Academy Overview
The Australasian Transformation Academy is more than a centre of learning. Its core focus is to design and deliver exceptional development programs that provide participants with the critical thinking time, tools, case studies, coaching, peer-to-peer support and facilitation to tackle real world issues.
At its heart, our Academy programs are about putting learning into action by supporting participants to think through and implement transformative change in their existing services, business models and organisations. We also aim to create an international public service transformation "community of practice" by building a global network of Academy alumni in conjunction with the Public Service Transformation Academy.
We design each Academy program so that it is tailored to the participants and the problem(s) they are seeking to address.
Programs typically run over a 6-month period, with facilitated group workshops and coaching sessions provided at various intervals. The overall length of the program is designed to allow participants time in between the facilitated group learning and workshop sessions to apply some of their thinking back in the workplace.
Our programs are designed such that the formal learning components of each course (e.g. workshops) do not extensively encroach on each participant ’s time and program content and learnings are incorporated into each participant’s work.
Our approach encourages participants to think through, apply and adapt tools, methods and insights in a practical and real-life way.
Operating Principles
All Academy programs operate under the following common guiding principles:
- Significant use of practitioners who tell their stories (i.e. warts and all);
- Focus on cutting-edge ideas – or between cutting-edge and standardised;
- Build resilience through collaborative, trusting relationships;
- Promote attitudinal change;
- Draw on participant expertise (e.g. peer-led consultation);
- Apply learning through discussion, peer learning, and 100-day action plans;
- Relatively little use of theory – emphasis on application and what works;
- Skilled and enthusiastic facilitators;
- Create a safe, learning, environment (i.e. high challenge and high support);
- Chatham House rules
Academy Experience
The Academy Experience is quite unique in terms of it being:
- A tailored learning experience: Our programs are bespoke and designed in collaboration with our clients to ensure we provide a learning experience that is practical and highly relevant.
- Development and delivery of content is via a co-design and co-delivery model utilising sector experts within government using a ‘pilot and learn’ approach - The intent of the Academy is not to just develop individuals but also organisations and sectors.
- The Academy offers the tools, techniques and approaches to address challenging issues in a collaborative, creative and evidence driven way with the intent of assisting participants to acquire insights, know-how and the confidence to realise radically different outcomes for citizens and communities.
- Focused on real issues outcomes: We take our client’s real-life issues and incorporate them into the program to allow our clients to put what they have learnt in to practice. Every Academy participant is asked to bring a real issue or problem to the program and to work on it over the course of the program. This culminates in the development of a personal 100-day plan to take back into their organisation and implement.
- Access to an online community, case studies and facilitators: Our programs are truly collaborative, participants collectively share problems and work them through with the aid of facilitators and peers in online and face-to-face learning environments.
- ‘Chatham House’ rule based to create a safe and supportive environment for participants to share their real world issues, challenges and experiences, and to explore and test how to tackle them with their peers and specialist facilitators.