The Dean of the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) has predicted a busy year ahead for the PS education entity, citing new staff, a revamped research program, greater Indigenous engagement and a focus on regional Australia as being on its agenda for 2019.
Professor Ken Smith said ANZSOG was continually adapting to meet the needs of students, public managers and owner Governments.
“The public sector is operating in an increasingly volatile and complex environment,” Professor Smith said.
“It is more important than ever that we invest in the skills of our public managers to get them ready for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges,” he said.
“This year has started off strongly with the Reimagining Public Administration Conference on Indigenous Affairs held in Melbourne and the new Executive Master of Public Administration cohort completing the foundation Delivering Public Value subject.”
He said the rest of the year would see the introduction of further education and research initiatives, new staff appointments, greater diversity among ANZSOG’s professional and academic staff, Indigenous engagement and new courses in regional Australia.
He said ANZSOG had expanded its faculty and staff over the past year with the recruitment of senior practitioners to key roles.
These included two new Associate Deans, the former head of the Victorian Education Department, Gill Callister, and former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Lin Hatfield-Dodds (pictured).
Professor Smith said that as part of ANZSOG’s contribution to the Review of the Australian Public Service, the organisation had been contracted to produce a series of six major research papers which would be released in coming weeks.
“We have got some of the leading academics in the field to produce papers which will lead discussion on key issues in informing directions of not only the Australian Public Service, but no doubt more broadly across Australia and regionally, with a focus on reforming the Australian public sector,” Professor Smith said.
