ELI undertakes a variety of Continuing Professional Education activities that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of those managing public and nonprofit organizations.  Most of these are designed in collaboration with agencies to meet the specific long-term professional development needs of agency employees.  The long-term objectives of these programs distinguishes them from the more short-term and technically oriented workshops that ELI undertakes in its technical assistance capacity.

While many of the Continuing Professional Education training programs and courses are specially designed for an agency, participation is open to MPA students and practitioners on a selective basis.  Credit can be obtained in either degree or certificate form.

Each year ELI offers courses at off-campus locations such as Washington D.C., British Columbia, and Mexico. These courses provide opportunities for experienced administrators to meet with their counterparts, share knowledge about "best practices", and acquire a better understanding of comparative policy and administrative issues.