Conference Overview
ACESA International Conference 28/29 May 2013
The ACESA International Conference 2013 – Excellence in Public Service Delivery Agencies Shaping the Future – which took place on 29-30 May in Trinity College, Dubblin was a resounding success.The conference was designed to coincide with the Irish Presidency of the EU Council and brought together an impressive line-up of Irish and international speakers and contributors – academics, practitioners and delegates from Denmark, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Estonia and Russia and, of course, Ireland, as well as participation from COBRA and other major international organisations. Between participants, chairs, discussants and speakers we were delighted to welcome over 150 people to the event. Over the two days, we heard from international academics and practitioners through lectures, presentations and workshops which looked at best practice in delivery of public service. The sessions successfully bridged academic research and the working lives of participants.
The topics included:
- Agency mergers
- Shared service and agency performance
- Austerity and agency performance
- Autonomy
- The effects of privatisation and ‘agencification’ on the relationship between citizens and government
- Relationships with ministers and departments
- Cross-sectoral issues
- Role of agencies in transnational /EU networks
- Working in the Ireland North/South Framework
- Succession planning
All in all the conference was a terrific opportunity for networking, sharing and learning.The conference concluded with a meeting between a group of Secretaries General and a small number of ACESA members, with the purpose of highlighting the commitment of ACESA and its membership to the reform agenda. There was very positive engagement by all participants at this meeting and exploration of possible areas which ACESA could address.
The conference was a substantial undertaking for the Association, and we are very keen that it will make a significant contribution to the reform agenda. The conference was very well organized, both logistically and in terms of its contents. The care and imagination which went into planning the programme was evident, and the organising committee did a magnificent job. We were assisted in Trinity College by a panel of volunteer support staff from various ACESA member agencies. This was an unusual opportunity for people from different organisations to work together in a new setting, and everyone rose to the challenge. Their professionalism and ability were a credit to them and to their organisations.
Conference Themes:
Opening
- The Management and consequences of agency mergers
- Shared services and agency performance joining up service delivery, one-stop shops, service delivery networks and other forms of collaboration
- The impact of austerity on agency performance and autonomy
- The effects of privatisation and agencification on the relationship between citizens and government
- Relationship management between ministers, parent departments and agencies
- Policy coordination and integration for cross-sectoral issues
- The role and effects of national agencies’ involvement in transnational EU networks
- Agency networks national, NorthSouth and international
- Succession planning for Agency CEOs
Plenary: Leadership, performance and productivity in public sector organisations
Conference Organising Committee
- Pat O’Mahony (Chairperson) – Irish Medicines Board
- Karen Hennessy – Craft Council of Ireland
- Andy Kelly – Irish Blood Transfusion Service
- Denis Leamy – Pobal
- Ginny Hanrahan – CORU
- Maura Pidgeon – Nursing and Midwifery Board
- Michael Starrett – Heritage Council
- Muiris MacCarthaigh – Queens University Belfast
- Mary Rose Tobin – ACESA
Conference Logistics
- Laetitia Lalloz – Irish Medicines Board
- Volunteer Conference Support Staff
- Niamh Gallagher – Health and Safety Authority
- Eileen Lippert – Food Safety Authority of Ireland
- Emma Reinhardt – Food Safety Authority of Ireland
- Sheelagh McCormack – Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
- Orla Sweeney – National Library of Ireland
- Lucy Doody – Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
- Wendy Thunder – NSAI
- Mary Cassidy – NSAI
- Patricia Whelan – NSAI
- Victoria Ryan – NSAI
- Geraldine Heaney – Injuries Board
- Geraldine Finnegan – Injuries Board