Good Leaders to Better Leaders:
The power of associations
IPAC: THE VALUE OF MEMBERSHIP
by Judy Rogers, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Vancouver
As senior executives we face many business decisions: How to balance the competing priorities for our organizations, how to balance public expectations with the public good. Many of us turn to professional associations to help find the answers. To determine the best fit, we need to ask: What organizations are out there? What are the benefits of belonging to these associations? Which will provide the most value for my time?
I have made a commitment to the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) that has added immeasurable value to my professional and personal life. IPAC is active nationally and regionally. Members include public servants, academics and others dedicated to public sector excellence.
Through opportunities for networking and learning, cutting-edge research, critically acclaimed publications and innovative international programs, IPAC provides members with opportunities generally unavailable through the workplace. The knowledge members gain through IPAC helps them grow as leaders and provide value back to their organizations.
On a regional level, I participate in events that share best practices, provide an opportunity to learn something new, and provide a forum for me to network with other public sector leaders in an informal setting. On a national level, I have built a strong network of relationships with other government executives, which has increased communication channels between my organization and other levels of government. On an international level, I have had the opportunity to introduce other countries to new public sector practices being implemented in Canada. I have also learned about leading edge practices from around the world.
My greatest achievement has been my involvement in the creation of the IPAC New Professionals Initiative. This program brings together emerging leaders in the public service to generate ideas for a new public service. IPAC is providing the forum necessary to engage our future public sector leaders now, and encourages and promotes the public sector as a career of choice for our brightest minds.
Do I have the time to commit to these activities? I admit this is a challenge, but I feel the value I receive for the time invested into IPAC is paid back tenfold. Through my membership, I am a student, a teacher, and a practitioner. Professional associations can add value to your career – allow IPAC to help continue your growth as a public sector leader.
Judy Rogers is the city manager of the City of Vancouver, past-president of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, and the director responsible for the New Professionals Initiative. For more information on the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, please visit www.ipac.ca.
APEX: LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE
by Paul Choquette
APEX is the national association for federal public service executives. Its mission is to foster excellence in leadership and be a strong advocate on behalf of executive interests. It focuses on issues that affect or have the potential to affect executives’ work and day-to-day lives.
Created in 1984, the association is supported by a permanent secretariat headed by an executive director and is guided by a volunteer board of directors elected by association members.
As an effective advocate for executives, the association uses its channels of communication with key public service decision makers, ministers and parliamentarians to get action on executives’ principal concerns.
Through its consultations and working groups, APEX brings the executive community’s expertise to bear on management and governance issues, which have a direct impact not only on executives but also on the broad spectrum of public servants and the Canadians they serve. Examples include modernization of human resource management and public service integrity.
Thanks to its well-respected research, APEX is also a key barometer of the executive work environment. It clearly identifies to members and decision-makers where action is urgently required to ensure healthy and productive conditions for the Public Service’s management team.
Sufficient legal protection for executives is one of the association’s chief ongoing concerns. Its commitment to constructive action consistently yields positive results that directly benefit each executive.
APEX offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect with executives from across the broader public service. Whether it’s joining an APEX working group, representing the association in a federal department or agency or contributing views through consultations, executives make rewarding professional connections through their involvement with APEX.
A range of special seminars, briefings, videoconferences and the APEX annual symposium are offered to promote the sharing of information and exchanges of ideas among similarly engaged and active executives. Members are kept up to date on the association’s activities and positions concerning priority issues like compensation, the work environment, personal and legal support, executive health, transition planning and recognition, and public service management reform. It transmits the latest information through timely and succinct electronic communiqués, briefings, reports, videoconferences and a highly praised annual symposium. (The next one is June 8-9, 2005 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.)
