Policy leadership is crucial for driving a country’s progress, as it involves identifying problems, seeking sustainable solutions, and making informed decisions that shape economic, social, and desired shared futures. Effective policy leaders need skills and tools to address policy issues at the design, implementation, and evaluation stages of the policy cycle. They are involved in analyzing various aspects of complex policy issues. Policy leaders need critical thinking in assessing evidence, engaging diverse stakeholder perspectives, evaluating reasoning in arguments, and interpreting numerical data in context for rational and objective analysis of the different aspects of policy issues. With this belief, the Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) has ideated the Nepal Policy Leadership Program (NPLP) to equip participants with these critical thinking skills and policy analysis tools, fostering a new generation of policy leaders from public, private, and non-profit sectors dedicated to the country’s prosperous future.

The NPLP was launched in February 2024, welcoming 25 participants as its first generation (G1) of participants, with the program concluding in September 2024. This eight-month-long program has been offered to its inaugural cohort in collaboration with the Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSoM) Policy Lab. Although the NPLP is designed to be open to policy leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, the first generation consists solely of government sector participants, prioritizing public sector engagement to initiate the program. The participant nomination process was coordinated by the Prime Minister’s Office (OPMCM), including government officers from 13 different Ministries and three Constitutional Commissions, ranging from joint secretaries to section officers.

The NPLP is delivered in a blended format, comprising online, personal, and action learning components. The residency and post-residency sessions are offered online to engage Nepali diaspora experts, while the in-person residency session provides experiential learning opportunities. Upon completing the NPLP, participants will be invited to join the NPLP Alumni Community, offering a lifelong learning platform.