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Team collaborating
World Class Government
A Global Growth Institute Initiative

Where Policy
Becomes
Performance

Governments worldwide are investing billions in strategy, reform and technology. Most of it underperforms. The reason is consistently the same. And it is consistently overlooked.

Request a Briefing Explore the Evidence
39%
Citizens trust their government
OECD Survey, 2024
2 in 5
Civil servants confident in
leaders' change capacity
250k+
Managers already
transformed globally
Led by
Wayne Clarke
Wayne Clarke
Founder, Global Growth Institute
Fiona Ryland
Fiona Ryland
Former Chief People Officer, UK Government
OECD: Only 39% of citizens trust their national government : 2024 Results Fiscal pressure • Digital transformation • Workforce capability • Climate • Public trust World Public Sector Report 2023: Governments consistently fail to translate policy into operational delivery 250,000+ managers trained across 50 countries and 27 programme modules OECD: Management quality is the primary driver of organisational performance in government Trusted by HSBC • BBC • NHS • LNER • ACCA • and governments worldwide Fiona Ryland: Former Chief People Officer, UK Government , leading this globally OECD: Only 39% of citizens trust their national government : 2024 Results Fiscal pressure • Digital transformation • Workforce capability • Climate • Public trust World Public Sector Report 2023: Governments consistently fail to translate policy into operational delivery 250,000+ managers trained across 50 countries and 27 programme modules OECD: Management quality is the primary driver of organisational performance in government Trusted by HSBC • BBC • NHS • LNER • ACCA • and governments worldwide Fiona Ryland: Former Chief People Officer, UK Government , leading this globally
The Global Challenge

More. Faster.
Better. With less.

Governments today face unprecedented pressure. Fiscal headroom is gone. Citizens demand more, trust less. Digital transformation is lagging. Climate, defence and healthcare are all competing for constrained budgets.

Every government invests heavily in strategy, policy design and reform programmes. Most are not delivering the outcomes they were designed to achieve. The reason is consistently the same: the critical link between strategy and delivery is broken.

“

Good policy does not reliably and consistently translate into effective delivery. The missing link is almost always the same: the quality of management at the point of delivery.Fiona Ryland, Former Chief People Officer, UK Government

39%
of citizens across 30 countries trusted their national government in 2023, a continued and sustained decline
OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, 2024
2 in 5
civil servants report confidence in senior leaders' capacity to drive change effectively
OECD Workforce Insights from Central Governments, September 2025
#1
challenge for governments worldwide: translating strong policy into consistent, accountable delivery at scale
UN World Public Sector Report, 2023
The Central Insight
Senior leaders set the direction.
Line managers
determine whether
anything actually
happens.

Across every country, every reform agenda and every government technology investment, this single truth holds. It is the most consistently overlooked lever in public administration.

The Evidence Case

Seven ways line managers
determine government performance

Drawn from OECD, World Bank and UN public sector research.

01 / Delivery
Translating Policy Into Reality

Line managers turn policy into workflows, tasks and services. They interpret ambiguous guidance and decide what good delivery looks like in practice. Without them, strategy remains on paper.

02 / Productivity
Driving Efficiency at Scale

OECD research confirms management quality is directly associated with organisational performance. Productivity gains in government flow through the line manager, not the policy team.

03 / Coordination
Breaking Down Silos

Senior leaders may agree to a whole-of-government approach, but line managers decide whether staff prioritise collaboration or siloed delivery. Cross-departmental progress depends on them.

04 / Transformation
Enabling Digital & AI Adoption

Digital transformation succeeds or fails at team level. Line managers determine whether new tools are adopted or ignored. They are the last mile of every technology investment.

05 / Capability
Building Workforce Strength

Employees' experience of government is shaped by their immediate manager. Engagement, capability, retention and skills development all flow from the quality of line management.

06 / Trust
Rebuilding Public Confidence

Citizens' trust in government is shaped by their actual experience of services. Great line managers drive service quality, responsiveness and the fairness of frontline decision-making.

07 / Continuity
Sustaining Long-Term Strategy

Global challenges require long-term, sustained action. Governments are constantly buffeted by short-term crises. Line managers provide the continuity that ministerial and senior leadership transitions cannot : maintaining focus on strategic goals amid competing immediate demands.

The Investment Case

The best ROI available to government

Governments are already spending heavily on digital infrastructure, AI tools, transformation programmes and workforce strategies. These investments consistently underperform because they depend on behaviour change at team level : which depends on line managers.

Improving line management capability is the highest-leverage, most scalable and most cost-effective intervention available : and the fastest to produce measurable results ministers can point to.

