Leading Public Innovation
Foster policy and program innovations that make services more convenient, streamlined, and human centered by infusing the work of public service with imagination, creativity, and possibility.
Interested in joining in 2027?
Application portal for 2027 cohort opens September 2026.
Leadership for Transformative Change
Today’s fiscal constraints, community needs, and urgency to revitalize public institutions demand new approaches to innovation. This certificate program helps public service professionals lead transformative change to improve customers’ experiences of public programs and services using applied knowledge, frameworks, and tools drawn from research, theory, and practice.
Participants take four graduate courses over eight months at UW, delivered in a hybrid format accessible to working professionals. Experiential, interactive coursework and customized learning enable them to co-create improvements in the public systems and services they manage. Participants improve their ability to:
- Apply human-centered design and engagement methods to improve the speed, accessibility, uptake, equity, and effectiveness of public programs and services;
- Think strategically and act courageously;
- Collaborate across agencies to integrate knowledge and transform institutional operations and service delivery using a tool kit of shared practices and terms.
Who Can Participate?
The program is designed especially for directors and program managers at large public agencies who are well positioned to lead innovation and manage the redesign of public services at their institutions. Not sure if this program is the right fit for you? Please attend a webinar or reach out to our team at evansadm@uw.edu
Prospective participants should consult with a supervisor regarding program participation. Your agency’s rules will dictate the process for covering or reimbursing program costs and agencies/organizations may have an internal process for participant selection.
Time Commitment
While coursework and study hours (independent reading, completion of assignments or meetings with peers) will vary from quarter to quarter and week to week, students should expect to spend up to 10 hours per week on graduate certificate coursework. The certificate is a graduate level program and the time and intensity is commensurate with this level of study.
Program Schedule, Tuition and Fees
View 2027 program schedule.
All program dates are subject to change. All tuition and fees are subject to change. Tuition and fees will be confirmed in summer 2026.
Pathway to Executive MPA Program at Evans
Participants who successfully complete the certificate are eligible to apply for admission to our Executive MPA program, counting some completed credits towards their degree.
This program is a graduate certificate, endorsed by the University’s Regents. Some credits can be applied to other master’s programs at the University of Washington.
Applicant Requirements
- Not currently enrolled as a graduate student at the UW.
- Leader committed to making change that advances equity and inclusion.
- A bachelor’s degree with a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 US scale, or, at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 US scale for the last 90 graded quarter credits or 60 graded semester credits. If your bachelor’s degree was awarded by an institution with no grading system, equivalent measures of academic performance is required. For more information, refer to Graduate Application system
- Select “Matriculated Graduate” as the application type
- Narrow your search “By Degree”
- Filter by degree “Graduate Certificate”
- Select your program “Graduate Certificate in Leading Public Innovation”.
We will open applications for the 2027 cohort in September 2026.
Contact Us
For questions and more information about the application process, contact us at