Masterclass in managing complex societal challenges

Transformational power for your strategic leadership

An exclusive masterclass for leaders who want to strengthen their work with complex challenges using new tools and close collaboration across sectors.

Offered in collaboration between INVI - Institute for wicked and Komponent - Municipal Development Center.

Getting started

As a society, we face a number of challenges where traditional management tools fall short. Cross-cutting and intractable problems that, according to the Reform Commission , are "recognized, attempted to be solved, unsolved." These include youth dissatisfaction, climate change, labor shortages, and health inequality, to name a few. These are wicked that decades of reform policy and classic policy tools have failed to address. These societal challenges call for new management tools to work across classic organizational boundaries.  

Our masterclass offers you a unique learning experience that equips you to tackle complex challenges alongside other leaders from across different sectors. We build on INVI's tools for handling wicked in alliances and partnerships, and Component's experience with leadership dilemmas in organizational work with complexity in politically governed organizations. Together, we explore a compass for navigating changing waters and focus on how you can create real change and successful implementation in and around your organization.  

Target group

The masterclass is for you if you are a leader. You may be from municipalities, the state, regions, foundations, and larger organizations in civil society and the private sector, including directors, center managers, department heads, area managers, and staff managers. This is a unique opportunity for those who want to collaborate with like-minded leaders across sectors and gain new perspectives on working together to address complex societal challenges. 

Yields

The masterclass equips you with a strong compass and atlas to put you at the forefront of work on complex societal challenges. You will gain a deep understanding of the dynamics that characterize the challenges you face. You will learn how to position yourself as a leader and how to use INVI's model and atlas to organize and mobilize efforts to tackle the most complex societal challenges. 

 
We give you the opportunity to build a strong network of leaders across sectors that you can draw on. Through this, the masterclass not only gives you theoretical insight, but also practical methods for creating change in your organization and in society. 

Scope and scope

The course is spread over four months with three modules. The second module includes overnight accommodation.

You will receive four intensive, specially designed course days combining theory, practice, and experience sharing—with time in between to digest, test the methods, and cultivate your new network for the future.

Educators

At present, the teaching staff consists of the following list. In the coming period, even more experts will be announced as teachers on the master class.

Sigge Winther Nielsen (Masterclass manager)

Founder and director of the think tank INVI – Institute for wicked . He has previously been director of Djøf, host of Deadline, political analyst at Politiken, and civil servant in the Ministry of Finance. With his combination of professional experience and a Master of Science in Political Science and a PhD in Political Science, he contributes a unique interdisciplinary field of theoretical and practical experience in complex problem solving. He is also the author of Entreprenørstaten (The Entrepreneurial State) and, most recently, the anthology The Puzzle State.

Charles Leadbeater

Internationally recognized author, advisor, and thinker in the field of systemic innovation and public renewal. He has served as a special advisor to Tony Blair and is a key voice in the development of systemic innovation in the public sector. He has advised governments, cities, and foundations around the world and served on advisory boards for MindLab, among others. Today, he is co-lead of the System Innovation Initiative, which explores how power, relationships, resources, and purpose can be rethought to create lasting system change—and contributes to the masterclass with an international perspective on wicked and action in complex systems.

Sine Egede

Development Director at the Bikuben Foundation and one of the most experienced figures in strategic development, co-creation, and social innovation. Sine teaches how to work with long-term development processes where solutions cannot be squeezed into traditional project formats. She offers insight into how foundations, arts, and social sectors can serve as laboratories for new approaches to wicked —and how to drive change without linear management.

Pernille Blachmann Hansen

Senior Vice President in NIRAS' environmental sector and experienced leader in green transition, system development, and sustainability. Pernille teaches how to handle wicked in the tension between technical knowledge, regulation, stakeholder management, and daily practice. She also provides insight into how large organizations can work strategically with innovation, partnerships, and investments when the goal is long-term change rather than stable operations.

Pernille Halberg Salamon

Director of Components, Local Government Development Center. She was previously municipal director in Hørsholm Municipality and has over 17 years of experience in key management positions in municipal administration. Pernille has in-depth knowledge of municipalities' needs in terms of consulting, training, and skills development and contributes to the master class with her experience in how strategic ambitions are translated into practice in everyday municipal life, which is characterized by political, organizational, and economic conditions.

Henrik Plougmann Olsen

Managing Director at HOFOR. Henrik joined HOFOR from Metroselskabet, where he was also Managing Director. Green transition, climate change adaptation, and public transport have been buzzwords throughout his career. This has required him to navigate the spectrum between the public and private sectors and has given Henrik a keen eye for the pitfalls and opportunities that exist between the public and private sectors.

Course structure and content

  • April 15, 2026, 9:15 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    Location: INVI – Institute for wicked , Snaregade 10b, Copenhagen 

    We start by defining and understanding the wicked that you and your organization face. What characterizes these challenges, why are they so stubborn, and what does that mean for you as a leader? 

    We present INVI's Model for wicked , which gives you a compass to navigate through the wilderness of complexity and identify how you can frame the problems in order to begin addressing them.  

  • May 5 at 10:00 a.m. - May 6, 2026 at 2:30 p.m.

    Location: Hotel Hesselet, Nyborg (boarding school with overnight accommodation)

    We take an in-depth look at how you can use your compass to navigate complex societal challenges through alliances and partnerships. You will be introduced to an atlas of tools that enable you to match specific types of wicked with concrete tools. 

    The focus is on how you position yourself as a leader, mobilize resources, engage your surroundings, and organize learning and feedback loops—both internally and externally. 

  • May 19, 2026, 9:15 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    Location: KL – Local Government Denmark, Weidekampsgade 10, Copenhagen 

    We focus on your personal leadership and ability to drive change in complex environments. How do you bring stakeholders together around a common strategic effort? We look at specific examples of how leaders have created change in complex situations. 

    You will learn how to work effectively across sectors and in the "gaps" within your own organization. We will conclude by focusing on your wicked and how you can spearhead real change in the culture and structure of your organization. 

Price: DKK 29,000 incl. VAT

The price includes four intensive days of training in pleasant surroundings with accommodation between days two and three, the book wicked : A Toolbox for Politicians, Practitioners, and Policy Entrepreneurs,a compendium of course materials, meals, and access to a unique network of top leaders.

Closing remark

Are you ready to expand your leadership horizons and tackle the most complex challenges of our time? Then sign up for this masterclass and join a new generation of top leaders who are creating real and lasting change.

Contact us

For questions and further information, please contact Kristine Fisker at kristine@invi.nu.

Sign up here