Stronger Service Delivery
More consistent execution, better performance management, reduced waste and duplication across departments.
Actual Reform & Transformation
Greater digital and AI adoption, increased capacity for change, reduced friction in policy implementation.
Workforce Capability at Scale
Stronger coaching, development and succession. Better engagement, lower attrition, stronger future pipeline.
Rebuilt Public Trust
Stronger citizen-centric culture, consistent service quality, improved responsiveness and a culture of continuous improvement.
How World Class Government Works

A practical, scalable,
evidence-based model

Five phases. Designed for government. Built to outlast the programme.

01
Identify What Already Works in Your System

The most effective management practices already exist within your organisation. We conduct structured interviews with your highest-performing managers, analyse the behaviours and decisions that drive results, and surface what is working, but not yet scaled.

02
Identify and Codify Best Practice

Your strongest managers already deliver better outcomes, lead stronger teams and navigate complexity more effectively than their peers. We extract their tacit knowledge, identify repeatable behaviours, and distil precisely what differentiates them from average performance in your specific context.

03
Translate Insight into Practical, Scalable Content

We convert insight into high-quality, actionable learning: bite-sized digital modules, practical management tools, scenario-based guidance grounded in real government challenges. Designed for busy line managers. Focused entirely on application, not theory.

04
Embed Through a Targeted Change Programme

We go beyond training to drive sustained behaviour change. Working with your leadership, we design a communications and engagement programme including leadership alignment, targeted campaigns, workshops, peer learning and full integration with your existing HR, L&D and performance systems.

05
Implement, Partner and Measure Impact

We remain in partnership throughout. We launch across your organisation, engage key stakeholders at all levels, and rigorously monitor adoption and measure impact. The goal is not a training programme : it is a measurable, lasting shift in management quality and government performance.

What Governments Can Expect

Results that ministers
can point to

As line management capability improves, governments consistently see four categories of measurable change : directly linked to the reform priorities ministers care about most.

Consistent Delivery

Clear expectations and behaviours across teams. Reduced variability in performance. Better grip on delivery risk at every level.

Stronger Delivery

Better performance management and risk oversight. Priorities delivered with greater speed and consistency across the whole of government.

Workforce Capability

Managers who coach, develop and lead effectively. Stronger pipelines of future leaders. Better engagement and retention of critical talent.

Reform Capacity

Teams more able to adapt, improve and innovate. Greater adoption of digital and AI tools. Increased capacity to absorb and embed change.

University of Oxford
Academic Credential

Recognised by the world’s leading institutions.

Our approach to management development is academically rigorous as well as practically proven. World Class Government co-founder Wayne Clarke was invited to deliver a guest lecture at the University of Oxford on 21st century leadership, drawing on over two decades working with 250,000+ managers across 50 countries. The same thinking that underpins every World Class Government programme.

University of Oxford · Guest Lecture · Wayne Clarke
21st Century Leadership & Management · University of Oxford
YouTube
Proven at Scale

Impact already
delivered. Globally.

World Class Government is built on a methodology already transforming leadership capability across complex organisations worldwide. Here is a snapshot of what that looks like in practice.

National Health Service • UK Public Sector
BHRUT NHS Trust
93%+
Positive Outcome Rate

1,257 managers enrolled. 240 programme completions. Over 93% reporting measurable positive impact on their management practice, directly improving patient services and team performance across the Trust.

Transport • UK National Infrastructure
LNER
1,000s
Managers Transformed

Enterprise-wide leadership capability programme deployed across one of the UK's largest national rail operators, embedding a consistent management culture across a geographically dispersed workforce.

Higher Education • University of London
University College London
60+
Lab Leaders Programme

GGI created the ‘Lab Leaders’ programme for UCL's 16,000 staff and 1,000+ managers, producing over 60 high-quality videos across 6 themes. Now in its second year, with circa 1,000 people attending live knowledge events since launch. Its success directly led to Oxford University selecting GGI to build a similar programme.

Insurance Sector • Egypt • Government Initiative
Egyptian Government
Future
Leaders Programme

Working with the entire Egyptian insurance sector, driving a government-led programme of change. The Future Leaders Programme is building next-generation management capability across one of Egypt's most important sectors, creating the leadership pipeline for a high-growth market.

Media • National Public Broadcaster
BBC
Featured
BBC News Coverage

The World Class Manager methodology attracted BBC News coverage for its measurable impact on management performance and has been deployed across the BBC's own management population.

Global Professional Body • Strategic Partner
ACCA
180
Countries: Global Partnership

A formal global strategic partnership with the world's leading accountancy body, deploying World Class Manager content to finance leaders across 180 countries : including government finance functions.

