Curriculum

One programme. A curriculum for each country.

A 10-month Certificate in Public Leadership and Policy. Every country teaches the same model through its own themes, modules and topics, grounded in its own political history.

Pedagogical philosophy

One unified field, not three separate disciplines.

SPPG's pedagogical philosophy is grounded in the conviction that politics, policy and governance are not separate disciplines but a unified field of public leadership practice. Across much of the continent, leadership development has treated politics as electoral activity, policy as technocratic work, and governance as administrative delivery. SPPG integrates all three.

The curriculum is designed to expose students to the full chain of public leadership, from political ethics and political economy to policy design, citizen engagement, governance innovation and community-based problem solving. The programme is intentionally applied: students are not only expected to understand concepts, but to use them to frame solutions, engage communities and build coalitions.

The programme combines virtual classes, self-directed learning, group work, faculty-led sessions, manifesto writing and community-oriented capstone projects to provide a rigorous and practical learning experience.

🇳🇬7 themes · 26 modules · 140 topics
PEL

Politics, Ethics and Leadership

  • Basic Theory of Politics and Political Systems
  • A Study of Historical Leaders in Politics (Nkrumah, Mandela, Obasanjo, Sankara, Churchill, Thatcher, Obama, Merkel)
  • The ABC of Constitutional Democracy
  • Forming and Strengthening Political Parties to Global Best Practices
  • Framing Contemporary Political Philosophy for 21st Century Nigeria
  • Understanding Public Leadership
  • Re-setting the Psychology of Political Leadership in Africa
  • Defining Criteria for Nigeria's 21st Century Public Leaders
  • The Political Leader as a Manager
  • Defining Values and Character for Public Leadership
  • Character of Private Sector Leadership: A Case for Change
  • History of Nigeria: Pre-Independence to Post-Independence
  • Evolution of the Nigerian Constitution
  • Constitutionalism: A Structural Agenda for all
  • Evaluating Nigeria's Electoral Law and Processes
  • A New Nigerian Federal Architecture
  • History of Nigeria: A Case for Inclusive Documentation
  • Political Communication in State and Nation Building
  • Managing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Gender and Development
  • Social Impact of Poverty on the Bottom of the Pyramid
  • Youth Rights and Opportunities
  • GESI Case Studies (e.g. Gender Budgeting)
  • Women's Rights are Human Rights
  • Enforcing the Rights of the Weak and Vulnerable
PED

Political Economy & Engagement in a Democracy

  • Political Economy in the 21st Century
  • Classical and Contemporary Theories
  • Developments in Modern Political Economy
  • Comparative Development Practice
  • Fiscal, Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy and Trade
  • Micro-Economic Policy: Focus on Investment
  • Behavioral Science, Economics and Africa
  • Public Policy Concept
  • Parliamentary vs. Presidential Democracies
  • Electoral Systems
  • The Role of Political Parties
  • Comparing Public Administrations
  • Polarisation and Cohesion of Societies
  • The Role of Civil Society
  • The Policy Cycle
  • Implementation and Evaluation
  • Evidence-Based Policy Making
  • Public Policy and the Private Sector: NESG Lessons
  • From Guttenberg to Zuckerberg
  • Media and Politics: An Interdependency
  • Media Effects
  • Fake News
  • From Consumer to Prosumer
  • The Arab Spring: Media and Political Unrest
  • Media and Development in Nigeria
  • Raising Nigeria's 21st Century Journalist
  • Understanding the New Media
EGP

