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GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN PUBLIC POLICY AND FINANCE: DELIVERING HIGH-QUALITY CITIZEN-CENTRED POLICY AND SERVICES.
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GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN PUBLIC POLICY AND FINANCE: DELIVERING HIGH-QUALITY CITIZEN-CENTRED POLICY AND SERVICES.
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THE GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN PUBLIC POLICY AND FINANCE IS A STUDY
PROGRAM TAILORED TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR. IT PROVIDES PARTICIPANTS
WITH A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE DEPENDENT RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN PUBLIC POLICY, PUBLIC FINANCES, THE FISCAL ENVIRONMENT
AND THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BUDGET FRAMEWORK.
The program has been co-designed by the Department of Finance, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Treasury, the Department of Education and Training and the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA) at the University of Canberra (UC).
It provides participants with policy and management skills vital to navigating the challenges and opportunities of 21st century governance. The program is designed to cultivate the core capabilities of the policy profession in Westminster-style democracies. In brief, these are skills of establishing strategic direction; designing better and more sustainable policy; creating user-centred service design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation; engaging people and expertise; strategic communication to gain support for ideas in a contested policy environment; and delivering quality outcomes while ensuring value for money. The program challenges participants to think innovatively and to be open to doing policy differently, in order to address complex contemporary policy and governance challenges.
This is a deeply practical course that seeks to make a genuine impact to the quality of policy analysis and financial management in the APS. The skills and capabilities of the policy profession are explored in part through an examination of the process of designing and gaining support for a New Policy Proposal, and throughout the course students are encouraged to work on policy and management issues that they are dealing with in their employment.
The course is facilitated by world-leading academics from the university and incorporates a range of prominent guest speakers including former and current senior public servants, industry experts and academics presenting case studies and translating theory into practical, real-world workplace scenarios.
The Graduate Certificate is targeted at Executive Level and newly appointed Senior Executive Service officers in the Australian Public Service.
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The policy profession encompasses a broad range of roles within the APS, from policy analysis and formulation, to program management, service design and delivery, financial management and strategic communications. This course has been developed to enhance participants’ critical skills for completing roles in these areas, but these skills are highly transportable to other public sector roles.
Past graduates have included policy practitioners seeking to further their skills and understanding of the policy profession, as well as a diverse array of public servants in non-policy roles who have sought to further understand policy processes to better perform their own roles and to broaden their skills.
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ESTABLISHING A STRATEGIC DIRECTIONSEEING THE BIG PICTURECHANGING AND IMPROVINGMAKING EFFECTIVE DECISIONS
DESIGNING IMPROVED SUSTAINABLE POLICYCLARIFYING GOALSEVIDENCE-BASED THINKINGRESPONSIVE EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND USER-CENTRED DESIGNTHOROUGH BUSINESS APPRAISALIMPORTANCE OF BEING OPEN AND ACCOUNTABLEESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS FOR FEEDBACK AND EVALUATION
ENGAGE PEOPLE AND EXPERTISELEADING AND COMMUNICATINGCOLLABORATING AND PARTNERINGSTRATEGIC COMMUNICATION TO WIN THE WAR OF IDEASBUILDING CAPABILITY
DELIVER RESULTSACHIEVING COMMERCIAL OUTCOMESDELIVERING VALUE FOR MONEYMANAGING A QUALITY SERVICE, PROGRAM OR PROJECT
THE CRITICAL SKILLS OF THE POLICY PROFESSION THAT THE COURSE DEVELOPS
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THE PROGRAM COMPRISES INTERACTIVE LECTURES, PROBLEM-SOLVING WORKSHOPS AND CASE
STUDIES. THERE IS A STRONG EMPHASIS ON COLLABORATIVE LEARNING UNDERPINNED BY RESEARCH-
BASED EVIDENCE AND PRACTICAL TOOLS. THE PROGRAM COMPRISES OF FOUR UNITS. EACH UNIT
INCLUDES ASSESSMENTS THAT GIVE PARTICIPANTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY THEIR LEARNING TO
REAL POLICY OR MANAGEMENT ISSUES FROM THEIR WORKPLACE.
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This unit aims to deepen the participants knowledge of the theory and practice in pub-lic policy-making in Australia. Participants ex-plore the challenging contemporary context for policy, key tools for thinking through the policy process strategically, innovative ways of doing policy design, and the importance of strategic communication as a way of winning the war of ideas to establish key policy.
This unit discusses the difference between management and leadership. It evaluates the qualities of leadership required during a period of significant change where business as usual is no longer possible and government is expected to inno-vate by example. The unit covers the internal management of organisations and the products or services generated in the public sector. Sound judgement is required to lead large, complex, public sector organisations in conditions that in-clude unpredictable elements. Themes in this unit include negotiating the organisation’s task environment, understand-ing and managing risks, structuring work processes, main-streaming innovation cultures and processes, and delivering complex national programs. It aims to support managers to become leaders and be more reflective about their practices, seeing themselves as part of a broader system and seeking to understand and diagnose the fundamental social core of the problems they aim to solve.
This unit explores the way in which economic theory and evi-dence can be used to analyse economic policy issues of con-cern to contemporary governments. The unit focuses on how economics is applied in a policy context. It helps participants think critically about their policy role in economic terms and provides the tools and techniques to develop economic argu-ments about the effects of policy. It also provides the tools for participants to critique and assess economic arguments. The unit also examines aspects of the Australian Budget Process, with a particular focus on how and why governments decide to support New Policy Proposals through the Expenditure Review Committee. We explore both the process and politics through which proposals gain support and the work that needs to be done before the proposal is ready for submission.
