On our second episode of our APS Reform in Action series, we hear from Lisa Bush and Maree Wilson from Geoscience Australia about the power of geospatial data for better decision-making in the public sector.

If you want to make better decisions, you need to have quality, trusted data. Unfortunately, critical data can often sit in siloes or be scattered across spreadsheets. Geoscience Australia’s Digital Atlas of Australia steps up to this challenge, providing a unified and accessible data set that can help you build better policies – or decide where you want to build your new home.

Lisa Bush, head of Geoscience Australia's National Location Information Branch, and Maree Wilson, Chief of Place and Communities Division, join host David Pembroke, CEO of contentgroup, to talk about making geospatial data more accessible through the Atlas. They also shine a light on how it can improve functions such as social services or emergency management, and enhance data capabilities in the public sector.

This series is delivered in partnership with the Australian Public Service Commission.

The Digital Atlas of Australia, a collaborative project between Geoscience Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Social Services was a finalist for the 2024 IPAA ACT Spirit of Service Awards.

Key tips:

1. Geospatial data can help you make decisions in minutes - make the best use of it

2. Don't be afraid to try, you won't need to be a geospatial data expert to use the Atlas

3. If you’re creating or using national data, in your role, reach out to the Digital Atlas team.

Show notes:

The Digital Atlas of Australia | Geoscience Australia

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Returning for part 2 of our new ‘APS Reform in Action’ series, Dr Rachel Bacon and Professor Janine O’Flynn discuss how Australia is learning from other countries’ public service best practice – and vice versa.

Wanting to do things better doesn’t always mean you have to re-invent the wheel. In this episode, Dr Rachel Bacon from the Australian Public Service Commission and Professor Janine O’Flynn from ANU Crawford School reveal lessons from overseas and introduce the concept of ‘radical incrementalism’ – making small improvements to achieve a larger goal.

Host David Pembroke, CEO of contentgroup, also speaks to our guests about why effective collaboration will remain a key tool to responding to increasingly complex challenges.

This series is produced in partnership with the Australian Public Service Commission.

Key tips:

1. Instead of aiming for radical change, look for small changes over time.
2. If you want people to collaborate, you need to make it part of their performance assessment.
3. Foster purpose and pride by looking at what works well.

Show notes

• APS Reform | Australian Government
• The Cult of Collaboration in Public Policy | AJPA

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Launching our new ‘APS Reform in Action’ series, we hear from Dr Rachel Bacon and Professor Janine O’Flynn about enduring APS Reform and why public trust shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The APS Reform Agenda has been a major project for the Australian Public Service over the past years – so, where is it at and where will it go in the future?

Dr Rachel Bacon, deputy commissioner, Integrity, Reform and Enabling Services at the Australian Public Service Commission, and Professor Janine O’Flynn, director of the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, reflect on changes to the Public Service Act, the impact of capability reviews and long-term Insights Briefings, and the value of stewardship.

Together with David Pembroke, CEO of contentgroup, they also talk about protecting the APS as an ongoing institution and maintaining trust with the public, as discourse about the value of public services grows globally.

This series is produced in partnership with the Australian Public Service Commission.

Key tips:

1. To make change stick, you need a shift in culture, a fresh mindset, capability uplift, and patience.
2. Public trust is not a given – it takes continuous effort to maintain.
3. Stewardship sets the public service apart from the private sector – be an active steward for the service.

Show notes

• APS Reform | Australian Government
• Public Service Amendment Bill | Parliament of Australia
• Long-term Insights Briefings | Australian Public Service Commission
• Pathways to Positive Public Administration | Edward Elgar

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.