There’s a couple of lines of argument about how we do public policy in this country (and in other comparable countries for that matter) that have been on my mind recently. One line is that we’re no good at it. Or at least not as good at it now as we once were in a […]
Seven public sector trends
I gave a presentation today to the senior executive team at the NSW Department of Justice, led by Secretary Andrew Cappie-Wood. These are the notes I used for the talk on seven public sector trends. Framing 1 The first frame reinforces the fact that the work of government is changing. The public sector has been […]
Ask not…pianos and the immortal human spirit: reflections on democratic renewal
Now, if this spirit is of the essence of democracy, can we rightly say that we have understood or practised it. For, if man is to be adjusted to man, if we are to live together in mutual amity and justice, if we are to be dignified without being proud or overbearing, we must be […]
The 21st century public servant: take on talent II
I wrote a piece recently looking at an OECD report that proffered six attributes of future public servants in a world that is becoming more connected, complex and (sometimes) confusing. These were the six -iteration, data literacy, user centricity, curiosity, storytelling and (a personal favourite) insurgency. This time I’m looking at a couple of linked […]
More on the talent question: skills for the future public service
If there is a talent crisis in the public sector, which I think there is and about which I wrote something in a recent post you can find here, the question is begged what is the mix of talent that the public service of the future needs? It turns out that there’s a fair bit […]
Do bureaucrats care? A take on talent in the public sector
I’ve been interested in the question of talent in the public sector for some time. I think there’s something of a talent crisis across the sector, not because there isn’t enough of it or the right mix (although there are real challenges on both those fronts I suspect), but because I suspect we don’t use […]
