Government leaders today face serious, seemingly intractable public management issues that go to the core of effective governance and leadership. These types of challenges run the gamut from the pandemic to economic dislocation, homelessness and natural and man-made disasters. These major crises have complex causes, and the resources needed to properly address them often transcend the capacity of any single government agency. Addressing these challenges effectively requires what the National Academy of Public Administration calls new approaches to public governance and engagement. Such approaches necessitate collaboration or co-alignment across the efforts of multiple organisations.

This report describes strategy management-at-scale, an approach to enable planning that addresses the major challenges facing governments at all levels. Integral to this approach is the use of collaborative strategy mapping—an invaluable leadership and management method to foster direction, alignment, and commitment. Strategy mapping helps leaders understand needed system changes, and to articulate needed interventions. Strategy mapping helps users visualise the cause-and-effect chains in a system and the actions that can be taken to introduce reforms—linking aspirations with capabilities.