Training Course: National Strategic Planning and Governance Masterclass Training Course

Introduction:

National strategic planning and governance is the work of setting a country's long-term direction, turning it into sector and institutional plans, and governing delivery against agreed outcomes. This 2-week course is for board members, heads of government entities and state-owned enterprises, and the strategy, delivery and policy professionals who support them; each delegate leaves with a National or Sector Strategy Delivery and Governance Plan. It is taught at executive, conceptual level through international cases and a simulated council session, drawing on the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, the reference for the state as owner.

Course Objectives:

• Distinguish a national vision from a national strategy and a sector plan, and apply a cascade that links each level to accountable entities
• Compare strategic foresight with forecasting and select scenario planning methods that test national priorities against plausible futures
• Interpret national KPIs, OKRs and outcome frameworks to judge whether ministries and state-owned enterprises are delivering agreed results
• Apply whole-of-government governance and policy coherence principles to resolve conflicts between ministries, regulators and state-owned enterprises
• Select fiscal, investment and partnership options, including medium-term fiscal frameworks and public-private partnerships, that fund strategy delivery
• Justify a strategy delivery and governance plan, with decision rights, risk oversight and stakeholder engagement, before a council or board

Target Audience:

• Board and council members of government entities, state-owned enterprises and national funds, deciding whether proposed strategies and investments serve national objectives
• Heads of ministries, agencies and state-owned enterprises who own strategic results, judging how to align institutional plans with national priorities
• National strategy and planning directors who design and cascade strategies, deciding which objectives, indicators and owners each level carries
• Delivery unit leads and staff who track progress at the centre of government, judging when to escalate, intervene or reset a target
• Senior policy advisers who brief ministers, councils and boards, deciding which trade-offs, risks and options a decision paper must show
• Strategy and performance professionals in public bodies and state-owned enterprises, judging whether data and reports give a true picture of delivery

Course Outline:

Day 1: Foundations: National Visions, Long-Term Strategies and the Centre of Government

• National Vision vs National Strategy: Long-Term Aspiration Compared With Time-Bound Choices
• Long-Term Development Strategy Architecture: Pillars, Goals, Targets and Accountable Owners
• Centre-of-Government Functions: Cabinet Office, Planning Ministry and Finance Ministry Roles
• Strategic Planning Cycle in Government: Diagnosis, Choice, Resourcing, Delivery and Review
• Public Value Strategic Triangle: Value, Legitimacy and Operational Capability Tested Together

Day 2: Frameworks for Coherent Governance: Policy Coherence, State Ownership and Sovereign Funds

• OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development: Principles for Aligned Government Action
• Whole-of-Government vs Siloed Ministry Planning: Coordination Mechanisms and Their Trade-Offs
• OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises: The State as Owner
• Ownership Function vs Regulatory Function: Separating the State's Roles Over Its Enterprises
• Santiago Principles: Generally Accepted Principles and Practices for Sovereign Wealth Fund Governance

Day 3: Turning National Strategy Into Sector, Ministry and Institutional Plans

• Strategy Cascade Model: Translating National Goals Into Sector and Ministry Objectives
• Cascading vs Aligning: Top-Down Target Setting Compared With Negotiated Institutional Plans
• Theory of Change and Logic Models: Linking Inputs, Outputs, Outcomes and Impact
• Sector Strategy Charter: Scope, Lead Entity, Partner Entities and Shared Targets
• Institutional Strategy Map: Placing Ministry and Enterprise Plans Against National Pillars

Day 4: Foresight, Data and Decision Tools for National Strategy

• Strategic Foresight vs Forecasting: Exploring Plausible Futures Rather Than Predicting One
• Horizon Scanning Methods: Weak Signals, Megatrends and Emerging Issues for Government
• Scenario Planning Matrix: Two Critical Uncertainties Producing Four Contrasting National Futures
• Three Horizons Framework: Managing Current Priorities While Building Future National Capabilities
• Data for Decisions: National Dashboards, Statistical Sources and Evidence Quality Checks

Day 5: Case Study: Week-One Integration on Vision, Cascade, Coherence and Foresight

• Case Vision Review: Testing a Published Long-Term Strategy for Clarity and Ownership
• Case Cascade Analysis: Tracing One National Goal Through Sector and Ministry Plans
• Policy Conflict vs Shared Outcome Target: Case Coherence Test Across Two Ministries
• Case Scenario Stress Test: Applying Four Futures to an Existing Sector Strategy
• Week-One Findings Log: Draft Inputs for the Strategy Delivery and Governance Plan

Day 6: Advanced Delivery: Delivery Units, Implementation Science and Fiscal Alignment

