Australian Public Service (APS)
Complex Project Management Profession
STRUCTURE | EFFICIENCY | ACCOUNTABILITY
Leading the Way in Complex Project Management
The Australian Government has recently established the Australian Public Service (APS) Complex Project Management Profession to enhance the skills and capabilities of professionals managing complex projects within the APS. This initiative aims to build the skills for complex project management excellence, ensuring that the APS is well-equipped to handle the challenges of complex projects.
For more information, please visit the APS Complex Project Management Profession consultation page, the announcement by the Minister for the Public Service, and the APS Professions page.
As the Peak Body for Complex Project Management the International Centre for Complex Project Management (ICCPM) is uniquely positioned to support this initiative.
This web page is intended to be a community quick reference page in support of the APS CPM Profession. We invite you to explore our website to learn more about our programs, events, and resources designed to support your professional growth and success.
Contact us today to find out how we can support your government department. Get involved, stay informed, and take your complex project management skills to the next level.
The Projectification of Government Policy Development
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Introduction
This article explores the increasing trend of treating government policy development as a series of discrete projects, a phenomenon known as “projectification.” This approach aims to bring more structure, efficiency, and accountability to the policy-making process. However, it also presents several challenges for the Australian government. These challenges include balancing short-term project goals with long-term policy outcomes, ensuring adequate stakeholder engagement, and maintaining flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. The article delves into these issues, highlighting the complexities and potential pitfalls and limitations of traditional project management approaches to policy development, and introduces complex project leadership as an approach for managing complex policy development projects.
Projectification Explained
Projectification is a growing trend where typically non-project-based organisations, including government departments, adopt traditional project management processes and practices to achieve their objectives. It refers to the increasing trend of organising work and activities into projects rather than traditional, business and or government as usual processes. This concept has gained traction as organisations, governments and societies face growing complexity and the need for flexibility and innovation however ironically some research has shown that the increase of traditional projectification has reduced innovation.
Government Service Delivery as a Complex Project
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Introduction
Government service delivery is a multifaceted endeavour that involves the implementation of policies designed to meet the needs of the public. From healthcare and education to infrastructure and social services, the delivery of these services is inherently complex. Government departments often implement ‘projects’ to enable the service delivery.
Citizens expect a ‘user-first’ approach for all the services they receive which recognises and understands their personal journeys through the service system. With greater complexity in certain service offerings, citizens also expect a more personalised approach with greater client care and support.
The complexity of these ‘citizen-centred’ service delivery enabling projects arises from the interplay of various factors within a system of systems environment, including but not limited to navigating political cycles, policy development cycles, red tape, managing probity and accountability, influence and coercion, stakeholder engagement, budgetary constraints, resource allocation, and the dynamic nature of societal needs to name a few. Complexity theory and in particular Complexity Leadership Theory offers a valuable lens through which to understand and manage these service delivery related projects and their intricacies.
The Link Between Policy Development and Service Delivery
Government service delivery is the direct consequence of policy development. Policies are crafted to address specific issues, set goals, and outline the means to achieve them. However, the translation of policy into tangible services is not straightforward. It involves navigating a web of interdependencies, uncertainties, and emergent behaviours. Applying a Complexity Theory lens to project delivery helps us appreciate that these processes are not linear but rather adaptive and evolving.