Data and the APS Academy
In July 2021 the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, the Hon Ben Morton MP, officially opened the Australian Public Service (APS) Academy, a new approach to APS-wide learning and development.
The Academy’s mission is to foster an APS-wide culture of learning that builds public sector capabilities and drives high performance. The Academy’s focus is on the ‘APS craft’ capabilities to equip our workforce with the skills, tools and knowledge needed to deliver effective outcomes for Government and the Australian community.
‘APS craft’ describes the foundational capabilities that all APS employees require in order for the APS to work as one. These skills are:
- Integrity - At the heart of the APS is the pursuit of high standards of professionalism – both in what we do, and how we do it. It is the foundation of trust on which public service effectiveness is built.
- Working in Government -A willingness to serve and the ability to apply a deep understanding of the context in which the APS operates.
- Engagement & Partnership - Working with others to shape policy and services that drive better outcomes for the Australian community.
- Implementation & Services - Identifying, designing and implementing services that benefit the Australian community.
- Strategy, Policy & Evaluation - Planning and analysing situations and challenges, to develop and deliver excellent advice to government is at the heart of what we do as a public service.
- Leadership & Management - Driving organisational productivity and performance through inspiration towards a common goal.
The Academy is founded on a networked approach that leverages partners from across the APS to curate and provide the best learning and development available APS-wide. The Academy works with APS learning teams, as well as craft practitioners (subject matter experts) to co-design and facilitate high quality APS craft offerings.
The APS Academy Faculty has been established to guide, influence and contribute to the design and delivery of initiatives to build APS craft capabilities. The Faculty will drive Academy excellence by connecting the Academy to craft experts across the system. Dr David Gruen, as Head of the Data Profession, is a Faculty member, which acknowledges the strong focus on building data capability in the APS. Data is central to many APS craft areas, such as policy, service delivery and stakeholder engagement, therefore Dr Gruen’s expertise is highly valued. The Data Profession will be working closely with the APS Academy this year to develop centralised data capability offerings for the service. For example, helping the service access data literacy development, recognised as foundational data capabilities beneficial to all APS employees will be one opportunity to showcase the networked approach of the Academy working with subject matter experts.
The launch of the APS Academy coincides with the release of Highly Capable, Future-Ready the APS Learning and Development (L&D) Strategy and Action Plan. The L&D Strategy and Action Plan set out the practical steps the APS will take to achieve a well-governed, targeted and collaborative one-APS approach to L&D. Through the Strategy, the APS will foster a culture of continuous learning, to support employees to build the skills and knowledge they need to learn and adapt at the speed of change.
The APS Academy will act as the flagship initiative to give effect to the L&D Strategy and Action Plan. Through this, it will connect the best of our public service knowledge, resources and experience to build capability.
For more information visit the APS Academy.