The department is able to offer tailor made short courses related to the pro­grammes or courses that it offers to its undergraduate and postgraduate stu­dents. Recently, the department was involved in offering a short course in Public Policy Making for senior government officials drawn from various minis­tries and departments.

Individuals from the department have also offered been offering training programmes to various government and private sector institu­tions on Team Building, Conflict Resolution and Management as well as Human Resources Management.

Under the Democracy Consolidation Programme, individuals from the department offered training to members of parliament in inter alia: International Relations, Poverty and Development, Politics, Leader­ship, Conflict Resolution and Management and Political Governance. Several training manuals and policies have also been developed by individuals from the department such as the Local Government Training Manual commissioned by Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA), the Team Building Training Manual for Local Assemblies, the draft Malawi Community Development Policy, and the National Literacy Policy.

Several organisations have also drawn exper­tise from the department to develop their Strategic Plans. 

In relation to research, the department has offered numerous research con­sultancies, at local and international level, in such areas as decentralization and local government reformpolitical parties, local assemblies, public perception surveys, conflict resolution etc. 

The department has also been or is currently involved in several collaborative research projects.