Rethinking collaboration with Professor Helen Sullivan FIPAA
IPAA Queensland invites our members and partners to be challenged at our exclusive 2024 Irene Longman Oration event taking place on Wednesday 20th November, supported by our major partner Holding Redlich.
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from our distinguished speaker Professor Helen Sullivan FIPAA, Dean ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.
RETHINKING COLLABORATION
Collaboration is embedded in the pursuit of public purpose – between and across tiers and spheres of government, with private, not for profit, and community actors, and through market and network instruments.
Collaboration came of age i the late 20th century, a consequence of changed global conditions and sweeping public administration reforms that re-shaped policy and practice.
Until now.
The current global instability, the uneven legacy of reform and the emergence/persistence of public policy challenges suggests we need a new approach.
The Irene Longman Oration is a timely opportunity to think about where we are and to draw inspiration from Irene’s preparedness to challenge the status quo to consider how we can shape what comes next.
The Oration begins by asking what is the ‘status quo’ in public policy and administration and draw on the enduring power of ideas about economics and security to provide an answer. It argues that a new approach is required built on values of sustainability, sovereignty, and justice.
This challenges us to think and act differently paying attention to time, knowledge and expertise, and citizen participation in the redesign of the public administration system.
Collaboration is integral to the values and features of this future system but it will take new forms and require new capabilities.
As an accomplished researcher and author at the nexus government, governance, policy and politics, Helen will no doubt present an oration that will challenge and inform attendees on how they can elevate and amplify their own public purpose practice using the latest in research.
IPAA Queensland’s Irene Longman Oration seeks to provide a unique opportunity for IPAA Queensland members and a select group of noted executive public servants and connections to come together, hear from a prominent leader with a focus on a relevant aspect of the sector, and encourage public interest and contemporary thinking.
The Irene Longman Oration is an exclusive, invite-only event on IPAA Queensland’s annual calendar, with individual members able to attend this event for free as part of their membership.
Date: Wednesday 20 November 2024
Time: 3:45 for a 4pm start
Place: Level 41, 1 William Street, Brisbane
Price: Invitation only to members and partners
Haven’t received your invite and keen to come along? Join now as an individual to secure your seat.
This event is made possible with support from major partner
About IPAA Queensland’s Irene Longman Oration:
The IPAA Queensland oration is named in honour of Irene Longman, the first female elected to the Queensland Parliament (1929-1932) and dedicated ‘public servant’ to the community for over 30 years. Her values and legacy include the welfare of women, children and people with intellectual disabilities; establishing the first education opportunity classes; the first women police in Queensland; creating a separate Children’s Court; and for the appointment of an advisory panel in difficult cases of juvenile delinquency.
The oration is an annual flagship event, similar to IPAA National’s Garran Oration (in honour of Sir Robert Garran, the first Commonwealth public servant) and the orations of state and territory IPAAs. The oration’s intent is to honour an individual and their contribution to the field of public administration. It is delivered by a prominent leader who will focus on a relevant aspect of the sector to encourage public interest and contemporary thinking.
About Professor Helen Sullivan FIPAA: 
Professor Helen Sullivan is a political sociologist and public policy scholar whose work explores state-society relationships, and their interactions with public policy systems. She is the author/editor of nine books, including Collaboration and Public Policy. Agency in the Pursuit of Public Purpose (2022). Educated in the humanities and social sciences she holds degrees in Modern History and Political Science (BA Comb. Hons), Women’s Studies (MA), and Public Policy (PhD). She currently serves as Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University.
Helen’s career is defined by a sustained commitment to bridging the gap between research and practice. She has designed and led multiple innovations in the UK and Australia. In 2013 she established the Melbourne School of Government – a multi-disciplinary School that broke new ground through its integration of engagement and impact with research and teaching. Between 2017 and 2021 she was Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU, Asia and the Pacific’s leading graduate public policy school.
Helen’s research has received ‘Best Paper/Publication’ awards from global academic societies including the Public Management Research Association and the International Research Society for Public Management. In 2003 Helen was awarded a Fellowship of the (now) Higher Education Academy in recognition of her innovative and interactive teaching. In 2017 she was made a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia in recognition of her significant contribution to public policy practice.
Helen’s latest book ‘Collaboration and Public Policy – Agency in the Pursuit of Public Purpose’ is also shortlisted for the Mackenzie Prize (for the best book in political science) as awarded by the UK PSA.