CEPD · THE PUBLIC SECTOR DIPLOMA

Diploma in Citizen Experience

5-day professional qualification for public sector leaders, CX leads and service designers, leading to the Certified Citizen Experience Professional (CCEP) credential.

5

DAYS

25

MODULES

10

DOMAINS

30

QUESTION EXAM

Built for public service

The Diploma in Citizen Experience (CEPD) is ICXI’s flagship professional qualification for public sector leaders, designers and practitioners responsible for the quality of citizen experience across government services. Over five days, ten domains and twenty-five modules it builds the full professional competence of a Certified Citizen Experience Professional (CCEP). Citizen experience is not customer experience with a different label: public services work under a unique mandate of democratic accountability, equity of access, legal and ethical obligations, and a duty to serve citizens who often have no alternative provider. Every module is grounded in public sector practice, public value theory and the realities of government service delivery.

5 days

About 35 hours, classroom or live virtual

25 modules

Ten DiCX domains, five modules a day

30-question exam

40 minutes, 70% to pass (21 of 30)

CCEP credential

ICXI Diploma, renewed every three years

The five-day agenda

Foundations of citizen experience, understanding citizens, designing citizen services, delivering service excellence and leading transformation, with the CCEP examination on the final afternoon.

Days 1–2 · Foundations & Understanding Citizens

D1

The Citizen Experience Imperative

Why citizen experience is the defining challenge of modern government: a political, operational and ethical priority.

D1

Public Value & the Social Contract

Moore’s Public Value Theory, the social contract, equity as a service design principle and public value beyond satisfaction.

D1

Trust, Legitimacy & Citizen Rights

The Trust Index, citizen charters and service standards, rights-based approaches, and OECD and UN benchmarks.

D1

The DiCX Framework

The ten core domains, how they interact, and mapping your organisation’s strengths and gaps against the framework.

D1

Digital Government & the Transformation Agenda

The digital maturity spectrum, digital inclusion, GovTech and platform government, and the citizen experience lens.

D2

Citizen Segmentation & Diversity

Demographic, behavioural and needs-based segmentation, and where current service design excludes whole populations.

D2

Vulnerability, Accessibility & Inclusion

Temporary, situational and enduring vulnerability, universal design, digital exclusion and the assisted-digital model.

D2

Citizen Journey Mapping for Public Services

Stages, touchpoints and channels, citizen emotion at each stage, multi-agency journeys and moments of truth.

D2

Voice of Citizen: Research Methods

Surveys, consultations, complaints and co-production, quantitative and qualitative methods, and closing the feedback loop.

D2

Measuring Citizen Satisfaction & Trust

The Citizen Satisfaction Index, OECD trust frameworks, Citizen NPS and publishing results for transparency.

Days 3–5 · Design, Delivery & Transformation

D3

Human-Centred Service Design

Design thinking in public services, contextual research, turning insight into requirements, and prototyping with real citizens.

D3

Co-Design & Co-Production with Citizens

The co-production spectrum, co-design principles, community asset mapping and running co-design sessions.

D3

Channel Strategy & Digital-Physical Integration

Channel types and channel shift without exclusion, channel-appropriate interactions and joined-up handovers between channels.

D3

Service Standards & Citizens’ Charters

The anatomy of a service standard, Citizens’ Charters, equitable standard-setting, and monitoring and publishing performance.

D3

Service Blueprinting for Public Services

Frontstage, backstage and support processes, fail points, process redesign and cross-agency blueprints.

D4

Building a Citizen-Centric Culture

Shared values and visible behaviours, the role of leadership, culture assessment and sustaining culture change.

D4

Frontline Excellence in Public Services

The frontline role and emotional labour, essential competencies, active listening and the authority to act.

D4

Complaints, Redress & Ombudsman Frameworks

Complaints as a citizen right, best-practice complaint handling, the complaint journey and working with ombudsmen.

D4

Service Recovery & Handling Difficult Interactions

The service recovery paradox, the HEART model, first contact resolution and handling distressed interactions.

D4

Performance Management & Public Accountability

KPIs and reviews, the balanced scorecard for public services, transparency obligations and continuous improvement.

