MSc Public Management & Governance

On completion of this MSc, you will be able to design, manage and evaluate public policies, lead teams in the civil service and lead the transformation of institutions in the face of contemporary challenges.

The course is designed to enable you to acquire 6 major skills:

• Master the legal, budgetary and organizationalframeworks of public institutions at local, national and supranational levels.
• Design, manage and evaluate public policies using advanced quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Manage teams and complex projects in the civil service, local authorities and international organizations.
• Driving digital transformation and organizational innovation within public services (GovTech, AI, open data).
• Provide consulting, auditing and management control services to improve the performance and resilience of public institutions.
• Develop ethical leadership and decision-making skills in complex and changing institutional environments.

The “Manager des Institutions et des Affaires Publiques” qualification was registered with France Compétences on 28/11/2024 to meet the public sector’s growing need for managers capable of steering the performance, transformation and governance of institutions. It is structured around 4 essential blocks:

Block 1 – Design a public policy or public affairs project

• To identify qualitative and quantitative data needs, set up a strategic, legal and forward-looking intelligence system, choosing appropriate digital data collection tools (including AI).
• Analyze the data collected by choosing an appropriate data analysis method to assess the needs and opportunities of an area, the expectations of users/citizens and the potential gaps and shortcomings of an existing public system.
• Synthesize information by structuring it and presenting the results in a usable way in order to inform the decision or orientations of a policy or public affairs project, including societal, economic and environmental aspects.
• Carry out a precise field diagnosis based on an in-depth strategic, legal and forward-looking analysis of the current situation, integrating the various factors likely to influence the project as well as societal and environmental issues.
• Map stakeholders (institutional and non-institutional), identifying their role and interests in the project, taking into account local, national and European institutional functioning, with a view to mobilizing them.
• Draw up an appropriate impact study using appropriate tools, such as cost/benefit analyses, comparative elements or life-cycle analyses, to anticipate the expected effects and facilitate monitoring and evaluation.
• With a view to designing a public policy or public affairs project, define strategic objectives based on the identification of the human and material resources required and the main milestones (timetable) with a view to consolidating a scorecard for achieving objectives.
• Clearly define each of the steps required to implement the project, ensuring the feasibility and coherence of the proposed actions.
• Based on the mapping of players and partners, identify the links between players and their responsibilities in order to promote synergies, complementarity and efficiency.
• Identify the levers of participatory democracy that can be deployed and how they can be implemented using the various public participation tools, particularly in the environmental field, to ensure that users and citizens adhere to the public policy project in an ethical manner.

Evaluation: Individual case study

Block 2 – Managing and evaluating a public policy or public affairs project

• To ensure effective operational management of the project, set up a project team, clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each member, and taking into account any disabilities.
• Activate go/no go alert systems and tools by developing dashboards adapted to project management and reporting.
• Integrate project evaluation mechanisms by using monitoring and control tools and evaluation techniques; defining performance indicators, including for the achievement of societal, economic and environmental objectives; and effectiveness indicators to measure progress and adjust ongoing actions.
• Apply change management techniques adapted to the specificities of the public policy or public affairs project through a transformation plan prioritizing the axes and stages to ensure visibility, acceptance and dissemination of the change.
• Design effective mobilization strategies to encourage buy-in, commitment and active participation from stakeholders involved in the public policy project.
• Ensure cross-functional project management by collaborating and negotiating with players from different levels and backgrounds, both in the public and private spheres.
• Mobilize local, national and European funding, taking into account the legal and financial framework of the various partners and the European economic dynamics that may influence the project and, depending on the case, convince elected officials of the budget line to be maintained.

Evaluation: Individual case study

Block 3 – Managing a team in a public institution

• Apply the main rules of human resources management in the public sector in order to be able to implement them in appropriate contexts and build HR dashboards to monitor the workforce and the main management operations.
• Implement an efficient recruitment process by applying the main principles and rules of recruitment in the public sector, drawing up precise and explicit job descriptions defining the objectives, roles and responsibilities of each position.
• Support the development of skills among public-sector employees by anticipating needs in terms of skills and training (including training in CSR issues) through the mobilization of various techniques for forward-looking management of jobs and skills, and the development of training plans that take into account any possible situation of disability.
• Draw up a budget process applying the main principles and rules of public finance at national or local level
• Implement and control the established budget using budgetary and financial documents
• With a view to awarding or responding to public procurement contracts, apply public procurement procedures by keeping abreast of the rules applicable to public procurement, by making the most appropriate use of the procedures for awarding and responding to public procurement contracts, by drafting the appropriate legal documents, and by analysing and selecting bids on the basis of objective criteria.
• Ensure the monitoring and control of public contracts, using public contract monitoring and evaluation techniques to guarantee their compliance and effectiveness.

