Public Management Center


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The Public Management Center (PMC) provides professional education for employees working in federal, state, and local government and in other public service careers. Our programs support skills development for staff at all levels while assisting agencies and departments with succession planning efforts. Embedded in KU’s nationally regarded School of Public Affairs and Administration, the PMC is attuned to the specific context and needs of public sector organizations and has decades of experience serving government clients.

Offerings of the PMC include programs that bring participants together across agencies for collaborative learning as well as customized trainings and services. For government employees, the PMC stands apart from other workplace training entities because of our deep connection to faculty and current research in the field of public administration. Our programs bring practical, research-based content into interactive classrooms to ensure participants leave with a deeper understanding of the importance of their work in the public sector and with practical skills to enhance their performance.

Federal employees are eligible for a 10 percent discount on our collaborative learning programs. These include:

  • Our Public Engagement Certificate, designed for technical professionals and government managers who seek productive, participative approaches to engage with the public in more thoughtful ways.
  • The nationally-accredited Certified Public Manager® program which develops participants’ management skills through a competency-based curriculum.
  • The Emerging Leaders Academy, designed for promising, non-supervisory/non-managerial staff to help them prepare for leadership roles in their departments and support organizations in developing a leadership pipeline.
  • A three-day Supervisory Leadership Training designed to make sure participants walk away with enhanced skills and new strategies to manage staff effectively, whether they're new to a supervisory role or have held those responsibilities for years.
  • The Law Enforcement Leadership Academy, offered in partnership with the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, with courses for frontline supervisors and for commanders. 

Additional PMC offerings available, but do not receive the 10 percent discount, include:

  • One-day to multi-day workshops on a variety of topics such as organizational change, performance audit, information policy and others.
  • The Inspiring Women in Public Administration conference, hosted each summer, and designed to support and encourage women to stay in the public sector as their careers progress and to pursue high-level leadership roles.
  • Customized trainings to meet specific needs in departments and organizations.
  • Services such as facilitation, organizational development consulting, and conference sessions.