Profiling the public sector

Speaker:
Kelly-Ann Reardon
Education and Training Adviser, Crime and Misconduct Commission

Abstract:
The purpose of this presentation is to provide delegates with an example of the practical uses of research within their organisations by looking at how the CMC’s Responding to Misconduct reports have been used in conducting a training needs analysis of the Queensland public sector. This presentation will cover:

• an overview of the Responding to Misconduct survey — its purpose, how it was conducted, and the type of information that the survey gathered
• how the survey data, and other internal sources of information have been used to identify strategic priorities for the CMC’s education program for the Queensland public sector.

This presentation shows how the process of conducting a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) using research, such as the Responding to Misconduct series, has enabled the CMC to determine a strategic focus for training activity, and to design an overall education program that meets the needs of the Queensland public sector.

Training needs analysis
A training needs analysis (TNA) of the CMC’s education program was conducted to evaluate its capacity to meet the needs of the Queensland public sector. This involved analysing available sources of internal data for common themes and topics to determine the strategic direction of the CMC’s education program.

Data sources analysed in the TNA included website hits, publication downloads, requests for advice, presentations and training conducted by CMC staff, and, as the focus of this presentation, an analysis of complaints data and the data from the Responding to Misconduct survey.

Responding to Misconduct (Profiling) data
As part of its function and to fulfil one of its legislated roles, the CMC assists in building the capacity of agencies to deal with and prevent misconduct within the Queensland public sector. In order to build their capacity, we need to have an understanding of the current mechanisms and strategies in place in the Queensland public sector to deal with and prevent misconduct. We do this by our Responding to Misconduct series of reports.

The Responding to Misconduct report does not aim to quantify the level of misconduct and corruption currently existing within the Queensland public sector. Rather, the focus of the report is to assist agencies identify and manage the risks facing their organisation, and to offer best practice guidance as to how best manage these risks. The survey looks at dealing with misconduct, demographics, risk areas and strategies used to mitigate these risks, and the agency’s relationship with the CMC.

The data from the survey contains a wealth of information that will be used to inform the strategic direction of the misconduct prevention and capacity building functions of the CMC, and was used extensively in conducting the training needs analysis.

Findings
The CMC’s internal complaints database provided information on the number and types of allegations made against public sector officials in a given period. This gave an idea of the types of misconduct prevention issues that are prevalent in the Queensland public sector. The Responding to Misconduct survey data provided information from the agencies’ point of view on what they perceived to be misconduct risks in their organisations. These two data sources were compared for trends, and to see if what the agencies were suggesting as major misconduct risks was actually what we were receiving complaints about. And, surprisingly, it was — the issues that agencies identified as significant misconduct risks were the same issues that we receive complaints about. This is encouraging, as it indicates that the Queensland public sector is aware of the types of misconduct occurring in their agency, and it will enable us to better target our misconduct prevention and education efforts at addressing those risks.