Australian public service commissioner stephen sedgwick

aps leadership, learning and development Community of practice

The APS leadership, learning and development community of practice is open to all practitioners working in human resources, leadership or learning and development. The community of practice connects APS practitioners and provides an opportunity to share tools and resources, exchange insights and experiences, and progress shared challenges.

The community regularly meets in face-to-face forums and via an online discussion forum.

The subject matter of the forums is primarily driven by work-based challenges faced by members. Topics addressed in 2012–13 included:

• developing and implementing the 70/20/10 learning model in APS agencies—a workshop with international expert Charles Jennings had a particular emphasis on supporting the 70% of learning that occurs on the job and the 20% that occurs through relationships and networks

• designing and implementing management skills learning in the APS

• developing effective leadership and talent management approaches for EL 2 employees.

aps human resources summit 2012

The Commission held its inaugural APS Human Resources Summit on 4–5 September 2012. Approximately 60 agencies were represented by more than 160 participants.

The goal of this event was to hear from secretaries, other APS executives and external experts about their views on the human resources profession and how it could lift its contribution to the development and implementation of agency and APS-wide strategies.

The event provided the opportunity for senior human resource executives and others in the APS to share practices and ideas from a number of agencies. The summit was driven by the Commission’s Chief Human Capital Officer in partnership with senior colleagues from the departments of Immigration and Citizenship, Human Services, Finance and Deregulation and the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Expert individual speakers and panels and working sessions generated discussion on wide-ranging human capital issues against a backdrop of global economic and technological challenges.

The success of the summit was attributable to participants’ high-level engagement in strategic discussions which, in turn, will inform the agenda for the next summit in December 2013.

The focus of that summit will be on strategies to build capability and productivity in the APS.

national programs and relationships with higher education institutions

The Commission continued to support the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

sir roland wilson Foundation

The Commission continued to coordinate the provision of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation scholarships, working in partnership with the foundation at the Australian National University. Four high-potential Executive Level employees were selected through a highly competitive process for the scholarships. The scholars began their studies in February 2012, joining the five scholars who commenced in 2011. The Commission is working with the university and each scholar’s agency to provide ongoing support and mentoring. Nominations for the third round of scholarships were sought in the first half of 2013.

australia and new zealand school of government

The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) was established in 2002 by a consortium of Australian and New Zealand governments, universities and business schools to assist in developing the skills of future public sector leaders.

The Commission, in partnership with other agencies, supports ANZSOG to ensure that APS leaders and potential leaders are able to participate in executive education. The Commission actively marketed and coordinated nominations for the following executive programs:

• the Fellows program, a three-week residential for SES Band 2 and 3 employees, which in 2012 attracted 68 participants, of whom 17 (25%) were APS employees

• the Master of Public Administration program, a two-year part-time program for high- performing public sector managers, which attracted 121 participants in 2012, of whom 27 (22%) were APS employees.

In 2012–13, the Commission continued to be responsible for administering the deed of agreement between the Commonwealth and ANZSOG in relation to a $10 million repayable capital grant made to ANZSOG in May 2005. In accordance with the deed, interest generated from the grant is used to support the Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration at the Australian National University and other academic appointments relating to research activities.

public sector management program

The Public Sector Management Program is a unique national leadership program for emerging and highly motivated mid-level managers (APS 6 to EL 2 and their equivalents) in the three tiers of government across Australia.

The program’s curriculum has been developed by academic and public sector experts and provides a mix of contemporary government case studies and challenging theoretical exercises. Participants gain an understanding of what it means to work collaboratively across the three tiers of government, which helps them to develop a greater understanding of the public sector operating environment. A Curriculum Review Committee was convened in October 2012 to review the current curriculum and a number of recommendations are being implemented to ensure the program continues to provide a contemporary learning experience for participants.

The program is delivered in each state and territory to mid-level managers across the public sector and culminates in a tertiary qualification at the graduate certificate level. It is delivered through a partnership arrangement with Flinders University, which provides assessment, accreditation and curriculum development services nationally.

The Commission continues to manage the delivery of the Public Sector Management Program in the Australian Capital Territory. Three cohorts commenced during 2012–13, comprising 43 participants. Forty-nine participants were eligible to graduate from Flinders University following the successful completion of their coursework towards a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management. Thirty graduates attended a graduation ceremony in Canberra in May 2013.

The Commission continued to provide the secretariat function to the program’s National Board of Management in addition to managing the National Assessment Centre for the program.