The Program

Certificate in Public Leadership & Policy.

A rigorous, hybrid program blending global and African learning, carefully selected courses that are analytically and empirically relevant to solving the continent's most complex development problems.

10 months
November – August
26
Core modules
7
Thematic areas
140+
Topics / contacts
15 hrs
Live class per week
A note on duration. The CPLP runs from November to August, ten months in all, delivered as a 33-week curriculum with two scheduled breaks.

What you'll learn

Foundational knowledge for anyone who seeks public office.

The CPLP covers the threshold of knowledge that all persons who seek public office should have to improve the quality and effectiveness of government at every level in Africa, from the local to the national. The program is foundational, with a careful blend of global and Nigerian-based learning.

Courses introduce the theory and practice of politics, policy and leadership, with a goal toward application for the common good. The emphasis is comparative: the role and constraints of political leadership in contemporary society, spanning the economy, community, gender equity and social inclusion.

Class timetable

15 live hours a week.

Virtual classes run on the SPPG HLE platform, our Hybrid Learning Experience portal.

  • Tuesday6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Wednesday6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Thursday6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Friday6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Saturday6:00pm – 9:00pm

Plus at least 5 hours per week of self-study and group work.

Assessment

An unconventional model.

SPPG uses a Group Peer-to-Peer Evaluation model: classmates evaluate their peers across the entire program. It's designed to deepen understanding of course material and strengthen metacognitive skills, learning by teaching, and being accountable to the people you'll one day govern alongside.

To graduate, students complete all coursework and the Capstone, meet a 98% attendance-and-participation standard, and complete every peer evaluation. All courses are mandatory.

The Capstone Project

Where theory meets the community.

A practical opportunity to design pro-poor interventions that transform a community of choice and the political-economy landscape, running in three interlocking steps.

1

Personal manifesto

A term paper in which the student espouses their philosophy and vision for public office, and the change they seek to make possible.

2

Community of practice

Students work in groups to jointly design and deliver projects of importance to communities they choose.

3

Replicating SPPG learning

Students step down their learning in focal communities, co-creating inclusive ideas that transform the community or the political ecosystem, including running for office.

Your leadership journey starts here.

Ten months. One community transformed. A lifetime of value-based public service.