This unit evaluates the policies, procedures and skills needed for effective budgeting and financial management in the public sector. Core topics covered include budget systems and controls, public sector accounting and costing, financial reporting for accountability, capital budgeting and debt management. The unit provides the analytical skills needed to understand the links between budgeting and the macro-fiscal framework, the political decision-making process, the interests of citizens and the creation of public value. It shows the different budget roles that different actors within government play and looks at the interplay between “spenders” and “guardians”. The unit demonstrates and explores the many key relationship management skills required to ensure effective government financial management.
PUBLIC POLICY – DESIGN AND ANALYSIS
LEADING, MANAGING AND IMPLEMENTING CHANGE
ECONOMIC POLICY ANALYSIS – THE AUSTRALIAN BUDGETARY FRAMEWORK
MANAGING GOVERNMENT FINANCES
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As a participant, studying the Graduate Certificate in Public Policy and Finance you can expect:
• To gain an enhanced understanding of the political, policy, demographic, social and environmental context facing Commonwealth Government and how to work within this context to achieve better outcomes
• to gain enhanced budgetary problem-solving skills with access to the frameworks, skills and knowledge to solve complex budgetary problems
• to gain greater understanding of whole-of-government dynamics and how central agencies work within these dynamics
• to develop broad networks with valued peers• to be a part of a program that is building whole-of-
government capability• to be better placed to contribute to addressing
contemporary and emerging policy issues such as climate change, and digital transformation
• to exchange ideas with leading experts from the APS and beyond
• to build your own personal leadership qualities• to be empowered, inspired and re-energised, and
more ready to face the challenges of government in the 21st century.
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The Institute seeks to integrate the best of academia and the best of practice in high quality teaching teams to ensure that its programs are fit for purpose and provide thinking space for innovation. The academic members deliver core pedagogy and the practitioners help to tease out some of the indicative practice-based issues in problem-solving clinics.
The academic team for this program will include: Professor Patrick Dunleavy (IGPA/London School of Economics), ARC Laureate Professor John Dryzek, Professor Mark Evans (Democracy 2025, IGPA), Professor Gerry Stoker (IGPA/Southampton), Dr Joanne Kelly (University of Sydney), Professor Laurie Brown (NATSEM/IGPA) and Dr Paul Porteous (IGPA/Harvard Kennedy School).
Our adjunct faculty for guest lectures includes: Adj Professor Gordon de Brouwer, Professor Meredith Edwards AM (former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), Adj Professor Michelle Grattan AO, Adj Professor Virginia Haussegger (ABC), Professor John Hewson (Former Liberal Party Leader), Adj Professor Renee Leon (Secretary, Human Services), Adj Professor Dr Martin Parkinson (Former Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), Adj Professor Dr Ian Watt AO, Adj Professor Ian McPhee AO, Adj Professor Carmel McGregor PSM, and Adj Professor Tu Pham PSM.
The course also utilises the skills of current APS SES speakers on issues where current practitioner views provide the best way to learn about the operations of government. This includes, for example, up to date insights on review processes associated with the Expenditure Review Committee’s examination of New Policy Proposals, as well as direct advice on how best to manage the engagement between line and central agencies.
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Outstanding and professional presentation.
Mark Evans was [an] excellent convener and leader. [His] depth and breadth of experience came through, and he’s clearly talented at teaching and communicating ideas.
Provided access to some very high quality presentations that I would never have access to.
It was really useful to have all of this key info and theory pulled together in a relevant and current way.
IGPA exceeded my expectations by providing an enjoyable learning experience and wide-ranging subject experts.
Very positive overall. Lots of knowledge imparted; stories shared of good examples of policy and innovation; high profile speakers providing valuable insights; good balance of theory and practice. Exceeded expectations.
Fabulous... lots of interesting topics and new ways of thinking. The course was positive and so were the people.
Fantastic introduction to policy; very insightful, interesting and helpful.
FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS
10 1. League of Scholars (2018).
THE INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNANCE AND POLICY ANALYSIS
The Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA) at the University of Canberra (UC) was established in January 2014. The aim of the Institute is to create and sustain an international class research institution for the study and practice of governance and public policy. The Institute has a strong social mission and is committed to the production of leading edge research and research driven education programs with genuine public value and, by implication, policy impact.
In a short period of time IGPA has become the major provider of graduate certificate education programs to the Australian Public Service. Furthermore, its outstanding research has recently driven UC’s rise to no.1 in Australia and no. 22 in the world in Public Administration.1
IGPA SEES ITSELF AS A COLLABORATOR OF FIRST
RESORT IN BOTH RESEARCH AND EDUCATION,
WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE APS AND THE
PUBLIC SECTOR AT OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
IN AUSTRALIA AND OVERSEAS. IN UNDERTAKING
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS WITH THE PUBLIC
SECTOR, WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON BEING INCLUSIVE,
INDEPENDENT, INNOVATIVE, AND, ABOVE ALL,
RIGOROUS AND RELIABLE.
INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNANCE AND POLICY ANALYSIS VALUES
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Dr Brendan McCaffrieDirector IGPA Education Programs
02 6201 5991
governanceinstitute.edu.au
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