Tuesday 21 January 2025
18:00 – 19:00
(All times are local)
Welcome Reception
Hosted by Kevin Sorkin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Global Government Forum
Tuesday 21 January 2025
19:00 – 19:10
Welcome and Introduction
Siobhan Benita, Moderator, Global Government Forum
Tuesday 21 January 2025
19:10 – 19:20
Platinum Knowledge Partner Welcome
Eleana Liew, Managing Director, Health & Public Service, Accenture
Tuesday 21 January 2025
19:20 – 19:40
Opening Address
Leo Yip, Head of Civil Service (HCS), Singapore Government
Tuesday 21 January 2025
20:30 – 22:00
Indexed for success: Insights from global studies of civil services
Governments around the world are all tackling similar challenges – from tackling climate change to developing digital services – and international rankings can help governments identify best practice – both among global leaders and their peer countries.
This session will share insights from the 2024 Blavatnik Index of Public Administration on the top performing civil services around the world and explore how governments can use the Index as a learning tool to support their transformation and reform efforts, as well as drawing on the findings of Global Government Forum’s own Making Government Work report, to share the lessons from the best-performing governments around the world.
Led by Lord Gus O’Donnell, former UK Cabinet Secretary, Chair of the Blavatnik Index Senior Leadership Panel and executive adviser for Global Government Forum’s Making Government Work report, alongside representatives from the Blavantik School of Government, this session will discuss the key building blocks of a modern civil service – from strategy and leadership, and people and processes, to public policy and national delivery.
Discussions take place over dinner and the session ends at 22:00
Tuesday 21 January 2025
22:30
End of discussions for day one
Wednesday 22 January 2025
09:00 – 10:30
(All times are local)
Model behaviour: how to govern with AI
Governments around the world are already working to deploy artificial intelligence in several different ways, from automating routine tasks to forecasting public health crises.
But to make the most of the potential for AI, governments need to share knowledge and best practice about how to use AI in the public sector.
In particular, governments have been urged by organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to develop a whole-of-government approach on how to use AI – from how to build the skills needed to deliver to how to regulate its use across the wider economy.
This session will look at how governments can create this “enabling environment” around innovation in AI and ensure there are guardrails use of AI, and how governments can work together to develop a shared regulatory environment across borders.
Including presentations and discussion
Presenters:
- Gillian Dorner, Deputy Director, Public Governance Directorate, OECD
- Didi Esther Walson-Jack, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Nigeria
Session followed by refreshment break
Wednesday 22 January 2025
11:00 – 12:30
Joining up government to deliver more for citizens
Government has to deliver a wide range of services – from healthcare for citizens to permits for developments.
The scale of services means that governments around the world are organised in different levels – national, regional and local – and, increasingly, effective service delivery requires central government to work collaboratively with public service colleagues.
This session will look at how governments around the world are working at different levels of government to ensure that services are effectively joined up to deliver a high standard of service to citizens. We will discuss how governments can effectively share data across different organisations – and layers – of government to get the right balance between centralisation and decentralisation and meet challenges that cut across organisational boundaries.
Including presentations and discussion
Presenters:
- Catherine Little CB, Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
- Ms Teoh Zsin Woon, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Singapore
Session followed by lunch
Wednesday 22 January 2025
13:30 – 15:00
Engaged, energised and empathetic: how leaders can help build the best public service
Public services are under increasing pressure to deliver – and this has a knock-on effect on public servants. Global Government Forum research with civil service heads around the world has identified strong leadership as among the key pillars of an effective modern public service, and this session will share insight on the key leadership challenges leaders face and share best practice from around the world on how these can be addressed. The session will discuss what government efforts to improve governance and management capacity have proved effective around the globe, as well as how to increase civil service capability at scale to improve delivery and embrace digital technology.
Including presentations and discussion
Presenters:
- Marie-Chantal Girard, President, Public Service Commission, Canada
- Grace Yip, Managing Director, Health & Public Service, Accenture
Session followed by refreshment break
Supported by…
Wednesday 22 January 2025
15:30 – 17:00
Trust and trust alike: how to ensure governments build and maintain citizen confidence
The many crises that governments have faced in recent years have vividly illustrated the importance of trust. Governments needed to be trusted by their populations in order to listen to messages around the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, as well as about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the economic shocks that resulted.
Such trust will be at an ever-greater premium in the years ahead, as governments around the world embark on decarbonisation programmes as well as look to encourage the safe and secure use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital identities and credentials. This session will look at the steps governments have successfully taken to boost trust, and best practice in how to develop and deepen trust.
Including presentations and discussion
Presenters:
- Gordon de Brouwer, Public Service Commissioner, Australia
- Taimar Peterkop, State Secretary, Estonia
Wednesday 22 January 2025
17:00 – 17:10
Summary and Conclusion
Wednesday 22 January 2025
17:10 – 18:30
Networking Reception
Wednesday 22 January 2025
18:30