One of the central aims of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation is to strengthen links between the public service and academia. Andrew Morgan’s, research on how the public service is adapting to the pandemic is an example of how Sir Roland Wilson scholars are bridging the gap between research and policy practice. Andrew is on leave from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC) to study a PhD with the Australian and New Zealand School of Government at the Crawford School of Public Policy.  

“Research can be too slow to address current challenges in the fast-moving policy cycle. One way I thought I could contribute was to capture the reflections of the public sector which was critical in keeping our economy functioning during the extreme uncertainty of the emergent phase of COVID-19”, Andrew said.  

Andrew reshaped his thesis to incorporate the COVID-19 crisis, and undertook a series of 30 interviews and focus groups. Usually PhD research involves a thesis with findings at the end of several years, but Andrew designed his PhD pathway as an iterative feedback loop. This enabled him to produce a report with interim findings, which he presented to DITRDC; this research was also  shared with the APS Chief Operating Officers Committee earlier this year. To promote the report’s findings, DITRDC hosted a forum for SES officers, led by Dr Subho Banerjee, Deputy CEO Research and Advisory for the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).   

“The emergence of COVID and the urgency with which government had to respond has been essential in helping us understand how to deliver public benefit under extreme uncertainty.

The iterative nature of Andrew’s research has given us a terrific opportunity to reflect on policy development as it is happening, and learn policy lessons in real-time”, Dr Subho Banerjee.

The work has been beneficial for Andrew’s department, with Dr Rachel Bacon, Deputy Secretary, saying, “Andrew is our department’s first Sir Roland Wilson scholar and it’s been great to see how his early work is connecting to live issues and policy problems for the department and the APS, and helping us think about future challenges”.  

Andrew has also been using the research skills he has developed and honed during his PhD  to support graduates in his department. As the Graduate Project Champion, Andrew has delivered research project induction training to new graduates. He also acts as an advisor, helping new starters in government to connect with the latest research, and upskill in presenting research and analysis in compelling ways.

“It has been great to be supported by my department and ANZSOG to share my early research, and to be able to support a new generation of public servants in their engagement with research and analysis”, Andrew said. “These developments would never have been possible without the opportunities afforded by the SRW Foundation.” 

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