The landscape that public services operate in continues to change rapidly. Standing still is not an option.
The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) is a unique institution. We were created in 2002 by government, for government, and our mission is to create public value by lifting the quality of public sector leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
We are continually reviewing what we do, to respond to the needs of our owner governments and to make changes which ensure ANZSOG remains relevant to the public sector in the 21st century.
In recent months we have made changes to our core education and research programs, and we have expanded our operations. These changes have been made after widespread discussions with governments, our university partners and our extensive network of alumni.
The Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) and the Executive Fellows Program (EFP) remain central to ANZSOG’s activities and maintain their role of providing public sector leaders and future leaders with skills to confidently lead future agendas.
We are committed to achieving greater diversity in the academic and practitioner faculty in all areas of delivery. This will include equal gender representation and ensuring greater focus on issues confronting the First Peoples of Australia and New Zealand. For the first time this year, Associate Professor Catherine Althaus, ANZSOG Associate Dean (Academic), will co-direct, alongside Robin Ryde who has been director of the EFP program for 7 years.
We have also engaged Professor Michelle LeBaron, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, who specialises in conflict transformation, dispute resolution, culture and resilience, to become a member of the core faculty.
In 2018 the EFP will focus on a ‘three countries, three cities model’ with teaching being held in Canberra, Singapore and Wellington. We are increasing the level of immersion on the program so participants spend more time out of traditional academic settings to get first-hand experiences of a topic of inquiry.
The EMPA is also evolving to ensure it focuses on the practical challenges and increasing complexity facing the modern public service and will continue to change and develop in response to challenges in the public sector. This year, Professor Janine O’Flynn will be joining ANZSOG full time from the University of Melbourne and will be playing an important leadership role with the EMPA Director of six years, Professor Michael Mintrom.
Participants in both courses will continue to learn from globally-recognised academics and senior practitioners from the executive of the public service, not-for-profit and private sectors.
We will continue to review and adjust the content of all our courses, and our mix of expert educators, in response to feedback from students, alumni and government owners.
ANZSOG works with ten governments across two countries: it is important that we have a physical presence right across Australia and New Zealand. We are excited to strengthen this presence with new senior academic appointments at Curtin University in Western Australia, Griffith University in Queensland and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. We will consider opportunities for further expansion over the next few years.
We are also expanding our research program, to make sure it is relevant to the needs of our owner governments. We are making $750,000 p.a. available for research, which will require matching funds from governments and universities. This means that up to $2.25 million each year will be made available for research that examines practical issues facing modern public administration. In addition, our Evidence and Evaluation Hub will continue to work with governments to improve their capacity to develop evaluation frameworks and to evaluate specific public programs.
To reflect these changes, you might also notice that we have a new look, which reflects the diversity of our activities and how we’ve transformed since our foundation sixteen years ago.
ANZSOG will continue to educate and inspire public sector leaders to improve their skills, capacity and management, and expose them to the best thinking on public administration.
We will continue to enrich the discipline of public sector leadership through focused research, which has a real-world application and meets the needs of our owner governments.
Our activities will also continue to create connections between diverse people, cultures, institutions and jurisdictions, and bring people together to share, learn and debate accepted practice and new ideas.
ANZSOG will continue to evolve to address the needs of our owner governments and work with our university partners to better align our range of products.
But while our activities have changed over time, and will continue to change, our focus has not – we still aim to lift the quality of public sector leadership in Australia and New Zealand. This public investment results in a better public service and will benefit the communities we all serve.
Applications are currently open for the 2018 EFP and the 2019 EMPA. Find out more.
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