It has been a while since I studied through the IPA. The clue is in the name, Institute of Public Administration, but I think they have tried to move away from that image. The generic elements, Economics, Quantitative Analysis, Accounting etc would be of a broad professional approach. It is only when you specialise in public admin options, such as Local Government or Health, that you get lecturers who are current or retired practitioners in that field. Its own website emphasises the public sector aspect of the courses. In my experience, they do as much as they can to get you through the courses.