Support for private office teams

The civil servants who work closest with ministers – their private office – have a huge impact on how effective ministers are. But all civil servants need to understand how ministers think and what their priorities are.

Private offices support ministers by overseeing the advice that goes to them, helping manage their time and communicating their priorities to the wider department. The role is key in helping ministers to be as effective as possible, helping the wider department understand what exactly their ministers care about and making sure that the minister gets through all the work they need to.

We arrange confidential workshops, away days and other sessions for private office teams to help them think about how they work and how they can better support their minister. We also provide training for civil servants in non-private office roles about what ministers care about and why it should matter to them.

Take a look at our work on private office and get in touch via ifgacademy@instituteforgovernment.org.uk to find out how we can support you and your team.