Leadership Development Centre (LDC) Fellowships support senior leaders across the Public Service to identify system leadership challenges and opportunities, and undertake research and/or study to address these.
We target our Fellowships to both develop the individual recipient and build on the shared leadership knowledge of the system.
Fellowships are sponsored by contributing public sector agencies.
COVID-19 and current international travel restrictions have prompted a review of our 2021 application process and criteria. We are working through how best to invite innovative applications with a strong local rather than international flavour.
We’ll publish more information, including our updated criteria and application timeline, in early 2021.
Congratulations to the 2020 LDC Fellows.
“I want the public service to use disability as a vehicle for real innovation and release our untapped potential.”
David will look at recruitment processes used overseas that enable neurodiverse individuals to have greater representation in the state sector and will explore work environments that are neurodiverse friendly. He will test if these are scalable and can be used in New Zealand. David will also explore the leadership needed to go beyond enablement and see neurodiversity as a competitive advantage that can be targeted for the benefit of the state sector.
“I want to grow my understanding of system change, including indigenous models, how culture plays a role in system change and implementation, and the importance of leadership in system change.”
Serena will explore how social inequality has been addressed internationally and what challenges and success factors have an impact. She will look at the type of leadership required to successfully bring about system change, how cultural considerations can be taken into account, and how this can be applied in the New Zealand context for Pacific and Māori communities.
Congratulations to the 2019 LDC Fellows.
In this joint-Fellowship, Denise and Richard will explore how Asian leaders can grow and flourish in the New Zealand Public Service while nurturing their cultural identity and maximising their leadership contribution.
The lack of ethnic diversity in management has been recognised as a key challenge in the SSC Public Service Workforce Data 2018. Asian (and Māori and Pacific) ethnicities are still under-represented in the top three tiers of Public Service management. Denise and Richard’s research will help inform how to address this challenge. They will take a 360 view of leaders and uncover global insights, learn directly from leaders and experts in the field in New Zealand and overseas, and explore the developments, successes and lessons learnt other jurisdictions.
Rose’s Fellowship aims to create a strong picture of what dynamic leadership for the New Zealand public sector needs to look like. She will investigate the type of leadership styles needed to build a responsive and adaptive public sector. Rose intends to create case studies to help leaders lean into new ways of working.
Through her research and study programmes, Rose will explore:
Helen will examine how public sector leaders can set up, facilitate and negotiate flexible work arrangements and other innovative workplace practices to deliver effective public services to diverse communities. She will meet with leaders in New Zealand, Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom – countries with increasing diverse populations and a focus on innovative workplace practices. Helen will also attend a five-day workshop ‘Putting People First: Quality public services in a changing world’ at Public Administration International, London.
Keep up-to-date with Helen's study and research with her video logs on her LinkedIn page.
Richard will investigate how organisations can successfully drive delivery through data and analytics. His aim is to focus on understanding what makes a great leader of data-driven organisations. He wants to contribute to the public sector’s development of the right people to lead transformative data teams.
Richard will undertake research and visit organisations in New Zealand and overseas that have world-leading data and analytics teams, which have helped transform their organisations into being genuinely data-led. He wants to share the lessons of their success with the New Zealand public sector.
"It’s all very well arguing that we need to use data in a different way and therefore we need data teams that look like this and are led like that, (and by the end of this fellowship process I may have some idea of what this and that look like), but a sceptic could perfectly reasonably ask 'why do we need to use data in a different way?' What follows is my answer, the reason why I embarked on this exercise."
READ: 30 years down the wrong rabbit hole: how we got there and how we get out (pdf)
Richard's earlier paper suggested why we need to change how we view data in public services. Data should be seen as a source of insight rather than an instrument of control, and that where monitoring “targets” exist these should be locally relevant and mutually agreed rather than centrally imposed. What does that mean in practice, and how do we go about doing it?
READ: So what? (and for that matter 'how?) (pdf)
Read Richard's blog for updates.
Richard has developed an interactive tool for public sector analytical teams. It will help them learn how to gain real insights from their data and move from primarily monitoring data to capturing real understanding from the information teams collect and analyse. Data analysts will be able to offer more value to their agency and across the public sector, and better understand the complex adaptive systems that provide the services for New Zealanders.
Designed to structure and support your thinking, the tool includes: checklists, decision trees, and links to useful resources.
Download the tool and save it to your files. Write on, print out, and share the checklists and decision trees with your team.
DRIVE AND INSIGHT AND CHANGE INTERACTIVE TOOL (interactive PDF)
Marie will explore the innovative approaches that international jurisdictions are taking in natural resources regulation. She wants to find out more about regulation models based on customer-centric design and shared decision-making. She’ll also look at understanding how the rights of indigenous people are applied in the design and application of regulation. Finally, Marie will explore the response to increasing tourism on protected natural areas. As part of the Fellowship programme, Marie will attend the London School of Economics to complete a short course in regulation.
Ezra’s Fellowship with look at how divergent agencies and organisations work in partnership with education, health and social providers to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people. Ezra plans to examine diverse cultural and social contexts: a successful education programme in Swansea, Wales, and how the city of Leeds has developed its approach to implementing its vision of a 'Child Friendly City'. Ezra plans to attend a leadership development programme at Oxford University.
Hear what Ezra's up to in his LinkedIn vlogs.
Eru aims to learn more about how to develop customer-centric services and product innovation, using processes such as design-thinking, and how these approaches can be embedded in organisations. By combining this new knowledge with his ability to navigate Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Hurihrui, Eru will explore how transformative business models with a digital focus, can create new ways to deliver products and services effectively to Māori. Eru will apply his new knowledge to three national programmes focused on at-risk children.
As well as visiting organisations in New Zealand and North America, Eru will attend Stanford’s Design Thinking Boot Camp and MIT’s ‘Digital and Social Media Analytics’ programmes.
Exploring the future of HR and large-scale transformational culture change.
Jointly undertaking a joint study programme, looking at the use of emerging technologies to improve government interaction with citizens, focusing first on border control.
Utilising education and experiential learning opportunities to understand existing best practice for leading diverse ethnic groups in a New Zealand context.
Read more about the new LDC Fellows and their study programmes.
Jayne investigated businesses' corporate social responsibility (CSR) approaches. Maximising employment opportunities for clients was a priority objective. Jane applied her Fellowship learning to how relevant government agencies can better take a whole-of-government approach to working with the private sector in their provision of employment. Jayne's proposals was submitted under the 'Better Public Services' theme and she is looking at leadership that builds sustainability, resilience and connections.
See Jayne's findings on creating shared value in this conversation starter (pdf).
"The LDC Fellowship was the best learning opportunity I have ever had – the chance to mix targeted training with self-directed international research in a specific topic of interest to myself and the sector is simply gold."
"The Fellowship gave me a period of time to reflect on my leadership and on the economic challenges and opportunities for New Zealand – with some great input from leadership courses and a wonderful economics library to feed that thinking."
"…the best leadership development opportunity I have had … the most educational, enlightening and enriching development experience."