Economic & Sector Policies for Inclusive Growth

  • Economic Systems: What Nigeria Believes and Practices
  • Economic Freedom: Property Rights and Investment
  • The Function of Market in Solving Scarcity
  • The Role of Government in Development
  • Limits of the Developmental State Model
  • PPP Models for Infrastructure
  • Inclusive Cities as Growth Poles
  • Understanding Inequality, Growth and Development
  • Nigerian Financial Market and Banking
  • International Financial Architecture
  • Partnership with Foundations and NGOs
  • Infrastructure Models: Lessons from China
  • Improving the Investment Climate
  • Closing the Gap through Financial Inclusion
  • Understanding Public Financial Statements
  • Domestic Revenue Mobilization and Tax
  • Budgeting and Open Government
  • Crafting Impact Public Budgets
  • Fiscal Discipline, Checks and Balances
  • Disruptive Technology, Millennials and Remote Working
  • Human Capital Development in Nigeria
  • Nigeria and the SDGs: Is there a Strategy?
  • The Science of Nigerian Innovation
  • The Nigeria Talent Industry
  • Education, Health and Management of Pandemics
  • African Regional Economic Integration (AUC, AfCFTA, NEPAD, PIDA)
  • ECOWAS and Nigeria
  • Understanding Global Trade (WTO, EU, China)
  • Understanding Nigeria Trade Policy
  • Africa Growth and Opportunity Act
  • Industrial Policy for Structural Transformation
  • Private Sector Development Strategy
  • Agriculture Productivity and Value Chain
  • Governance of Nigeria's Natural Resources
  • Formalizing Informality in the Economy
  • Transformation of Rural Spaces and Agri-Business
  • Urban Regeneration and Inclusive Cities
  • Accelerating Nigeria's Global Competitiveness
GSC

Good Governance, Public Stewardship & Citizens' Engagement

  • What is Good Governance? Evaluating Nigeria
  • Evidence-Based Good Governance and Anti-Corruption
  • Anti-Corruption Legislation and Institutions
  • Conflict of Interest Rules
  • Institution, Ethics, and Accountability
  • Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
  • What is Public Stewardship?
  • Public Stewardship Training
  • The Duties of the Nigerian Bureaucracy and Public Servants
  • Global Anti-Corruption Rules (FCPA, UK Bribery Act, EU, UAE)
  • The Nigeria Code of Conduct Act
  • Case Studies of Harassment, Collusion, Nepotism and Graft
  • High-Profile Cases of Grand Corruption
  • The Open Government Partnership Rules
  • The Bureaucracy: Institutional Reforms in Nigeria
  • The Rentier State: Nigeria in Perspective
  • Resilience and Anti-Fragility
  • Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Nigeria
  • A New Security Architecture for Nigeria
  • Managing Existential Risks: A Climate Resilient Nigeria
  • Conflict Resolution: An Africa Regional Dimension
  • Theory and Practice of State Effectiveness
  • A New Social Contract and Nigerian Citizenship
  • Strategic Thinking for Decision Making
  • Bottom-Up Approach for Citizen's Voice
  • Building and Reforming Institutions for Innovation
TPL

Trends in Public Leadership and Innovations

  • Creative Disruption in Politics
  • Understanding "The Office of the Citizen"
  • Executing Strategy for Results
  • Trends in Public Leadership and Innovation
  • Election Credibility and Technology
  • Role of Technology in 21st Century Nigerian Politics
  • E-Democracy and E-Activism
  • Civic Technology and Mobilizing Citizens
  • Digitisation, Data Analytics, and IoT
  • Technology Accelerating Africa's Growth
RPO

Running for Political Office

  • Public Speaking
  • Political Debating
  • Protocol, Etiquette and Poise
  • Financing a Campaign
  • Thinking Through the Vision and the Mission
  • Framing the Campaign Strategy
  • Effective Campaign Communication
  • Campaign Marketing and Social Media
  • Community Organizing
  • Leadership 2.0: Intergenerational Collaboration
  • Identification of Community Capstone Project
  • Proposal Writing and Rationale
  • SWOT and PESTLE Analysis
  • Delivery of the Capstone Guiding Outline
CCP

Community Capstone Project

  • Community Renewal and Transformation of Rural Spaces
  • Community service for low-income populace institutions
  • Post-Learning Reflection: Review and Rewrite Manifesto
  • Step 1, Personal Manifesto
  • Step 2, Community of Practice project
  • Step 3, Replicating SPPG learning

This is the knowledge every public leader should have.

Foundational, comparative and practical, from the local to the national.