Allan Barger discusses how vast amounts of information being opened up creates new opportunities for combining data from multiple providers to create a diversity of options for consumers and constituents.
Artificial intelligence is already being used in unethical ways, both by the world's governments and technology giants. Now is the time to nail down the principles governing AI and machine learning projects. This multipart series begins with a Department of Defence workshop where warfighters, lawyers and philosophers pitched 84 principles for assuring that AIs operating on our behalf remain ethical.
Addressing the growing crisis of faith in democracy and public institutions is not easy but it is a key responsibility of public servants, says Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Frances Adamson.
The High Court got it right in the Michaela Banerji case, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t overdue for a serious rethink about public servants and social media. And, luckily, a Coalition senator has suggested a good way forward for both politicians and bureaucrats.
The UK's Policy Lab has spent the last five years using innovative tools to explore new ways of seeing both problems and solutions in government. How do they make it work?
Peter Costello tackles the thorny issue of where, when and how a department of state should be having its own view, and what does that mean for the relationship between the secretary of the Treasury and the treasurer of the day.
From The Coalface: As a public sector leader you must be able hold two apparently contradictory thoughts at the same time – that although corruption is certain to happen, and indeed is happening, we’re becoming more ethical.
Filling out forms is still one of the main ways people interact with government. Each government jurisdiction will have its own priorities when designing a form, so Mandarin Premium has taken a look at three different approaches from Australia and elsewhere to showcase what else public servants can do to improve their forms.
Paul Tilley tracks how Treasury’s role has evolved over its history, from the government’s bookkeeper at Federation to the economic policy agency of today. His new book explains the changes in the relationship between the public service and the government of the day, and how and why we reached the situation we are in today, with the public service becoming more information providers and implementers of government decisions than policy influencers.
There's a fear that consultants represent some kind of power behind the throne, secretly deciding what should be done with public money. In this view, consultants are a very real threat to democratic accountability.
Data might be convenient, but it comes with a “huge cost”, according to Associate Professor of Law at Bond University, Kate Galloway. Recent events surrounding government handling of sensitive data have raised questions about how that data is stored and used.
We see all around us the evidence that science works. For many years there has been an effort to apply scientific thinking to management. In organisations, managers attempt to define and spread ‘best practice,’ which seems to offer certainty about the correct procedures to follow. Daniel Thornton considers why using terms such as ‘best practice’ is bad practice, and suggests an alternative approach that could help to navigate the complexities of organisational life.
Much of the APS needs to lose the attitude that policy is the apex of public administration and service delivery is done by lesser mortals, says Verona Burgess. With change and uncertainty all around the federal bureaucracy, to fulfil the Prime Minister's expectations it will need to quickly learn from state counterparts.
Kate Cornick has been CEO of LaunchVic, which leads the development of Victoria's startup ecosystem, since late 2016. She has previously worked in the university and private sectors, and as a staffer, and holds a PhD in telecommunications engineering.
As problems associated with Australia's homelessness crisis exist across the housing spectrum, so too must the solutions. Moving forward, there is an opportunity for the Morrison government to put create a positive spin on the housing and homelessness situation in Australia. And that is through implementing evidence-based solutions across the housing spectrum.
