Professionalising the Civil Service: The Masters in Public Administration

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conception and implementation of a collaborative approach to public sector professional learning which seeks to explore some of the most sensitive and important relationships between power, politics and policy. Specifically the paper will consider 3 key issues. First, it will set out the pedagogic debate that exists within the discipline of public administration on links between theory and practice and how this translates into the content and delivery of an MPA programme. Second, it will outline how, as a result of this pedagogic debate senior NICS civil servants became an integral part of the design and delivery team for the new Masters programme. Third, the paper will consider how the first cohort of students responded to this collaborative provision and the impact which it had on their professional working experiences. Taking these factors into account, the paper will consider the scope for using this model as a basis for a new level of professionalisation of the civil service around the core business of governments, the exercise of power.