• Delivery Unit vs Portfolio Management Office: Mandate, Size and Reporting Line Compared
• Deliverology Method: Delivery Chains, Trajectories, Routines and Stocktakes With Leaders
• Implementation Science for Government: Fidelity, Adaptation and Scaling of Proven Interventions
• Medium-Term Fiscal Framework: Linking Multi-Year Fiscal Targets to Strategic Priorities
• Public-Private Partnerships vs Direct Public Investment: Value for Money and Fiscal Risk

Day 7: Strategic Risk, Resilience and Crisis Governance at National Level

• Strategic Risk vs Operational Risk: Threats to National Objectives Compared With Service Failures
• National Risk Register Approach: Identifying, Rating and Assigning Ownership of Systemic Risks
• Resilience Governance: Redundancy, Continuity Planning and Recovery Capability Across Critical Sectors
• Crisis Governance Structures: National Crisis Committees, Decision Rights and Escalation Thresholds
• Contingent Liabilities and Fiscal Risk Statements: Exposures From Guarantees and State Enterprises

Day 8: Boards, Councils, Stakeholders and Public Value in Strategy Delivery

• Board and Council Role in National Strategy: Mandate Letters, Approvals and Oversight
• Shareholder Expectations Letter vs Statement of Corporate Intent: Steering State-Owned Enterprises
• Stakeholder Mapping for National Strategy: Citizens, Private Sector, Civil Society and Partners
• Private-Sector Mobilisation Tools: Investment Promotion, Co-Investment Funds and Blended Finance Structures
• Public Value Communication: Explaining Strategic Trade-Offs to Citizens, Investors and Media

Day 9: Measurement: National KPIs, OKRs, Performance Frameworks and Benchmarking

• National KPI Hierarchy: Impact, Outcome, Output and Activity Indicators With Owners
• KPIs vs OKRs: Steady-State Performance Measures Compared With Time-Bound Stretch Objectives
• Performance Budgeting Link: Connecting Budget Allocations to Measured Strategic Results
• International Benchmarking Indices: Using Composite Rankings Without Distorting National Priorities
• Strategy Review and Reset Cycle: Mid-Term Evaluation, Lessons Learned and Target Revision

Day 10: Simulation: Council Session and the Strategy Delivery and Governance Plan

• Simulated Council Briefing Pack: Applying Cascade, KPI and Fiscal Analysis to Decisions
• Simulated Council Debate: Applying Foresight Scenarios and Strategic Risk Questions
• Simulated State-Owned Enterprise Review: Applying Ownership Guidelines to a Board Proposal
• Council Approval vs Conditional Approval: Recording Decisions, Conditions and Follow-Up Actions
• Strategy Delivery and Governance Plan: Final Assembly, Defence and Peer Challenge

Skills You Will Gain:

• Strategy Cascade Design
• Scenario Planning
• Horizon Scanning
• Delivery Chain Analysis
• State Ownership Policy
• Medium-Term Fiscal Alignment
• National Risk Assessment
• Outcome Indicator Design

Why Attend This Course:

• From reading national strategies as separate documents to tracing how each goal reaches a ministry, an enterprise and an accountable owner
• From planning against a single expected future to testing priorities against contrasting scenarios and emerging signals
• From reviewing progress reports that list activities to asking delivery units and boards for outcome evidence and trajectories
• From scattered strategy, budget and risk papers to a National or Sector Strategy Delivery and Governance Plan defended before a simulated council

Conclusion:

Setting national direction is only half the task; the other half is a governance system that keeps ministries, state-owned enterprises, funds and partners delivering the same outcomes over many years. The course makes three distinctions clear: a vision versus a strategy, a delivery unit versus a portfolio office, and the state's ownership role versus its regulatory role. Its second week adds delivery science, fiscal alignment, national resilience and a council simulation. It suits senior board, executive and strategy professionals who already work on public strategy and now need a national, whole-of-government view rather than a single-organisation board perspective.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

What do delegates need before a national strategic planning and governance course?

Delegates need senior experience in strategy, planning, policy, performance or board work in a public body, state-owned enterprise or national fund. No economics qualification is required; bringing an anonymised strategy, plan or performance report makes the case work and the final plan more useful.

How does a national strategic planning and governance course differ from a corporate board governance course?

It works at the level of a whole government rather than one company. A corporate board course covers directors' duties, committees and internal control, while this course covers national visions, strategy cascades, delivery units, fiscal alignment, state ownership and national resilience.

Why do delivery units matter in national strategic planning and governance?

A delivery unit gives leaders a small, focused team that tracks a few priority outcomes, tests trajectories against data and solves blockages across ministries. It closes the gap between an approved strategy and what actually changes for citizens and businesses.

What do delegates take back to work from national strategic planning and governance training?

Each delegate takes back a National or Sector Strategy Delivery and Governance Plan: a strategy cascade, outcome indicators and owners, a delivery and review routine, a fiscal and investment link, a strategic risk register and a council decision record.