Collaborative Partnerships: A Case Study of the Executive Master of Public Governance Program in Copenhagen, Denmark

This article gives an introduction to the Executive Master of Public Governance degree program in Copenhagen, Denmark-a joint effort by the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School, aided by Aalborg University-which in the winter of 2012 had enrolled 600+ public managers from Denmark as executive master students. The average age of participants is 45 years. The degree program itself began its first intake of participants in August 2009. To understand the context of the program, the article gives an introduction to the background of the establishment of the program that was a result of a government reform-the Quality Reform-agreed upon by the Danish Parliament in 2008. The second part of the paper describes the organization and purpose of the program. The third part presents the content of the program. The article ends by pointing to lessons learned. Four lessons are highlighted: (a) Sustained dialogue is important; (b) Engage in a multiple sector project to improve public management; (c) Public funding helps fuel enthusiasm; and (d) Efficient organizing and alignment with faculty interests are crucial to success.