About Us

Background

The National School of Government is a non-ministerial department that provides learning and development services to government departments and the wider public sector.

With an annual turnover of approximately £25million, its 220 staff are supplemented by over 400 associates, partner organisations and the Sunningdale Institute (our virtual think-tank of academics).

Based at Sunningdale Park in Berkshire, the National School also has centres in London and Edinburgh and assists administrations overseas. The National School’s Steering Board comprises a number of Permanent Secretaries and is chaired by Sir Brian Bender.

What we do

We deliver to around 30,000 customers each year through a range of open programmes and solutions tailored specifically to their needs.

We deliver a broad range of services that are closely aligned with the top priorities of government and fully contextualised for government. Services include training programmes, consultancy, tailored business, research & thought leadership, conferences, assurance & diagnostics and learning & development advice.

While we continue to deliver open programmes, it is consultancy; tailored business; and research where we would like to see our greatest growth. Our approach across the board is to increase our work at the front end in diagnosing/researching issues and needs and in more generally adopting a more consultancy/ Organisational Development style.

Philosophy

Our philosophy is to provide a professional service that blends proven theory with best practice, cutting edge ideas with practical techniques, and engaging presentations with plenty of opportunity for participation and practice. We have a quality assurance process for all programmes to ensure we are delivering what our customers need and want.

We are continually seeking new ways to engage with existing and potential customers as we increase our reputation and impact across government and the wider public sector.