How can we help communities avoid misinformation and disinformation?

How worried should we be about pervasive data collection and its impacts on our citizens’ privacy and ways of life?

 Is cyber mischief dividing society and threatening trust in government… and even our democracy?

Our lives are becoming more entwined with, and dependent upon, digital technologies.  These technologies are presenting exciting opportunities to improve our citizens’ quality of life, but there are also risks to individuals, society, trust in government and our democracy that need to be addressed.

To better understand how prepared the South Australian Public Sector is for these challenges, Flinders University is conducting a survey.  The responses collected will be used to develop training to equip public servants with the knowledge, skills and mindsets needed to help South Australia thrive in the digital age. This is a vital piece of research that will help support our sector grow and develop, and with your input we can make a real difference in how we move forward into the future. Complete the survey here >

The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and responses are confidential.  It closes at midnight on 1 October 2021.

Once the survey is complete, you have the option to participate in a prize draw to win 1 of 3 Bunnings gift cards worth $40.

The survey is being undertaken by Flinders University and is part of a research project which investigates social cyber awareness in public sector leaders and if it improves through an education program.  Full details of the research project (including confidentiality, privacy, use of the data and contact details for the research team) can be found here. The project has been approved by Flinders University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (Project Number: 4686).

If you have questions about the survey, please contact Tammy Joachin, Lead – Executive Education, Jeff Bleich Centre (Flinders University) on 0401002719 or tammy.joachin@flinders.edu.au

The Institute of Public Administration Australia is pleased to announce that funding has been awarded to three new public administration research projects.

The grants from the Public Administration Research Trust Fund — which IPAA manages in partnership with the University of Canberra’s Centre for Change Governance —  will support research into the ethical application of artificial intelligence, the career pathways of Federal ministerial staff once they leave a minister’s office, and the capabilities associated with the implementation of social procurement.

Caroline Walsh, IPAA’s National Executive Director, said that the three research projects will deliver real-world insights for public servants and those involved in the wider public purpose sector.

“We are really pleased to be able to support these research projects into areas of public administration that are topical and important to the profession, not only now but into the future.”

Grants were awarded to:

• Associate Professor Joshua Newman (Better Governance and Policy, Faculty of Arts, Monash University) for the project ‘Supporting the Ethical Application of Artificial Intelligence in Australian Public Administration’ ($6,000)
• Dr Maria Maley (School of Politics and International Relations, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences for the project ‘Leaving the Ministerial Office: career steps following work as a ministerial adviser’ ($3,000)
• Dr Warren Staples and Dr John Howe (University of Melbourne) and Dr Diep Nguyen and Professor Stephen Teo (Edith Cowan University) for the project ‘ Understanding Capabilities in Social Procurement Implementation’ ($6,000).

Professor Darren Sinclair, Director of the Centre for Change Governance at the University, said that the partnership demonstrated the benefits of university collaboration with a member-based organisation like IPAA that promotes excellence and pride in public service across Australia.

“Public administration is undergoing a period of rapid transformation, with the advent of digitisation and big data, together with new and demanding challenges such as COVID-19, and the need to addresses integrity, diversity and inclusion.

 

It is more important than ever, therefore, for academics to provide research insights to practitioners — this can only happen with funding, which the IPAA has generously provided to three excellent projects”.

The research findings from these projects will be made available by IPAA and the University of Canberra in due course.

More information on the research fund is available from the Public Administration Research Trust Fund page on IPAA’s national website.

To see original article, visit the IPAA National website here.

The term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ entered our management vocabulary in the late 90s and is now part of the vernacular in most workplaces. Despite this 20 year ‘history’, there is still much debate about what it is…and isn’t.

Emotional Intelligence (EI), also known as Emotional Quotient (EQ) is a person’s ability to understand and manage their own emotions. Having this understanding will help to better manage stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others and defuse conflict by having better social awareness. There are 5 key elements which help to define emotional intelligence:

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-regulation
3. Motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social Skills

According to the Global Talent Trends 2020-21 Report by Mercer (2021), the Top 3 Critical Skills for Future Resilience are Adaptability, Collaboration and Inclusive / Empathetic Management. It will therefore be vital for managers to develop their own emotional intelligence to better manage their own decisions and actions. By having greater self-awareness, managers are better equipped to support their team and foster stronger relationships.

It is important to have relevant technical skills to perform your work role effectively , however as we become less physically connected it has become even more important to have strong interpersonal skills.

To learn more about Emotional Intelligence and how you can create a positive EQ/EI workplace, register for our Emotional Intelligence course which is part of our our Emerging Executive Development Series. This half day program will review the dominant theories and explore the agreed aspects of EI/EQ and how participants can enhance their competence in this critical business skill.

References

Janove, J 2020, ‘Leaders and Employees Need Soft Skills Now More than Ever’, SHRM, viewed 17 August 2021, <https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/humanity-into-hr/pages/covid-19-soft-skills-at-work.aspx>.

Mercer 2021, ‘2021 Global Talent Trends Study’, Mercer, viewed 17 August 2021, <https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/career/global-talent-hr-trends.html#contactForm>.

Dr Alex Antic is a leader, consultant and advisor on analytics, data science and artificial intelligence, and will speak at the 2021 IPAA National Conference, Riding the Wave of Service Transformation, being held in Brisbane on 14–15 October 2021.

Alex has more then 18 years post-PhD experience and knowledge in areas that include advanced analytics, machine learning, artifical intelligence, mathematics, statistics and quantitative analysis, developed across multiple domains: Australian and State Government, Asset Management, Insurance, Academia, Banking (Investment and Retail) & Consulting.