Evaluation: Professional situation

Block 4 – Managing public communications and public affairs

• Draw up an internal and external communications plan based on defined objectives (including sustainability objectives), organizational and target needs, key messages, communications channels (including social networks, digital platforms and AI) and implementation schedule.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the communication strategy by measuring the impact of the plan through studies and indicators of spin-offs and the development of feedback or opinion surveys to adjust the communication plan.
• To ensure effective communication management in times of crisis, use appropriate communication tools to organize, draft and disseminate appropriate information to internal target players and external audiences.
• Draw up a crisis communications plan based on an analysis of the media environment, opinion trends and the potential risks to the organization and its representatives, in order to limit any damage to reputation.
• Develop lobbying and influence strategies by mapping stakeholders and taking into account political and institutional dynamics at national and European Union level.
• Define an action plan to influence public decisions in favor of the organization, using various lobbying and influence tools and techniques.
• Manage relations between interest representatives and public officials, applying ethical principles and current regulations

Evaluation: Professional situation

Full training is obtained by validating and capitalizing on the four skill blocks of the Title.

HEIP’s programs are designed by academic experts, senior civil servants and public leaders, and are regularly updated to reflect the transformations underway in French administration and international organizations. Choosing HEIP’s MSc in Public Management & Governance means joining a course designed for future decision-makers, combining mastery of institutional frameworks, managerial skills and the ability to innovate in the service of the general interest.

Our teaching methods are based on practical experience: simulations of public decision-making, role-playing and negotiation workshops teach you to arbitrate under time and resource constraints. Throughout the curriculum, you’ll benefit from seminars and conferences with invited senior civil servants and public leaders, as well as applied digital transformation and GovTech workshops that prepare you for the challenges of e-administration and AI in public services.

To guarantee your employability in a fast-changing sector, the course integrates the resolution of real-life case studies commissioned by partner institutions and organizations, complemented by long-term professional immersion: 5-month internship in M1 and 6-month internship or work-study in M2 within a local authority, ministry, public consultancy, private-sector company or international organization.

Because we train executives who will be called upon to manage public resources and account for their decisions to citizens, the evaluation of this MSc goes far beyond the restitution of knowledge. Each test places you in the position of manager or public decision-maker.

Validation of the diploma is based on three types of test:

• Real-life situations: case studies and simulations of real-life situations in partner institutions.
• Written expertise : written dossiers with oral defense, feedback from internships and dissertations with oral defense.
• Public action report : writing a commissioned public policy report, assessed on analytical rigor, feasibility of recommendations and quality of oral presentation to a jury.

This pace is ideal if you want to devote yourself fully to your studies while discovering different institutional environments – local authorities, ministries, consultancies, NGOs – in France or abroad.

• The pace: You follow your courses at the school intensively for 6 months.
• Professional experience: To validate your year, you must complete an internship of at least 110 days per year – 5 months in M1, 6 months in M2 – with a defense organization or company, a government ministry or a think tank.
• Financing: Tuition costs €10,350 per year. You are responsible for your own financing (student loans, private grants, family aid or internship bonuses).

This pace is ideal if you want to build up long-term experience within a public or semi-public structure, while earning a salary as soon as you start work.

• The pace: You sign a 2-year work-study contract, with 2 weeks on the job and 1 week of classes.
• Professional experience: a minimum of 110 days’ work experience per year, with assignments of increasing responsibility over one or two full years.
• Financing and remuneration: The tuition fees of €10,950 per year are fully covered by your company and/or the OPCO – no remaining costs for the student. At the same time, you will receive a monthly salary based on a percentage of the minimum wage.

At the same time, you receive a monthly salary calculated as a percentage of the minimum wage.