Towards a professional approach to public policy: reforming people instead of structure and process Wednesday June 26, 2019 By Stephen Easton Features The importance of thinking about how implementation is going to work when designing policy is well recognised but remains a challenge, said Sir Chris Wormald… Read more
APS secretaries unveil online collaboration hub in push to improve policy skills Friday June 21, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Heads of Australian Public Service departments have launched the beta version of a new collaboration website as a "hub" for their staff to collectively improve… Read more
Re-elected Prime Minister's public message to department heads Thursday May 23, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Prime Minister Scott Morrison brought department heads out in front of the media cameras on Thursday and told them not to get in the way… Read more
Greg Moriarty: collaboration is the key to reform a 'change-resistant bureaucracy' Wednesday April 10, 2019 By Stephen Easton Defence The Department of Defence secretary believes collaboration will be the single most important vector for improving the Australian Public Service. Read more
Whistleblower's tip-off sparks second Robodebt review Friday June 15, 2018 By Stephen Easton Federal The Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe has agreed to investigate Centrelink's debt recovery program for a second time. Read more
One week left to apply for Australia's 'most significant' CIO job Friday April 27, 2018 By The Mandarin Career Matters "With over $174 billion in payments processed per year, the CIO for the Department of Human Services is arguably the most significant role of its… Read more
Verona Burgess: changing of the guard Wednesday September 20, 2017 By Verona Burgess Features Nearly half the Australian Public Service get new bosses this month as Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Martin Parkinson puts his stamp on the Secretaries… Read more
APS leadership turnover set for another jolt — for better or for worse Wednesday July 12, 2017 By Verona Burgess Editors' Picks The high turnover of APS secretaries is expected to continue next year, but a ministerial reshuffle could cut short even more top mandarins' careers, writes… Read more
Renee Leon: crowdsourcing and ideas ownership in policymaking Tuesday April 26, 2016 By Stephen Easton Economy & Industry When your stakeholders can't fit in a room, or keep being told "no, we've tried that before", rethink the traditional approach to policymaking. The Employment… Read more
Confidence v being the 'ball-breaker': female bosses speak up Wednesday November 4, 2015 By Stephen Easton Features Women are unfairly judged for their confidence and ambition — but that shouldn't discourage them from climbing the ladder. Some of Canberra's most powerful female… Read more
Collaboration is king, but 'healthy silos' may still have their place Monday October 26, 2015 By Stephen Easton Features Employment secretary Renee Leon is embracing collaboration within and beyond government with "a bold new experiment" in collaborative, outcomes-focused outsourcing. Read more
Halton: get over the fear of failure or drown in red tape Thursday October 22, 2015 By Stephen Easton News Commonwealth public servants are trying to cut back internal red tape. But ministers and mandarins must get over their fear of failure to achieve agility. Read more
Let ideas transcend jurisdiction: ACT invites widely for first territory IPAA conference Friday September 18, 2015 By Stephen Easton Features It's usually in conversation and probing that you get to hear the depth of each others' thinking, says Carmel McGregor. IPAA ACT will host its… Read more
Leon on Employment, shared services and work flexibility Friday February 6, 2015 By Harley Dennett Features FIRST INTERVIEW: Employment secretary Renée Leon sat down with The Mandarin to discuss the shared services experiment, policy challenges in the portfolio and evolving… Read more
