Short course or microcredential
Officials play a vital role in supporting the federal system and its functions. But there's no how-to manual for this important role; the rules, whether formal or informal, have to be learned 'on the job'.
This course focuses on the daily workplace challenges of interjurisdictional problem solving under conditions of high uncertainty and complexity. The course gives Commonwealth, state and territory public servants an understanding of the craft of intergovernmental management, including its formal and informal settings and routines, the interests and strategies that must be negotiated and how public servants contribute to the federal system's stability and resilience, on the one hand, and adjustment and change on the other.
Participants will come away with an insight into their personal, characteristic approach to intergovernmental matters, how this approach is embedded in federal structures and cultures, and the opportunities, costs and benefits of alternative approaches.
This course will run as an online and distance program in 2024 on Microsoft Teams with an accompanying interactive course workbook. It is scheduled to run for five weeks 1 - 30 May 2024 with a course orientation / meet and greet on 1 May. Allow approximately 1-2hrs each week for preparation to get the most out of each session. Specific dates and times to note in your diary are as follows. Registrants will receive calendar invitations to the live sessions.
Note: Dates and times are in Canberra time (AEST/GMT+10). The calendar invite for each session should automatically adjust to your timezone when you add it to your calendar. You can check at a site like this to be sure.
Isi has 30 years of experience in the Australian Public Service, in a range of central, policy and service delivery organisations including the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Australian Public Service Commission, the Departments of Climate Change, Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; and work in Centrelink and Human Services.
Isi's PhD thesis was on the subject of intergovernmental management. The extensive consultations he conducted with Commonwealth and state senior officials for his research have widely informed this course, with a view to ensuring its relevance to the day to day experience of public servants.
Course outline
Module 1: The control dials of the federal system
The session uses an ANZSOG case study on a national occupational licensing system to open up and explore the following issues for managers. A key aim of the session is to develop participants' understanding of the perspectives that jurisdictions other than their own bring to the table.
Module 2: 'Swimming between the flags': navigating formal structures and routines in intergovernmental management
Module 3: 'From l-a-w to l-o-r-e': the informal craft of intergovernmental management
Module 4: The practice modes of intergovernmental management
This session brings all of the above together in the concept of practice modes, in which participants learn to ask questions about their role and tasks such as what kind of a situation or task is this? What ideas, perceptions, interests and cultures are at play here, including my own? How appropriate are different actions for me in this situation? What is most appropriate?
Affinity mapping is used to get participants to identify their own, and their colleagues' practice modes. These practice modes are the characteristic ways in which officials relate to and apply their ideas and values about federalism to their work; how they adapt to their formal and informal context; and the processes by which officials rationalise their behaviours and the outcome of their behaviours to themselves and their colleagues. Practice modes are lenses through which individuals perceive or recognise opportunities, and then ways in which such opportunities are exploited or used through the adoption of strategies and behaviours.
Post-course
Each participant has the option to have a post-course mentoring session with the presenter that could include the following:
Outcomes:
The recent Thodey APS Review found that the relationship between the Commonwealth public service and those in other jurisdictions was 'typically uneasy and underachieving... Arguably it has become less effective over time, even as the importance of the relationship has increased'.
The review argued that 'Interjurisdictional relations are characterised by a lack of mutual respect and trust. Despite the individual contributions of many senior leaders, at an institutional level the APS seems to have lost sight of the advantages of high functioning, collaborative, cross-jurisdictional interaction'. On a more practical level, the Review found that the 'cultures, norms, conventions and routines designed to create an effective forum' and the relevant practical skills were very underdeveloped in the intergovernmental context.
The course responds directly to these concerns. It aims to:
Who should attend?
The course would be of primary benefit for middle managers (APS6 - EL2/SES1) embarking on, or already working on policy development and implementation in an interjurisdictional setting. The content is relevant to public servants in the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and officials in statutory authorities who are developing or implementing policies that involve their counterparts in central and line departments.
Anticipated behavioural and business impacts include:
The course is designed to give participants an overview of the intergovernmental management toolkit, including strategies and opportunities at the interpersonal, interorganisational and interjurisdictional levels.
Participants will get an understanding of the perspectives that other jurisdictions bring to the table.
They will be encouraged to think about why, when and how public servants are policy entrepreneurs and change agents; and under what circumstances they can make a difference in the intergovernmental context.
Participants will gain the requisite knowledge of the relevant structures, processes and practices of intergovernmental management, before moving on to look in detail at bargaining and negotiation, the management of informal relationships, trust building and ultimately knowledge of when and how to refer back to the political arena.
Online training: How it worksThis is a real-time, date-specific course, in which you will join live classes, engage and connect with experts, other course participants and the Executive Education team. Here's how it works:
What if I can't make a live session? No problem, we understand you are busy. Live sessions are recorded and transcribed for you to catch up in your own time.
What if I'm in a different time zone? All advertised course times from 1st October 2023 to 6th April 2024 are scheduled in Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) otherwise known as GMT+11. From 7th April 2024 scheduled times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) or GMT+10. Convert for your time zone here.
What if I am not tech savvy? As long as you have access to a phone or computer, you'll have no problems. This is a low-tech course designed for everyone. If needed our team is here to help - contact us at csee@anu.edu.au.
What if I have questions? We would love to hear from you. Contact our team at csee@anu.edu.au.