Four Pillars Strategy

The formation of the ANZSOG Institute for Governance provides the opportunity to revise the Institute's strategy supporting its aim to be a significant research institution delivering public value in governance and government.  After consultations with Institute stakeholders the Institute's new strategic framework is supported by four 'pillars'. 

The central pillar is the Institute's research programs - these are define the areas of governance the research members are interested in and hence what the Institute does across all its activities, making the horizontal 'beams' of the strategic framework.  The three ancilliary pillars serve to extend or strengthen the research pillar in terms of developing real public value for practitioners as well as researchers:- professional development building practitioners' skills and knowledge; professional engagement building research-practitioner networks and stimulating innovation; and graduate education building our national capacity for research/evidence-based policy innovation and implementation.

Pillar I: Research Programs and Support Activities

The Institute's five existing research themes are being expanded to clearly identify emerging or existing areas of research members' expertise amongst the University staff and Institute adjuncts. These encompass governance related research that reflect concentrated research strength actively engaged in pure or action-based research and related development activities with Institute members and partners, linked into postgraduate teaching programs.

The role of Institute Research Programs is to:

• produce research outputs of national and international leading class (as determined by the capacity of the Program Team);
• facilitate interdisciplinary or disciplinary research culture where appropriate;
• foster national and/or international research collaboration (as determined by the capacity of the Program Team);
• increase research income from national and international sources for class 1, 2, & 3 research funding depending on the capacity of the programme team;
• where appropriate act as a think tank to the ACT government;
• attract high quality research students;
• contribute to conferencing and regular seminar activity in areas of research strength; and,
• contribute to interdisciplinary MPA coursework programmes where appropriate and desirable.

Pillar II. Professional Development Programs

The Institute aims to provide world leading professional development programs in its
areas of expertise.

The Institute provides a platform for the delivery of a broad range of MPA and professional development activities aimed at supporting the international modernising public services agenda in collaboration with ANZSOG university and government partners including collaborative provision with the Australian Public
Service Commission and Chartered Secretaries Australia. The public/voluntary sector both in Australia and internationally is increasingly looking to ‘up skill’ and develop its workforce, with governments becoming more aware that managing in the public sector is as complex, turbulent and challenging as many of its private sector counterparts. Indeed, The Professional Skills for Government programme was introduced to ‘enable staff to develop the skills and experience needed to design and deliver 21st century services.’

This is also a theme common to many international public service providers. The MPA is increasingly
being badged as ‘the public sector MBA’, offering students a similar core management skills set for example in modules such as Policy Analysis, Public Finance, Public Management and Delivery, Leading and Managing Change, Strategic Planning and Understanding Governance, but with an opportunity to critically evaluate these within a public sector framework. This approach takes account of issues such as public accountability, requirements for equity, transparency and probity, all of which make the sector unique. An MPA programme offers public professionals the chance to undertake a postgraduate degree programme directly relevant to both their current role and future career development.

Pillar III. Professional Engagement Programs

The national profile of the ANZSOG Institute lies not only on its ability to produce international quality research and professional development programs but also in its role as a trusted knowledge broker bringing together leading thinkers from academe, governmental, private sector and non governmental organisations to discuss critical governance issues of common concern. The Institute therefore aims to be a trusted knowledge broker of high international reputation.

Pillar IV. Graduate Education Programs

There is currently a national shortage of public administration teachers and researchers with PhDs in Australia. The Institute’s fourth pillar seeks to support its faculty partners to build an inclusive and dynamic research student community which will help us to address this national problem.