Accredited learning programmes across the policy profession

The Civil Service Policy Profession consists of around 38,500 civil servants making it the second largest profession in government. It has a presence across the regions and nations of the UK. The work of policy professionals has a profound impact on the lives of people across the country. Building the capability of policy makers will mean they are able to develop better policies that will deliver better outcomes for the public. The Policy Profession Unit, which is part of the Department for Education but works on behalf of policy professionals across government, has responsibility for overseeing the development of the Policy Profession. This includes building the skills and capability of individual policy makers at different stages of their careers. We are seeking to partner with higher education institutions to develop and deliver, from September 2027, a range of accredited programmes at postgraduate level that build the skills and capabilities of UK civil servants in line with the Policy Profession Standards. We are aiming to procure three separate programmes, including a full masters for Civil Servants who would be considered policy experts (aligning to Level 3 of the Policy Profession Standards), a modular programme of post-graduate courses for practitioners (aligning to Level 2 of the Policy Profession Standards), and a tailored post-graduate award for Fast Streamers on the Government Policy Fast Stream (aligned to Level 1 of the Policy Profession Standards). Please note, this notice is not being used to signify the commencement of any competitive process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education. The Department for Education will hold this contract, however the programmes must be accessible to all civil service departments, including Civil Service Fast Streamers on the Policy Fast Stream, who are employed by Cabinet Office. Funding estimates included within this notice are based off historic student volumes and spending. Actual contract value will be determined by actual student volumes that will be funded by individual departments. The Department makes no commitment at this stage to the final funding envelope for contractual activity.