In 2021 Alex was recognised as one of the Top 5 Analytics Leaders in Australian by the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia. He also holds several senior advisory roles across industry, government, start-ups and academia.

Alex has a PhD in Applied Mathematics, First Class Honours in Pure Mathematics, and a double-degree in Mathematics and Computer Science.

The 2021 IPAA National Conference will be delivered at Brisbane’s Hilton Hotel, with live stream tickets available for those unable to attend in person.

Early bird tickets are available until 31 August 2021. For tickets and more information, visit the 2021 IPAA National Conference website.

Original article from IPAA National Website.

Dr David Rock from the NeuroLeadership Institute is set to deliver a keynote address at the 2021 IPAA National Conference this October.

Neuroleadership has come into the spotlight in recent years, with Dr Rock, in fact, coining the term ‘Neuroleadership’ in recognition that a more concrete, science-based approach to growing soft skills would not just resonate with organisational leaders but also make any change initiative more effective.

Applying Neuroleadership Approaches to ‘Ride the Wave of Transformation’

The theme of this year’s National Conference ‘Riding the Wave of Transformation’ will reflect upon the opportunities and changes we have faced as a public service in recent times, and what the future might look like. Neuroleadership approaches to leadership can provide us with new ways to build a positive culture in the workplace that enhances performance and outcomes by understanding the innate psychological principles influencing the behaviour and responses of staff.

In this article ‘How you can apply Neuroleadership to manage others’ we explore the key principles of neuroleadership at a glance. As a topic that many of us might have encountered at only a cursory level, it’s important to understand how this area of leadership development can help you in leading teams or organisations that are engaged, satisfied, productive and motivated. The vital principle of the ‘threat – reward’ response illustrated below highlights the positive outcomes of environments that put our brains in the reward state, and in turn, the adverse effects of perceived threats in the environment.

Where can I learn more about Neuroleadership?

You can take the next steps in applying neuroleadership principles to your leadership style with several opportunities coming up…

• Neuroleadership  (half-day intensive professional development course) – 23 May

More About Dr David Rock

The NeuroLeadership Institute is now a 23-year-old cognitive science consultancy that has advised more than 50% of the Fortune 100. With operations in 24 countries, the Institute brings neuroscientists and leadership experts together to make organisations better for humans through science. David has a professional doctorate in the Neuroscience of Leadership, and is the author of four books including Your Brain at Work, a business-bestseller. He has written for and been quoted in hundreds of articles about leadership, organizational effectiveness, and the brain which can be found in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, Inc., USA Today, BBC, The Boston Globe and more.

In April 2021 IPAA SA were thrilled to be supporting the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in the delivery of the 2021 EPA Board Summit on the topic of ‘Climate Change: Risks, Liabilities and Remedies’.

This online event was co-hosted with the EPA in collaboration with AiGroup, and was held over 2 sessions.

Growing our understanding of Climate Change and its impacts on our state is valuable and relevant to every South Australian state government department and organisation. This event presented some fascinating and insightful reports and presentations that are now accessible to the public.

Some of the key topics of discussion and presentation at this event included:

• Climate change as a financial and liability risk and opportunities for small to medium businesses - with keynote speaker Sarah Barker, Head of Climate Risk Governance, Minter Ellison
• Climate risk and what it means for businesses - with Tennant Reed, Principal National Adviser – Public Policy, Australian Industry Group
• Climate change in SA – what does the data tell us?  – with Dr Graham Green,
  Principal Advisor Climate Change Science, Department for Environment and Water

This event also included the opportunity for Q&A with the above speakers and exploration of two case studies from AGL and City of Adelaide on how they are adapting to climate change.

You can access the full event resources and recordings here.

Associate Professor Jeanette Taylor from the University of Western Australia wins Sam Richardson Award

The Institute of Public Administration Australia is pleased to announce that the 2020 Sam Richardson Award — for the most influential paper published in the Australian Journal of Public Administration in 2019 — has been awarded to Associate Professor Jeannette Taylor from the University of Western Australia.

Associate Professor Taylor’s award-winning paper ‘What causes employees to whistle while they work? Factors affecting internal whistle-blowing in the Australian Public Service’ was published in December 2019, and examines the impact of the nature of corruption, organisational culture, and employees’ work attitudes and actions on internal whistle-blowing in the APS.

Associate Professor Taylor’s paper was assessed by a judging panel that included leading public administration academics, representatives of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), and young professionals from across the IPAA Divisions.

IPAA National President, Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM, said that Associate Professor Taylor’s paper was original, innovative, topical and well-crafted.

‘It speaks to real life work problems for those in the public sector and is also an excellent, well-grounded paper with good empirical work and strong academic credentials.

The panel members were unanimous in their decision, believing that it makes an important scholarly contribution to theory as well as a practical contribution to public administration’.

Aashna Rampal, an Assistant Policy Officer with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment, was one of the members of the judging panel who assessed six short-listed papers for the Award and made the following observation of its universal value:

‘You don’t need to belong to the Australian Public Service or the public sector to be able to absorb the paper’s content, the data, the discussion and the evidence that’s backing it up.

Wherever you work culture is so important and its focus on culture is readily transferrable.’

It is expected that Associate Professor Taylor’s award-winning paper will have a significant and positive impact on public sector leaders and public servants across Australia.

Further information on the award, including past winners, is available from IPAA’s national website.