Special Features | The Mandarin

If all else fails, do the conventional thing

by The University of Melbourne

Intervention by different governments in Australia’s National Electricity Market is becoming common, but without a coherent, national approach we risk reduced reliability, higher prices and missed targets.

Why we ran a ‘design sprint’ on child sexual exploitation

by The Mandarin

Design sprints are a methodology pioneered by Google to tackle difficult ‘digital’ problems. The main idea is to bring people together from different disciplines and intensively facilitate them through a process to draw out new and innovative ideas.

The case for an evaluator-general: why we need it and how we should configure it

by Nicholas Gruen

The APS Review has been considering what role evaluation of public programs will have in its findings. Australia’s leading evaluator-general proponent, Dr Nicholas Gruen, on the design and implementation issues that will need to be addressed.

Incremental reform now, ‘real cultural change’ later: why the APS has two reform projects

by Stephen Easton

While the Australian Public Service Review panel works on a list of public recommendations to flesh out its five-point “vision” for the high-performance bureaucracy of 2030, its secretaries are privately working on their own plans for reform at the same time. The main differences, it seems, are in timing and…

Lessons from the hill: Steven Kennedy’s ‘secret list’ of questions to ask yourself during a briefing

by Harley Dennett

Dr Steven Kennedy, one of Australia's most senior public servants, has twice been seconded to the Prime Minister's Office -- picking up a few tricks on the hill that have come in handy in his new role as departmental secretary.

10 social impact lessons I learnt as a not-for-profit leader

by Kristy Muir

CEO Kristy Muir reflects on the key lessons she's learnt as the Centre for Social Impact marks its 10th birthday.

The gender qualification gap: women ‘over-invest’ in workplace capabilities

by The Conversation

Women have up to one-and-a-half year's extra education, and nearly a full year's extra workforce experience, than required for their job.

MacGibbon: cyber catastrophe is society’s ‘greatest existential threat’ right now

by Stephen Easton

If you think cyber risk management is not the end of the world you are dead wrong, according to the federal government’s top adviser on these matters, Alastair MacGibbon.

The Fifth Risk and what it means for Australia

by Darryl Carlton

What is happening in the US public service right now makes an interesting laboratory study from which we could draw lessons for the Thodey Review.

Kalisch: data integration ‘the new statistical frontier’ but funding cuts holding ABS back

by David Donaldson

Data integration is giving government a clearer understanding of everything from Indigenous life expectancy to commuting, says Australian Statistician David Kalisch — but cuts threaten data quality.

Australia poised for global success in regenerative medicine

by The Mandarin

Australia has all the elements needed to be a global leader in regenerative medicine, translating our research into valuable in-demand products and boosting economic growth, argues Dr Dan Grant.

‘Policy made on the run does not have a good track record’, says the brain behind Grattan

by David Donaldson

Governments aren't doing the research needed to underpin rigorous policy development, worries Grattan Institute CEO John Daley. He discusses selling reform, what's driving populism and the big policy priorities for the next few years.

Australia needs to triple its social housing by 2036. This is the best way to do it

by The Conversation

A tenfold increase in building is needed to overcome the current social housing shortfall and cover projected growth in need. But it can be done, and direct public investment is the cheapest way.

Can former political staffers turn into impartial public servants?

by Verona Burgess

A better system is needed to acknowledge experience in a ministerial office to enable public servants to transfer back at a higher level and non-public servant staffers to have their service recognised in the APS, says Verona Burgess.

What is a consultant, and what is the key to great consulting?

by The Mandarin

Just because someone is an expert doesn’t automatically qualify them to be a consultant. Great consulting should be trusted, transformative and transferable, writes Deloitte's Robert Hillard.