21st century public servant: the discussion phase

08/07/2014 / inlogov / Leave a comment

Catherine Needham

After nine months of researching the 21st Century Public Servant, we are today formally starting the discussion phase of the project. We have undertaken a literature review, we have spoken to over 40 people working in public services in public, private and voluntary sector bodies, and to national stakeholder organisations. From that we have identified key themes of what it means to be a 21st Century public servant which we will be blogging about over the next few months.

We begin this week with a focus on ‘perma-austerity’ which is the key contextual factor for public services, and a major theme at this week’s Local Government Association conference. As well as sharing the findings of our research we will have guest blogs from people working in and close to public services about ways to address the challenges of austerity.

A clear finding from the interviews we’ve done is that there is no unified vision of the future of public services and the people who work to deliver them. The future will be messy and tentative, with paradoxes being managed and lived with rather than solved. In the same spirit we don’t feel we have come up with the answers in this project, but rather with a series of themes that we want to test out with you. If you feel inspired to blog or comment that’s great.

We will be discussing the themes at the IPPR today, beginning a series of project events. You can also come along to the Inlogov stall at the LGA conference to find out more.

Catherine Needham is Reader in Public Policy and Public Management at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, and is developing research around public service reform and policy innovation. Her recent work has focused on co-production and personalization, examining how those approaches are interpreted and applied in frontline practice. Her most recent book, published by the Policy Press in 2011, is entitled, Personalising Public Services: Understanding the Personalisation Narrative. Follow Catherine on Twitter: @DrCNeedham.

The 21st century public servant – drivers of change

06/02/201405/02/2014 / inlogov / 1 Comment

Maria Katsonis and Helen Sullivan

In 2013 the Melbourne School of Government and the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet began collaborating on a project to explore the roles, skills and characteristics of the 21st century public servant. This blog piece describes some of the key drivers of change we identified, most of which are relevant across a range of contexts, though their impact will be shaped by local political and economic contexts.

A key external driver is the economic shift from the West to the East and the North to the South with continued economic growth in China and India, followed by the expanding economies of South America and Africa. The prospect of an ‘Asian Century’ creates new opportunities for Australia in the region but also places demands on Australian policymakers to hear different voices in debates about the role of the state, the values underpinning policy choices, and the role of public administration.

Australia’s ageing population creates challenges for service demands in healthcare and aged care, levels of workforce participation and the adequacy of retirement savings. Opportunities arise through tapered retirement models and a greater focus on positive ageing.

Digital media and new technology are both enablers and disruptors of business models, capabilities and delivery channels. The uptake of smart devices; the popularity of social media; the emergence of cloud computing; and the rise of big data and analytics each have the potential to change significantly how government and public services operate.

Consumer, social and demographic trends are driving the community’s expectation for personalised services that meet individual needs which are delivered seamlessly and cheaply. This has significant implications for service delivery in health and education as well as how the public service uses technology to provide access to services, transactions and information.

Key drivers of change

Internal drivers are also changing what the public service does and how it works with implications for the skills and capabilities of public servants. Peter Shergold, the former head of Australia’s Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, identified four drivers, these as:

1. A market for the delivery of public goods
Today’s public service is increasingly commissioning and contracting out service delivery to the private and community sectors.

2. Increased competition in the development of public policy
Government’s now regularly seek and receive policy advice from external bodies including think tanks, lobby groups, the media and research institutes.

3. The co-production of government services
This requires a reciprocal relationship between public servants and people using services on the basis that greater user involvement in design and delivery will achieve better results.

4. The reinvigoration of democratic engagement
Digital media provides an opportunity for increased engagement, reshaping how communities find and engage each other on political and social issues. This challenges government and public services to develop appropriate structures, work practices and approaches to citizens.

Given current fiscal constraints, it is unlikely that incremental change will be sufficient. Rather what is required is a bolder approach to rethinking and redesigning public services drawing on the experience of other sectors and services. It also means being attentive to the values that underpin the 21st century public service as well as the skills and capabilities of future public servants.

This post was originally published on 21st Century Public Servant.

Maria Katsonis is a senior executive in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet in Australia where she leads projects that shape and influence the Victorian public sector. She has worked on a range of issues including service delivery reform, productivity, innovation, e-government and governance.

Professor Helen Sullivan is Director of the Melbourne School of Government. Her research and teaching focuses on changing state-society relations and modes of interaction including collaboration and citizen participation. She has published widely on public policy, public governance and public service reform. Her latest book is ‘Hybrid Governance in European Cities: Neighbourhood, Migration and Democracy’ (2013).

If I asked you to describe a 21st century public servant, what would you say?

10/10/201310/10/2013 / inlogov / 1 Comment

Catherine Mangan

I read with interest the recent announcement from Birmingham City Council that they did not intend to recruit a replacement chief executive, but would instead create a ‘lead officer’ role. A few years ago it would have been unthinkable not to have a chief executive at the head of a council. Now, with councils debating what their role is, and the need to seize an opportunity to make savings, more and more councils are making the decision to remove the chief executive post entirely.

Arguments about whether this is a good idea or not have been much debated in the local government world, but I’m interested in what this says to those seeking a career in local government, and the wider public service. If the very pinnacle of public service, a council chief executive, is no longer a relevant role, what does this mean for the wider workforce? As the ‘how and what’ of local government changes, so too must the workforce. How can public servants ensure they remain relevant, and ready for the future challenges? What does a public servant in the 21^st century look like? How do those of us who provide development support to the workforce best work with them to give them the skills to achieve?

These are questions we will be exploring through a new knowledge exchange project in partnership with Birmingham City Council, funded through the ESRC. Over the next year we will examine the recent literature, carry out interviews with key stakeholders and create an on line resource to support public servants seeking support and development. We aim to address key questions such as:

What is the range of different roles of the twenty first century public servant? As people’s roles expand to encompass the whole person in a system, they can no longer dispense professional judgement in isolation. They need to be negotiators, brokers, story-tellers and resource weavers. Perhaps no longer a social worker but a care navigator.

What are the competencies and skills that public servants require to achieve these roles? What do you need to be good at to be an effective family support worker? Probably an ability to empathise, engage, motivate and inspire. Along with the skills to get things done. What might that look like in a professional development plan? How do we best support people to develop those roles and skills? Skills for the 21^st century public servant may not be those that can be developed through traditional training; we need to think imaginatively about supporting peer learning, sharing knowledge about what works; facilitating networks of learning.

And as the career path becomes more complex and less certain; with roles spanning organisations and sectors, how can central and local government better support and promote public service as a career?

We are looking forward to exploring the ideas and issues raised by these questions, and want to hear what those of you working in or supporting the public sector have to say. If you’d like to know more about the project, or contribute in any way, contact us. We’d love to hear your views.

Catherine Mangan is a Senior Fellow at INLOGOV. Her interests include public sector re-design, outcomes based commissioning and behaviour change. She is currently leading the 21st century public servant project, in partnership with Catherine Durose and Catherine Needham. She can be contacted about the project via email, or on Twitter – and you can join the conversation: #21CPS.

INLOGOV Blog

The Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham

21st century public servant

21st century public servant: the discussion phase

If I asked you to describe a 21st century public servant, what would you say?