SES Gazettals
sesliveupdate : 2 February 2012
Gazettals information for 2 February 2012 (data taken from APSjobs):
| Band | Full name | Fill method | Position | Agency | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeffrey Stevenson | Promotion | Assistant Commissioner, Operations | ATO | NSW |
| 1 | Rajitha Srikhanta | Promotion | Assistant Commissioner, Operations | ATO | VIC |
| 1 | Aislinn Walwyn | Promotion | Assistant Commissioner, Promoted Schemes | ATO | NSW |
| 1 | Nigel Morris | Promotion | Minister Counsellor, Defence Materiel, Washington | DMO | INTL |
| 3 | Mark Tucker | Assignment/Movement | Deputy Secretary | DAFF | ACT |
| 2 | Bettina Konti | Promotion | First Assistant Secretary | DHA | ACT |
| 2 | Jacqui Curtis | Promotion | General Manager | DHS | ACT |
IPAA journal ‘Public Administration Today’
sesliveupdate : 1 February 2011
The Institute of Public Administration of Australia (IPAA) ACT has released the latest edition of Public Administration Today (Today) on the theme “Code of Ethics and Integrity”, and it is now available on-line at www.act.ipaa.org.au/Public-Administration-Today/public-administration-today-pat.html. Having Today online is a recent development and means that you, and others within your work areas can access articles with news and information about the public sector across Australia. Corporate members of IPAA will be advised directly how to access the new online Today magazine. Hard copies of Today are mailed out to your agency’s executive and library and are a benefit of corporate and individual membership. Forward themes and submission dates are included on the inside cover.
Corporate members’ employees are eligible to attend free monthly seminars in Canberra on topical themes. The next monthly event is on 28 February and coincides with the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security’s 25th anniversary – “Balancing National Security and Individual Rights”. To find out more please click on the following link: Balancing National Security and Individual Rights.
More information on IPAA ACT is available on their website at: www.act.ipaa.org.au/, including upcoming events – including those free or discounted to corporate members, who can either attend in person or view some of them on-line via livestreaming, or even after the event for those sessions that have been recorded.
SES Gazettals
sesliveupdate : 27 January 2012
Gazettals information for 26 January 2012 (data taken from APSjobs):
| Band | Full name | Fill method | Position | Agency | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Richard Leather | Engagement | Senior Trade Commissioner, New York | Austrade | INTL |
| 1 | Elizabeth Quinn | Promotion | Group Manager | APSC | ACT |
| 1 | Wenda Donaldson | Engagement | Branch Manager | DEEWR | ACT |
| 1 | Flora Carapellucci | Assignment/Movement | Branch Manager | FaHCSIA | ACT |
| 1 | Peter Murphy | Engagement | Senior Staff Counsellor | DFAT | ACT |
| 2 | Kathy Klugman | Promotion | First Assistant Secretary | PM&C | ACT |
Weekly Jurisdictional Dot Points
sesliveupdate : 20 January 2012
USA
Performance Assessment
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has introduced a new performance system for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) aimed at providing a more uniform and consistent framework for communicating expectations and evaluating the performance of SES officials. The relevant Memorandum, ‘Senior Executive Service Performance Appraisal System’, focuses particularly on the responsibility and capacity of SES employees to achieve results through effective leadership. This will require agencies to give greater consideration to the demonstration of leadership qualities than technical capacity. Under the new system the core competencies that determine a candidate’s entry into the SES will henceforth be applied to SES performance evaluations. These qualifications are: leading people, leading change, results driven, business acumen and building coalition. The new arrangements include, for example, a strong emphasis on 360-degree survey and analysis; all agencies will also be required to use the same evaluation criteria. Another key element in the new arrangements will be Performance Review Boards (PRBs). Each agency must appoint one or more PRBs charged with making written recommendations based on annual summary ratings within the overall context of assessment. The OPM is coordinating interagency workgroups aimed at helping agencies to implement this substantial reform.
ICT
On 16 December 2011, the 21-member .gov Reform Task Force released its State of the Federal Web Report (70 pp), which sets out data and findings about the state of Federal Government websites, as part of the Obama Administration’s e.gov Reform Initiative. The report is designed to highlight—for the first time—the size and scope of public sector websites, how successfully agencies are managing them, and opportunities for improvement. The report is to be used to formulate a Federal Web Strategy and create tools, best practices and other resources that will render federal websites more effective and useful for citizens. The report is based primarily on data collected between August and October 2011. Agencies were asked to complete three related data surveys: the .gov Web Inventory (56 agencies responded); the Federal Web Governance Survey (24 major agencies); and Web Improvement Plans (25 major agencies). The .gov Web Inventory revealed there to be 11,013 websites and 1,489 domains (i.e. the registered .gov name on the Internet) across 56 agencies. The survey found that almost 20% of domains are currently inactive. In responding to the Web Governance Survey, some 35% of agencies reported that they have in place standardised web policies and procedures. When asked about their Web Improvement Plans, fewer than half of agencies surveyed reported having an agency-wide web strategy in place.
UK
Accountability
HM Treasury recently published the first set of audited Whole of Government Accounts ever published in Britain which shows in one document the financial position of the whole public sector (central and local government). The National Audit Office (NAO), in a recent report (43 pp) on the Accounts, expressed some reservations about the initiative, chiefly in relation to its currency: the ambitiousness of the undertaking has meant that the Accounts describe the financial position as it was 20 months ago.
Canada
Citizen Engagement
On 12 January, the Public Policy Forum (PPF) released ‘Rescuing Policy: The Case for Public Engagement’ (188 pp) by Dr Don Lenihan, the PPF’s Vice-President, Engagement. In 2009, the PPF launched the Public Engagement Project to explore new ways of thinking about how governments, stakeholders, communities and ordinary citizens can collaborate in addressing public policy challenges. The initiative involved seven Canadian provincial/territorial governments as well as the Canada School of Public Service, the City of Hamilton and the Australian Government. More specifically, the report—one informed by the practical experience in this field of numerous public servants and supported by a detailed theoretical framework—strengthens the conviction that public or citizen engagement work has to be based on much more than merely asking people what they expect from government service delivery. Dr Lenihan argues that the engagement process should also allow citizens to identify policy options and service needs and, ultimately, that people must where possible be partners in service provision. This process would be based on a ‘new compact’ between government and citizens involving shared accountability for action and the delivery of services to communities.
OECD
Workplace Wellbeing
A recently published OECD report, ‘Sick on the Job?: Myths and Realities about Mental Health at Work’ has concluded that mental illness is a growing problem in society, one which is increasingly affecting productivity and wellbeing. This has two major causes: the number of employees exposed to work-related stress has increased during the past decade across the OECD; and in the current economic climate, more and more people are worried about their job security. The report suggests that one in five employees in OECD nations suffer from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many are struggling to cope both at home and at work. Three in four workers with a mental disorder report reduced productivity at work, compared to one in four workers without a mental disorder. Work absences are also much more frequent for workers with mental illness, with some 30% to 50% of all new disability benefit claims in OECD countries being attributed to mental ill-health. The report challenges the myths surrounding this subject—one which is a difficult issue to analyse. For example, contrary to common received opinion, most people with a mental disorder work (employment rates of between 55% and 70%), though this result is about 10 to 15 percentage points lower than for people without a disorder. However, those with a mental disorder are two to three times as likely to be unemployed as people with no disorders. This gap represents a major loss to private and public sector productivity. The report recommends several approaches for addressing the problem, including a stronger focus on dealing with moderate mental disorders and creating an environment in which employees are less reluctant to ‘self-disclose’
