ANZSOG Report 2012 - Australia and New Zealand School of ...

Farewell from ANZSOG’s Inaugural DeanWhen I was asked to do a farewell message,I reflected for a moment on this request. Iam saying farewell from being Dean, but notfrom ANZSOG where I hope to continue myinvolvement for a couple of years or more.So my farewell reflection is from a Deanshipperspective, not an ANZSOG perspective.When I was first approached by Terry Moran, GlynDavis and Peter Allen in 2002 about being Deanof ANZSOG, I unhesitatingly accepted. This wasdespite previous unsuccessful attempts to launcha national school of government. It was clear that anew approach with many innovative elements wouldbe required and, on a first look, the key ingredientswere present.ANZOG’s vision has worked well and has attractedstrong support from our member governments,universities and most of all from participants whohave become enthusiastic alumni.The programs have indeed been high level andhave captured the interaction of good management,good policy and politics (whether good or bad). Thechallenging needs of higher level officials have beenaddressed in a way participants and governmentsfind very useful.ANZSOG’s alumni have rated our courses highly andtypically recommend them to others. The School hasbeen a great success in the achievement of its coreaims of providing rigorous and relevant programs toparticipants who are going on to assume the veryhighest levels of leadership in the public sector.The unique model of collaboration betweenuniversities and governments has also worked verywell. There is close communication, interaction andjoint activity. Countless times I have been able tocall people who are high in the ranks of governmentand have always found them helpful, enthusiasticsupporters of ANZSOG.Some people wondered whether our networkedvirtual system of governance would work well withso many partners and with no central campus.In fact, it has worked extremely well. Comparedwith a traditional school model where there is onecentral campus, to which it would be hoped thatparticipants from other jurisdictions would come,there has been a sense of equal ownership by allour partners around Australia and New Zealand.The system of governance has worked very wellbecause both governments and universities havebeen strongly committed to the School working well.Every time it has had a success, this has reinforcedtheir support.A key ANZSOG commitment from the start has beento achieving excellence in the delivery of programs andin all our activities. We have sought the best teachersand researchers from Australia, New Zealand and fromoverseas resulting in the supply of a judicious mixtureof top academics and top practitioners.This has been augmented by having excellentmanagement and administrative staff, as confirmedby the extremely high ratings that participants give themanagement and administration of our programs.The result has been a school that achieves standardsand outcomes that are the equal of, if not betterthan, anywhere in the world.An interesting development in recent times has beenInternational Programs. When former AustralianPrime Minister John Howard opened the Schoolin 2003, he advocated that it should undertaketeaching activities for the neighbourhoods ofAustralia and New Zealand. This led to the launchingof the Pacific Executive (PACE) Program. Morerecently we have been conducting a program forvery high-level Chinese officials nominated by theOrganisation Department of the Communist Party ofChina. Our reputation has spread and next year therewill be two programs for very senior Indian officials.In the last two years I have been committed toraising International Programs to a high level. Inmy view they are a necessary part of the School’saspirations to be one of the best Schools of its kindin the world. It is also valuable for Australia and NewZealand to establish high level contacts in countrieslike China, India, Indonesia and the Pacific – thisindirectly brings a stronger international flavour intoour domestic teaching.2