Higher Education • University of Oxford
University of Oxford
35+
Thriving at Oxford Programme

GGI built a suite of line management content for the entire University, interviewing staff from Professors of Astrophysics to IT leaders. Over 35 videos across 6 themes now form the core of the ‘Thriving at Oxford’ programme for the full employee population, academic and professional services alike.

Healthcare • National Pharmacy Network
Day Lewis
500+
Managers Transformed

A two-phase programme across Day Lewis's 300-pharmacy national network. Phase 1 deployed World Class Manager to nearly every manager in the business. Phase 2 produced a bespoke series of learning materials from internal best practice, across 6 themes, built to serve the business for years to come.

In Their Own Words

Real impact. Real voices.
Real results.

From a government minister to global business leaders, hear directly from the people who have experienced the World Class difference.

Wayne Clarke on BBC News
BBC News Interview
Wayne Clarke on 21st Century Leadership

Featured on BBC News, Wayne Clarke sets out why line management capability is the defining organisational challenge of our time and why governments cannot afford to ignore it.

BBC News • Featured Interview
Government of Mongolia testimonial
Government Testimonial • Mongolia
Minister of Education, Government of Mongolia

The Minister of Education for the Government of Mongolia reflects on how World Class Manager transformed leadership capability across their national education system.

Government of Mongolia • Ministry of Education
Domestic and General testimonial
Enterprise Testimonial
Senior Leadership Team, Domestic & General

Senior leaders at Domestic & General share the tangible impact World Class Manager delivered across their management population, and why they consider it the best investment they have made.

Domestic & General • Senior Leadership
Also trusted by
Leadership

The team leading
this for government

World Class Government is led by two of the world's foremost thinkers on government performance and leadership development : combining deep public sector expertise with a proven commercial track record across 50 countries.

Wayne Clarke
Founder & CEO
Wayne Clarke
Global Growth Institute

One of the world's leading authorities on management capability and organisational performance. Trained over 250,000 managers across 50 countries. Author, Oxford guest lecturer, BBC News featured, global ACCA strategic partner and Founder and CEO of World Class Manager™.

Author, Kogan Page (London) & Jarir Bookstore (Riyadh)
Guest Lecturer, University of Oxford
Featured, BBC News
Global Strategic Partner, ACCA, 180 countries
LinkedIn
Fiona Ryland
Co-Lead, World Class Government
Fiona Ryland
Former Chief People Officer, UK Government

Unparalleled insight into building management capability across government. As Chief People Officer for the UK Government, she sat at the intersection of policy, delivery and workforce capability for one of the world's most complex public sector organisations.

Chief People Officer, UK Government
Deep expertise in public sector workforce strategy
Author of the World Class Government thesis
Advises governments globally on management capability
LinkedIn
The Global Team

World Class Government is delivered by a world-class team of consultants bringing deep expertise in government, management development and organisational performance across five continents.

🇬🇧
Ashley Price
A
Ashley Price
Director of Operations
🇬🇧
Rose Leach
R
Rose Leach
Client Director
🇿🇦
Sarah-Leigh Parkinson
S
Sarah-Leigh Parkinson
Client Partner
🇿🇦
Jazlin Rosewitz
J
Jazlin Rosewitz
Client Partner
🇹🇷
Ismail Haznedar
I
Ismail Haznedar
Partner
🇬🇧
Mark Vegh
M
Mark Vegh
Partner
🇳🇱
Erin Bouwen
E
Erin Bouwen
Partner
🇸🇦
AbdulElah Alhadidi
A
AbdulElah Alhadidi
Partner
🇲🇳
Davaasuren Byambachuluun
D
Davaasuren Byambachuluun
Partner
🇲🇳
Demberel Dorjchuluun
D
Demberel Dorjchuluun
Advisor
🇯🇪
Tracey Turmel
T
Tracey Turmel
Coaching Partner
🇬🇧
Penny Aspden
P
Penny Aspden
Coaching Partner
🇬🇧
Paul Rossiter
P
Paul Rossiter
Public Health Partner
🇬🇧
Lesley Roberts
L
Lesley Roberts
Workforce Advisor
🇺🇸
Kelly McFadden
K
Kelly McFadden
Client Partner
Begin the Conversation

Ready to
transform
delivery?

We work directly with ministers, permanent secretaries and senior government leaders. The first step is a confidential conversation about your government's specific context, challenges and ambitions.

Request a Briefing Visit World Class Manager
250k+
Managers Trained
50+
Countries Reached
27
Programme Modules
93%+
Positive Impact Rate
Designed for Ministerial Audiences

This is not a sales conversation. We offer senior government leaders a confidential, evidence-based briefing on the line management challenge : and how World Class Government can address it in your specific context.