Regular social events keep APEX members in touch with each other and offer opportunities to share experiences in a relaxed environment. The association’s website provides the latest news on APEX events, studies and services. Members can consult online statements of the association’s positions and be linked immediately to other pertinent sites. APEX members have unique access to a range of professional services, including legal and financial advice, retirement planning tips and specially negotiated car and home insurance. The association takes the lead in supporting executives who find themselves in situations of conflict. The Deputy Minister community has acknowledged the association’s unique ability to provide appropriate advice and encouragement and has funded an Executive Support Service position at APEX. This service is open to all public service executives.
The networking does not cease upon retirement. There is an alumni group for the growing population of retired executives who wish to remain connected to the association and public service and to continue making a contribution. Retired members have the opportunity to be considered for volunteer or paid work – at home or abroad – through its Alumni Inventory, a detailed listing of the skills and interests of former federal public service executives.
Paul Choquette is a visiting executive with APEX. Active or former federal government executives are encouraged to join APEX. Visit the association’s website at www.apex.gc.ca or contact the APEX secretariat at (613) 943-3263.
CAPAM: UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION
A PAN-COMMONWEALTH COMMITMENT
by Gillian Mason
“Networking is no longer optional – it is a necessity... and you have to network with a wide variety of players.”
– Kishore Mahbubani, Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore, at the 2004 conference
CAPAM (Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management) is a non-profit membership association devoted to exchanging information and knowledge on public administration among Commonwealth countries and beyond. It is an impressive story of pan-Commonwealth commitment and achievement.
CAPAM was established in 1994,with head office in Toronto and Art Stevenson, former CAO of Toronto, as executive director. Its origins lie in the initiative to define and promote the practical requirements of good governance, just and honest government and the fundamental political values outlined in the Declaration of the Commonwealth Heads of Government at its meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1991.
While many organizational histories begin with a formal vision and mission statement, CAPAM from its inception relied on a meeting of the minds, hearts and souls of diverse elected and appointed officials, board members and visionaries to articulate its organizational values and philosophy. Through partnerships and affiliations with like-minded organizations, its membership and association with the scholarly community across the Commonwealth, CAPAM has developed several distinctive objectives, including a commitment to:
• promote and advance good governance and public administration in member countries
• enhance Commonwealth cooperation to improve managerial competence and organizational excellence in government
• facilitate shared learning of good practices in public administration and management, and a shared understanding of international trends affecting the roles of governments and government policies and programs
• contribute to better understanding and management of the vital political-administrative interface.
CAPAM was established by practitioners, for practitioners. Prime Ministers, Ministers, permanent secretaries, senior civil servants, academics and leaders of non-governmental organizations share in the governance, leadership and program development and delivery in which CAPAM is engaged.
CAPAM has provided the space for dialogue, experience exchange, problem solving and learning on many public sector reform themes and initiatives that are broadly related to the new public administration CAPAM’s uniqueness as an organization stems from the diversity of its member countries and the richness resulting from that diversity.
The shared heritage embodied in political institutions and core public service values such as professionalism, impartiality, responsiveness and political and administrative accountability has resulted in the desire of member countries to share their experiences, expertise and lessons learned. CAPAM exemplifies the key features of a learning organization – an organization that is adept at finding new and better ways to fulfill its mission by promoting an ethos of lifelong learning, by committing itself to inquiry and adapting to change, and by making the most of its members’ ideas and needs.
Although it shares many goals with other international agencies and non-governmental organizations, such as a commitment to just and honest government, poverty reduction, human and institutional capacity building, CAPAM’s unique contribution stems from its central role in sharing knowledge and expertise related to public administration and governance across the Commonwealth. CAPAM continues to develop and expand through partnerships with many member governments, Commonwealth organizations, national professional associations and non-governmental organizations.
CAPAM’s primary strength is its network of experts and experienced officials sharing their knowledge and skills to develop capacity and assist Commonwealth nations in pursuing good governance, excellence and innovation in public administration. CAPAM has created a first-class international network of elected and professional practitioners by facilitating professional and personal relationships across the Commonwealth.
Gillian Mason is director of programming and marketing for CAPAM. Membership is open; visit www.capam.comnet.mt or capam@capam.ca, (416) 920-3337.
