Richard Wilson, founder, Involve and Izwe
Supporting a culture shift: This needs to change from "command and control" to partnership and dialogue. This is obvious but is a profound challenge for organisations and people who have a tendency to value process over people. We need to support our public managers to become much more human centred and move the conversation away from consultation with a need for dialogue not communications.
Dr Michael Rowe, lecturer at University of Liverpool and former civil servant
Alternatives to MPAs: The MPA is not that new to the UK. At Liverpool, it has been running since the mid 1980s and there were training programmes at postgrad certificate and diploma level in the 1970s. So there is a history. But it has not taken off as it has in the US and on the continent. I do think there is a case for specialist courses around criminology, housing or health care etc: more service specific. These also develop the critical thinking skills that are necessary to manage. And many also include management as an aspect of the programme.
Dr Stephen Barber, lecturer, London South Bank University's MPA programme
The fluidity of the public sector is at the heart of our teaching: There are not always clean lines between public, private and third sectors (are RBS employees civil servants?). The direction of policy, big society and localism would seem to be blurring these distinctions further. We are not prescriptive in what we teach on the MPA, but create an environment in which these issues can be dissected, analysed and understood. For many participants, getting to grip with these contemporary issues is central to doing their jobs better.
Matthew Cliff, public engagement manager, University of Liverpool
Creating the right environment for learning: Identifying opportunities for how this may be practically tested and applied seems to me to be one of the real success factors for any MPA. This means an awareness of what drives other organisations and sectors and knowing how to speak their language.
David Clifford, elected member of Rushmoor borough council and part-time MPA student at London South Bank University
Public services cannot afford to invest in staff development in a time of austerity: One thing we can be certain of in such times is that nothing is certain. Everything is changing, and new models of providing public services are needed. I would suggest MPA graduates are by far the best placed individuals in an organisation to cope, deal with and excel in such a situation. If public services are to work with less staff, we need better trained and qualified staff.
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