Ideal for program officers and analysts, policy analysts, as well as supervisors, team leads, or anyone involved in projects such as process improvement, client service, policy implementation, or internal change initiatives. The course is especially helpful for those contributing to projects without a large team or dedicated project management office.

Whether you are involved in redesigning a service, launching a consultation, or implementing a new policy, strong project management skills are essential to your success. This engaging and practical course equips you with the tools, structure, and confidence to manage small-to- medium size projects from start to finish within the government context. 
Designed with the realities of the public service in mind, this high- impact course tackles the challenges of delivering results in a matrixed environment, where limited budgets, cross-functional teams, evolving priorities, and accountability without authority are at play. Through real-life case studies and exercises, you will gain practical tools and approaches tailored to how government really works.

Understanding Project Management in Government

• Key project management terms and definitions
• The unique characteristics of government projects
• Roles, responsibilities, and project governance in the public service

Team Building and Leadership in Government Projects

• Building effective project teams in a matrixed environment
• Leading without formal authority
• Communication and collaboration strategies
• Navigating power dynamics and departmental cultures

Project Initiation

• Identifying project opportunities within departmental mandates
• Conducting a stakeholder analysis and consultation
• Drafting a project mandate and charter
• Securing management alignment and authority

Planning Scope and Deliverables

• Developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Defining work packages and expected outcomes
• Creating a responsibility assignment matrix

Scheduling and Estimating

• Estimating duration, effort, and resource requirements
• Understanding dependencies and constraints
• Creating a basic project schedule and identifying the critical path
• Accounting for overhead and contingency

Budgeting and Resourcing

• Identifying internal and external cost elements
• Building a high-level budget aligned with available resources
• Using simple tools to track time, inputs, and costs
• Addressing project risks by identifying, evaluating, and mitigating key uncertainties, and tracking them through a live risk register

Project Execution and Monitoring

• Transitioning from planning to implementation
• Using status reports, issue logs, and change control documents
• Managing performance and communicating with stakeholders

Closing a Project

• Conducting an after-action review and lessons learned
• Documenting outcomes, deliverables, and recommendations
• Archiving materials and reporting back to leadership

Throughout: Practical Tools and Templates

• Sample charters, WBS formats, scheduling worksheets, budget tools, risk registers, and reporting templates provided

Learn to turn government priorities into clear, manageable projects. You will explore the full project lifecycle—from initiation to close-out—and gain hands-on skills through government-relevant case studies and exercises to create charters, schedules, and budgets, even without previous formal project management background. You will also learn how to manage timelines, risks, and stakeholder expectations, and how to close out projects with meaningful lessons learned.

Your ROI

You will walk away with the confidence and capability to:

• Tackle your next project without hesitation
• Streamline communication with your team and senior management
• Avoid common pitfalls in government project delivery
• Demonstrate value through measurable results and effective reporting