D5

CX Strategy in the Public Sector

Aligning CX strategy with government priorities, the citizen experience vision, strategic priorities and the strategy-on-a-page.

D5

Stakeholder Management & Political Navigation

Mapping political, operational and citizen stakeholders, managing upward, cross-agency collaboration and political turnover.

D5

Change Management for Citizen-Centric Reform

Why public sector transformation fails, Kotter, ADKAR and PROSCI adapted for government, and change communication.

D5

Innovation, Technology & AI in Public Services

AI in citizen services, bias, fairness, transparency and accountability, digital identity, and the risks and safeguards.

D5

Building the Business Case for Citizen Experience

The economics of citizen experience, the ROI of CX in government, public value metrics and writing the business case.

D5

The CCEP Examination

30 applied, scenario-based multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, closed book and invigilated, with 70% to pass (21 of 30).

Who it is for, and what you gain

Who should attend

  • Directors, Deputy Directors and Heads of Service in central, regional or local government
  • Citizen and customer experience leads in ministries, agencies and state-owned enterprises
  • Service designers, policy practitioners and programme managers responsible for citizen-facing services
  • Digital transformation and GovTech leaders whose remit touches citizen service delivery
  • Leaders of complaints, ombudsman and redress functions

What you will leave with

  • The ICXI Diploma in Citizen Experience and the CCEP post-nominal letters
  • Practical competence across all ten domains of the DiCX Framework
  • The DiCX diagnostic, to map the strengths and gaps of any public service
  • Citizen segmentation with attention to vulnerability and digital exclusion
  • A Voice of Citizen programme, with trust measured through CSI, Citizen NPS and OECD frameworks
  • Service design, co-design, channel strategy, service standards and blueprinting
  • Complaints, redress and service recovery practice, including the HEART model
  • A business case for citizen experience built on financial and public value arguments

How it fits the Academy pathway

The Diploma in Citizen Experience is ICXI’s flagship public sector qualification and the public sector counterpart of the CX Professional Diploma. Three or more years of public sector or customer experience leadership is recommended but not required, and pre-programme reading is issued ten working days before Day 1. CCEP holders can go on to the ICXI Standards Assessor public sector pathway, the Fellowship of the ICXI public sector track or the Diploma in Patient Experience, and keep the credential current with 20 CPD hours a year. Shorter public sector programmes include the Citizen Experience Executive Masterclass, the Certified CX Practitioner (Public Sector & Government) and Government CX Assessor Training (GCXA).

Book a place on the Diploma in Citizen Experience

Enrol a cohort, commission a tailored public sector delivery, or discuss accreditation of an in-country delivery partner. The ICXI team will come back to you with dates and details.

Frequently asked questions

Public sector managers, CX leads, service designers and policy practitioners: directors, deputy directors and heads of service in central, regional or local government; citizen and customer experience leads in ministries, agencies and state-owned enterprises; digital transformation and GovTech leaders; and leaders of complaints, ombudsman and redress functions. Mixed cohorts from different ministries and agencies are encouraged.

Five days, about 35 hours of directed learning, delivered face to face (preferred) or live virtual for 8 to 20 participants. Live virtual delivery runs over a six-day window, with five delivery days and a separate examination day, for up to 16 participants.

By a closed-book, invigilated examination on the final afternoon of Day 5: 30 applied, scenario-based multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, three from each of the ten domains, with 70% to pass (21 of 30). Results are issued within 10 working days and one free re-sit is available within 60 days.

Certified Citizen Experience Professional, ICXI’s credential for public sector CX practice. Successful candidates receive the ICXI Diploma in Citizen Experience and the right to use the post-nominal letters CCEP. It is earned by passing the examination, never awarded for attendance, and is renewed every three years through 20 CPD hours a year, a reflective portfolio and a short refresher examination.

Three or more years of public sector or customer experience leadership is recommended but not required. The programme is pitched at professional and managerial level, and pre-programme reading is issued ten working days before Day 1.

Citizen experience is not customer experience with a different label. This diploma is built for public service: democratic accountability, equity of access, legal and ethical obligations, and citizens who often have no alternative provider. The CX Professional Diploma covers customer experience in commercial settings, and CCEP holders can take it to extend their practice.