Senior Leadership Programme
Executive-level professional development for experienced regulatory leaders.
For regulatory leaders operating at the Leader level of the Regulation Practice Programme. The Senior Leadership Programme is the College of Lawmakers' executive development route — delivered through six facilitated leadership seminars exploring strategic regulatory judgement, leadership capability and regulatory excellence.
Suitable For
Organisational Outcomes
The Senior Leadership Programme is designed to strengthen organisational capability across six key dimensions of regulatory leadership.
Strategic Judgement
Develop the ability to exercise regulatory judgement in complex, high-stakes environments where there may be no single correct answer.
Leadership Capability
Strengthen leadership skills including organisational direction, team development and managing regulatory performance.
Stakeholder Management
Build capability in managing complex stakeholder relationships including government, parliament, regulated entities and the public.
Accountability
Deepen understanding of regulatory accountability frameworks, governance and the exercise of statutory powers.
Evidence-Based Decision-Making
Strengthen capability in using evidence, data and regulatory intelligence to inform regulatory decisions.
Regulatory Effectiveness
Develop understanding of regulatory effectiveness, proportionality and the measurement of regulatory outcomes.
Programme Overview
The Senior Leadership Programme is the College of Lawmakers' executive development programme for regulatory leaders operating at the Leader level of the Regulation Practice Programme.
Delivered through six facilitated leadership seminars, the programme explores the challenges facing modern regulation, public accountability, stakeholder management, evidence-based decision-making, intervention, leadership and regulatory judgement.
Participants examine contemporary regulatory issues through structured discussion, practical examples, peer learning and facilitated professional dialogue.
The programme is designed to strengthen leadership capability across the full spectrum of regulatory practice.
Small Cohort Learning Model
Places are strictly limited. Typical cohort size: 12–14 participants. Small cohort design is intentional and supports high-quality discussion, peer learning, direct facilitator engagement, professional networking and leadership reflection. This is not a mass participation programme.
Programme Faculty
Robin Ellison is a recognised authority on regulatory practice and public law, with extensive experience advising regulators, government departments and parliamentary bodies on regulatory design, governance and accountability. A practising lawyer and former visiting professor, he has contributed to national regulatory reform programmes and has been published widely on regulation, pensions and public policy. Robin brings deep regulatory expertise, practical leadership insight and a commitment to strengthening regulatory professionalism across the public sector.
The programme draws on contributions from experienced regulators, former regulatory leaders, policy specialists, parliamentarians, legal practitioners, economists, governance specialists and public policy experts. Guest faculty vary between cohorts and are confirmed prior to delivery.
Delivery Model
Six facilitated leadership seminars
Half-day sessions (3 hours CPD per seminar)
- Facilitated discussion
- Practical exercises
- Case studies
- Leadership reflection
- Peer learning
- Networking opportunities
Programmes can be delivered in person at your organisation, in a hybrid format, or fully online. Residential and away-day formats available for Seminar 6.
Seminar Programme
Six facilitated seminars — each designed to support one or more of the organisational outcomes above.
Seminars explore regulatory accountability, evidence-based decision-making, stakeholder management and leadership judgement through structured discussion, practical examples and peer learning.
Rulemaking — A Practical Handbook for Lawmakers and Regulators
An interactive digital companion to these seminars and to Robin Ellison's book. Videos, documents, chapter resources and additional materials to enhance your learning.
This interactive digital companion is provided as a free resource for Regulation Practice Programme participants. A physical copy of Rulemaking — A Practical Handbook for Lawmakers and Regulators by Robin Ellison may be purchased directly from the College of Lawmakers for £49.99.
Strategic Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
An exploration of how regulatory leaders maintain public confidence, communicate regulatory decisions effectively, engage with regulated entities, exercise political awareness without political influence, and communicate during periods of change.
- Maintaining the confidence of the general public
- Communicating regulatory decisions effectively
- Engagement with regulated entities
- Political awareness without political influence
- Communication during periods of change
- Government expectations of regulators
- Ministerial relationships and parliamentary scrutiny
- Maintain public confidence through clear, credible regulatory communication
- Communicate regulatory decisions effectively to diverse audiences
- Engage constructively with regulated entities while preserving independence
- Exercise political awareness without allowing political influence on regulatory decisions
- Lead regulatory communication effectively during periods of change
- Manage ministerial relationships and parliamentary scrutiny with professionalism
Leading an Effective Regulator
A focus on horizon scanning, organisational resilience, anticipating regulatory risk, leadership communication and organisational preparedness — equipping leaders to anticipate challenges and strengthen their regulator before problems arise.
