended by those Governments or state enterprises which make an explicit commitment to provide the successful graduates with the requisite institutional environment (including appropriate incentive systems) that would enable them to make good use of their newly acquired skills and competences in the collective pursuit of sustainable development and poverty reduction on the Continent.
Graduation Requirements
In order to be awarded the MPSM degree, the student must:
· Successfully complete all required courses
· Submit a satisfactory original project report prepared independently, under the supervision of one or more faculty members.
· Obtain a minimum CGPA of 2.6.
Programme Calendar
The academic calendar for the MPSM normally begins in July and ends in June of the following year.
· A good first university degree (equivalent professional qualifications obtained by formal study and examination and recognized as a degree equivalent by the Africa University Senate) and 4 years of relevant post-qualification work experience;
· Be a middle-level African professional or manager employed by a government or state enterprise located in Eastern or Southern Africa. (More senior officials located in the same region may also be eligible for special consideration); and
· Competence in basic Mathematics not below GCE .O. level shall be an added advantage.
Preference will be given to candidates recommended by those Governments or state enterprises which make an explicit commitment to provide the successful graduates with the requisite institutional environment (including appropriate incentive systems) that would enable them to make good use of their newly acquired skills and competences in the collective pursuit of sustainable development and poverty reduction on the Continent.
Graduation Requirements
In order to be awarded the MPSM degree, the student must:
· Successfully complete all required courses
· Submit a satisfactory original project report prepared independently, under the supervision of one or more faculty members.
· Obtain a minimum CGPA of 2.6.
Programme Calendar
The academic calendar for the MPSM normally begins in July and ends in June of the following year.