Many organisations this year have been required to respond and adapt to the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19. Especially in their approach to the digitalisation of their services. In this episode of Public Sector Perspectives, we look at embracing digital services in government amidst a global pandemic with Joanne de Morton, Chief Executive Officer, Service Victoria. How Service Victoria has modernised its digital operations to be at the forefront of innovation and as a result has established greater trust in government through these everyday interactions.

To mark NAIDOC WEEK 2020 and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, in this special episode of Public Sector Perspectives we are joined by Elly Patira, Executive Director, Treaty, Aboriginal Affairs Policy, Aboriginal COVID-19 Taskforce for the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Elly describes how Aboriginal communities in Victoria stopped the spread of COVID-19 through cultural and community-led action. Meanwhile, in the switch to working from home, there have also been surprising outcomes for engagement in the Treaty process.

2020 has put enormous stress on public servants. In this episode of Public Sector Perspectives, we look at how the Department of Education and Training responded to the challenges of COVID-19 and why their CIO, Elizabeth Wilson believes the term ‘transformation’ can have an adverse reaction. To encourage small incremental changes that in turn optimises the experience people have with the public service we need to rethink our approach to digital transformation.

One of the challenges facing all long term public sector institutions is renewal – bringing in new people with new ideas and building and rebuilding a sector that better reflects the community it serves. In today’s episode of Public Sector Perspectives, we talk to someone who epitomises that renewal, Bonnie Cavanagh is a Program Manager in the Media and Corporate Communications Unit in Victoria Police. She has worked at Victoria Police for more than 12 years, starting off as forensic officer - providing frontline forensic technical expertise - and then moving into senior policy, project program management positions. Bonnie is also a proud Taungurung woman and won IPAA Victoria’s Young Indigenous Leader Scholarship in 2018. Bonnie has some unique insights into the work of the public sector, how it can better reflect the community it serves and how it can attract young people who bring new ideas and new perspectives.

In this episode of Public Sector Perspectives, we hear from Emma Grey, Manager of Macroeconomic Policy & Forecasting at Deloitte Access Economics, who discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on the social economic structure in Victoria from the lens of a young professional. As Victoria looks to start navigating its way to ‘COVID-19 normal’, the roadmap to reopening turns our attention towards the state of the economy. It’s difficult to fully measure what has been lost both economically and socially and so with this comes the challenge to capture the data and assist Victorians to move forward.

VicHealth was a world-leading example of public sector innovation when it was established in 1987, for more than 30 years it has supported and promoted new ways of improving public health. In this episode of Public Sector Perspectives, we speak to Dr Sandro Demaio, the CEO of VicHealth, about how COVID-19 is reshaping the work of one of Australia’s most influential public health organisations.

Last month, the State government confirmed Local government elections will go ahead as scheduled, for Saturday 24 October 2020. In this podcast episode of Public Sector Perspectives, we are fortunate to gain an insight to the election preparations already well underway. Warwick Gately AM, Victorian Electoral Commissioner, discusses how the VEC is planning to deliver these state-wide council elections entirely via postal ballot. Warwick also shares his own adaptive leadership approach during this pandemic and reassures us that even during these very difficult circumstances, “we can have absolute confidence in the way public administration is conducted”.

“One of the big debates in the leadership of digital transformation is the merits of a ‘big bang’ strategic program versus a more tactical, incremental approach,” says the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Chief Information Officer and IPAA Victoria Fellow, Dr Steve Hodgkinson. IPAA Victoria’s Public Sector Perspectives interviewed top 50 CIO, Dr Hodgkinson to discuss his views toward organisational transformation. COVID-19 has refocused attention on the power of digital tools to transform the public sector, so what does that actually mean and what is really possible? Listen to Dr Hodgkinson’s podcast of Public Sector Perspectives in which he reveals why he’s a digital pragmatist and why the concept of ‘digital fitness’ is crucial in the creation and adoption of new digital systems.

If a city is constantly evolving and growing, what happens when we press the pause button? In this episode of Public Sector Perspectives Podcast, IPAA Victoria is joined by Andrew Wear, Director of Economic Development at the City of Melbourne and senior public sector professional. Andrew discusses this poignant question and how residents across Melbourne are facing the pandemic in very different ways. He has authored, Solved! How Other Countries Have Cracked The World’s Biggest Problems And We Can To, in which he analyses the success of countries around the world and applies these learnings to problems we face in our own backyard.

As a leader, Colin Radford understands human beings are social creatures and his own energy is replenished through interactions with his team. After commencing as Chief Executive for WorkSafe Victoria in November 2019, he was only in the role for a few months before, like so many others, was asked to work from home. This week’s episode of Public Sector Perspectives delves into how Colin built trust and communication with the workforce he had only recently started to lead and how he remains upbeat and confident that Victoria can get through this crisis, if we focus on the right things. As Colin mentions in this episode, “whatever the new normal looks like, it will be different”.