- Horizon scanning and anticipating regulatory risk
- Organisational resilience and preparedness
- Anticipating emerging regulatory challenges
- Leadership communication during periods of uncertainty
- Building organisational capability to respond to future risks
- Governance and documentation for organisational resilience
- Lead horizon scanning to anticipate regulatory risks
- Strengthen organisational resilience and preparedness
- Anticipate and prepare for emerging regulatory challenges
- Communicate effectively as a leader during periods of uncertainty
- Build organisational capability to respond proactively to future risks
- Embed robust governance that supports organisational resilience
Intelligent Regulation
An examination of better regulation principles, regulatory design, behavioural approaches and intelligent intervention.
- Better regulation principles
- Regulatory design and innovation
- Behavioural approaches to regulation
- Alternatives to regulation
- Proportionality in practice
- Regulatory effectiveness
- Intelligent intervention
- Apply better regulation principles to regulatory design
- Design innovative regulatory approaches
- Incorporate behavioural insights into regulatory strategy
- Evaluate and apply alternatives to traditional regulation
- Ensure proportionality in regulatory interventions
- Measure and improve regulatory effectiveness
Leading Regulatory Improvement
A constructive examination of how regulatory organisations learn from experience — including crisis management, organisational learning, recovery strategies and the strengthening of public confidence through transparent, honest engagement with outcomes.
- Learning from regulatory experience and root cause analysis
- Crisis management and response
- Maintaining public confidence and trust
- Accountability and organisational responsibility
- Organisational learning and continuous improvement
- Recovery strategies and strengthening resilience
- Embedding lessons learned into future practice
- Identify risks early and strengthen organisational resilience
- Lead effectively and constructively through regulatory challenges
- Maintain and rebuild public confidence through transparent engagement
- Exercise accountability with professionalism in difficult circumstances
- Embed organisational learning to strengthen future practice
- Develop and implement recovery strategies that build resilience
Evidence-Based Regulation
A deep dive into evidence and decision-making, regulatory intelligence, data, evaluation and value for money.
- Evidence and decision-making
- Regulatory intelligence
- Statistics and data interpretation
- Evaluation methodologies
- Value for money
- Regulatory outcomes
- Competition and innovation
- Make evidence-based regulatory decisions
- Develop and use regulatory intelligence
- Interpret and apply statistical data
- Design and implement evaluation frameworks
- Demonstrate value for money
- Measure and report regulatory outcomes
- Balance regulation with competition and innovation
Accountability and Responsibility
A strategic seminar on accountability frameworks, enforcement, sanctions, public confidence in the regulatory system and the exercise of proportionate leadership.
- Accountability frameworks
- Enforcement and sanctions
- Public confidence in the regulatory system
- Exercising proportionate leadership
- Proportionate strategic decision making
- Balancing regulatory burden
- Applying proportionality consistently across organisational decisions
- Leadership responsibility for proportionate regulatory culture
- Organisational responsibility
- Leadership judgement
- Design and implement effective accountability frameworks
- Make proportionate enforcement and sanctions decisions
- Maintain public confidence in the regulatory system
- Exercise proportionate leadership in strategic decision making
- Balance regulatory burden appropriately across decisions
- Apply proportionality consistently across organisational decisions
- Take leadership responsibility for a proportionate regulatory culture
- Exercise sound leadership judgement in complex situations
Expected Outcomes
Strengthen strategic regulatory judgement
Improve leadership capability
Improve stakeholder engagement
Improve evidence-based decision-making
Improve intervention and enforcement judgement
Improve accountability awareness
Improve regulatory communication capability
Improve organisational leadership capability
Develop stronger professional networks
Build confidence operating at senior level
DBIST Framework Alignment
The Senior Leadership Programme maps against all five themes of the DBIST Core Regulatory Skills Framework. Framework alignment is shown within each seminar; individual seminars contribute to one or more themes, with several themes reinforced across multiple sessions.
The programme is designed as an integrated leadership curriculum. Framework themes are developed through the combined experience of all six seminars rather than through standalone theme-based teaching.
The DBIST Core Regulatory Skills Framework is used as an alignment and mapping tool. The framework remains the intellectual property of the Department for Business and Trade. The Senior Leadership Programme is independently developed and delivered by the College of Lawmakers.
Programme Investment
A single programme fee covering the full six-seminar Senior Leadership Programme.
Group and regulator-specific pricing available by agreement.
Enquire About the Senior Leadership Programme
Complete the form below to register your interest. Enquiries are received directly by the College of Lawmakers.
The Senior Leadership Programme is independently developed and delivered by the College of Lawmakers. It is aligned to and informed by the Department for Business and Trade Core Regulatory Skills Framework but is not a Department for Business and Trade product. The DBIST Core Regulatory Skills Framework remains the intellectual property of the Department for Business and Trade. DBIST Core Regulatory Skills Framework — GOV.UK