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Public Purpose is an independent advisory practice working at the intersection of government, policy, technology and innovation.
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The practice is centred on the work of its principal, Martin Stewart-Weeks and his extensive networks of innovators, ideas and influence in Australia and around the world from over 35 years’ work in and around government, innovation and technology. The practice is busy in the following areas:
Strategic Thinking
Helping organisations think about strategy and change to guide new aspirations, plans and work.
Facilitation
Designing and facilitating small and large scale events and processes to help organisations improve the quality and impact of their work together.
Research
Conceiving, undertaking and writing up social and qualitative research (focus groups, workshops, interviews).
Writing and thought leadership
Undertake research and writing projects, either independently or for clients, that tackle big strategic issues to prompt thinking about strategy and change

Latest Posts

Innovation & Social Innovation

Digital transformation: not as easy as it looks

March 7, 2021 By Martin Stewart-Weeks Leave a Comment

The digital transformation of government and the public sector isn’t as easy as it looks. You would think that after 20 years or so, mainly on the outside looking in, and occasionally from the inside looking out, and a book or two to boot, I’d have worked that out by now. And of course I have.  It’s hard work, grinding through ‘hard boards” with passion and perseverance, to paraphrase Max Weber’s reflections “on politics.” Almost everything is harder in practice than it is in theory. Writing about stuff and offering occasionally helpful advice and, even more occasionally, clever insights from the sidelines is so much easier than doing the work. But in the last little while, my general enthusiasm, irretrievably amateur though it so often feels, has been tested by some insights about the day to day reality confronting the digital transformation “project” in government and the public sector, especially here in Australia. Like the recent session in which we were spruiking the rising influence of artificial intelligence and the likely impact on public services and citizen engagement of augment reality only to be told that, in one regional government office, the vast majority of the team didn’t have ‘smart’ phones or wifi enabled laptops. When they left the office, they were no longer connected. Unless they were happy to switch to their personal phones (and …

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Government & public sector

Digital transformation strategy 2.0

December 31, 2020 By Martin Stewart-Weeks Leave a Comment

This is a short submission (copied in full below) I made to the current rewrite of Australia's digital strategy being …

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Cataclysm versus hope: a note on the US Presidential election

November 8, 2020 By Martin Stewart-Weeks Leave a Comment

There are only two ways to respond to the US presidential election, one cataclysmic and the other chock full of …

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About Us

Public Purpose is an independent advisory practice working at the intersection of government, policy, technology and innovation.

Recent Posts

  • Digital transformation: not as easy as it looks
  • Digital transformation strategy 2.0
  • Cataclysm versus hope: a note on the US Presidential election
  • Smart Cities: People, Place and Power
  • Why is is so hard to do what we know? Or what happens when I’ve hit the wall

Latest Tweets

Twitter
Martin Stewart-Weeks
Martin Stewart-Weeks
@martinsw

“I pictured Valhalla as a never-ending stag do, while the Christian Heaven appeared as an eerily quiet place..with some great-aunt who disapproved of everything. The Viking religion seemed it was designed by adolescent males, while Christianity was thought up by elderly women.”

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2:35 am · April 5, 2021
Twitter
Martin Stewart-Weeks
Martin Stewart-Weeks
@martinsw

“paradoxically, as the sea of faith retreated, more public intellectuals take it seriously...Christianity was the wellspring of individualism..contrary to the belief Enlightenment liberalism was a revolt against the medieval Church, it was a product of it” unherd.com/2021/04/how-go…

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2:32 am · April 5, 2021
Twitter
Martin Stewart-Weeks
Martin Stewart-Weeks
@martinsw

“Germany established itself as a model when it passed two laws committing to completely phasing out coal power and providing $47.3 billion in funding to help coal regions like Lusatia diversify their economies.” Think clearly, plan ahead, do it together. vox.com/platform/amp/e…

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2:09 am · April 5, 2021
Twitter
Martin Stewart-Weeks
Martin Stewart-Weeks
@martinsw

“As a society, it is critical that we acknowledge and celebrate the honour that should come from a career looking after our elderly citizens,” he said. There is a big #culturechange and #valued dimension to #newdealforcare

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9:51 pm · April 4, 2021
Twitter
Martin Stewart-Weeks
Martin Stewart-Weeks
@martinsw

smh.com.au/politics/feder… “strong aged care sector with a high-quality and skilled workforce will provide older Australians with the care they rightly deserve and give all Australians confidence that our elderly are cared for with kindness, respect and dignity.” #newdealforcare

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9:49 pm · April 4, 2021

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