Discussion about performance setting in the public sector, part of a PhD dissertation by Dr Jayne Meyer-Tucker, a seasoned senior executive with more than three decades of policy implementation experience. It is this experience that led Dr Meyer-Tucker to complete a rigorous enquiry into the tensions between top-down command and control policy implementation and the desire for bottom-up decision making at the local level. In this podcast we explore the relationship between purpose, process and performance.

AusTTA - Government Guild Podcast 001 - Government Outcomes Measurement (August 2018 - Final)

Welcome to the AusTTA monthly Government Transformation Guild podcast. The topic of this podcast is transforming the Australian Public Service (APS) by 2030.

The AusTTA Transformational Leadership Program, developed in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU), was made up of 14 professionals from a range of sectors and industries. For the inaugural program one of the two cohorts considered the future of the APS and what it needs to look like in 2030 to meet the needs of its customers.  A key outcome of this research are the mindsets and ways of working needed for this transformation to be successful.

Input was received from across the APS, including the Australian Public Service Commission, Treasury and Finance, as well as the private sector. This podcast focuses on aspects of this research, including:

Trends and potential disruptions affecting the APS;
High-level research findings; and
Mindset changes required for APS to transform in time for 2030.
We hope you enjoy this podcast and that you will join us for another Government Transformation topic next month.

AusTTA - Government Guild Podcast - APS2030 (September 2018)

Welcome to another installment of the AusTTA Government Transformation Guild podcast on all thing’s transformation and government. With me today, your host John Lawrance, are Dr Shari Read, Transformation Management & Leadership lecturer at the Australian National University, and Jack Story, DXC Public Sector Chief Technologist ANZ Region. Shari has researched and taught extensively on human-centred leadership including identity work, future of work and transformational leadership. Jack has held various leadership roles in both the US Air Force as a pilot and more recently in the private sector as a technologist.

Together we explore the role of situational awareness, identity and attentional intelligence in Transformational Leadership. We begin with a discussion on the meaning of Transformational Leadership, including the distinction between Transformational Leaders and leading transformations. This is followed by a discussion on the importance of job/culture fit, diversity and the importance of being “knowledge hunters”.

AusTTA - Government Transformation Guild - Transformational Leadership (October 2018)

Welcome to another episode of the AusTTA Government Transformation Guild podcast, about all things government and transformation with John Lawrance. In this month’s podcast we explore the role of government in regulating new technologies including blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.

With me here in Canberra is Carl Ward, Group Technology Officer Health and Public Service at Accenture, and we are joined by Louise Cantrill the Partner Insurance and Risk at Mills Oakley in Sydney, Australia.

Our focus today is on three things:

·       What is meant by “AI” and why is there a need for an ethical or moral framework?

·       If AI is not (yet) conscious, how and why are there biases with this technology?

·       What are the main risks, for which citizens need protection, with this technology (including examples)?

AusTTA - Government Transformation Guild - AI And Government Regulation (November 2018)

“Since the mid-2000s, the “Smart City” has emerged as a popular discourse describing technological solutions to challenges of urban governance”[1]. While there are many definitions of ‘Smart City’, a common element is the use of technology and data to improve the wellbeing of citizens.
The increasing importance of wellbeing is reflected in the 2011 UN resolution calling on member states to “undertake steps that give more importance to happiness and well-being” and that the “the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal”[2]. Given increasing urbanisation, combined with ongoing global population growth, the importance of cities in influencing quality of life is increasing. The question then is how to promote outcomes that are in the best interests of citizens and society as whole while addressing a range of ‘wicked problems’ including overcrowding, pollution, crime etc.


[1] Understanding the Contextual Development of Smart City Initiatives: A Pragmatist Methodology by Tim Tompson (2017).

[2] Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/07/382052

Government Transformation

AusTTA Government Transformation Podcast - Smart Cities (January 2019)

In this podcast with Anna Johnston (Director, Salinger Privacy), Anne Lyons (Visiting Fellow, Australian Strategic Policy Institute) and John Lawrance we explore National Identity. If "Digital Identity is the next cyber frontier", then how do we define privacy in the 21st century and who is responsible for protecting both our individual and national privacy? Is the federal Government responsible for protecting our national identity? What are the implications of new technologies, such as blockchain and quantum computing, for defining and protecting national identity?

Even the definition of data privacy varies has implications for what needs to be protected, with countries in Europe using the term data protection instead of privacy. This broadens the definition away from “perimeter security” to a more holistic view of data and information privacy that goes beyond confidentiality. For example, the focus tends to be on confidentiality whereas data integrity and availability are equally important (CIA). 

The perception of a lack of integrity in government and private sector data holdings, such as land titles or banking data, can undermine confidence and have a knock-on effect to economic growth. There are both state and non-state agencies that are actively engaged in cyber warfare that threatens not only physical but virtual security as well. Which then raises questions about who is responsible, and resourced accordingly, to detect, manage and prevent such threats? If the government, then is this the Department of Defence? Is government to be held accountable for setting standards and protecting national data?

With all the associated challenges and opportunities, a national conversation is one way to assess the trade-offs between extracting value from data for the national good versus the risks. For any country or organisation to succeed and prosper in the 21st century requires the ability to capture and extract value from data, which can be either an asset or a liability.

Government Transformation - National Identity

National Identity

In this episode of the Australian Transformation and Turnaround Association Government Transformation Guild podcast, about government and transformation with John Lawrance. In this month’s podcast, where we seek to promote informed debate about ‘best practice’ transformation by drawing on government, business and academia, we explore the similarities and differences between Project/Program Management and Transformations.

AusTTA Government Transformation Podcasts