ETHOS Issue 13
May 2014
Last updated 30 July 2026
ETHOS Issue 13, June 2014
How can the public service leverage its resources and influence to not only accommodate the varied, restless energies emerging in society, but actively harness them towards the public good? Learn more about the lessons from Our Singapore Conversation and hear from Adam Kahane and Gus O’Donnell.
Editorial
Dr Alvin Pang
At this critical inflection point in Singapore's development, the Public Service need not be on the defensive, but can instead use its considerable resources and influence in ways which not only accommodate the varied, restless energies emerging in society, but actively harness them towards the public good.
Redefining Engagement: Lessons for the Public Service from Our Singapore Conversation
by Melissa khoo and Yee lai fong
Through collective learning-by-doing and investment in strong relationships, Our Singapore Conversation has pioneered new possibilities for public engagement and governance.
After Our Singapore Conversation: The Futures of Governance
by Adrian W. J. Kuah and Lim Seok Hui
Two analysts from the Public Service Division reflect on Our Singapore Conversation’s radical implications for the nation and its public policy enterprise
Transformative Alliance
Interview with Adam Kahane
To resolve complex problems, we must cooperate across conventional boundaries to co-create the future, not just adapt to it, argues the foresight veteran.
From Futures “Thinking” to Futures “Doing”
Reviewed by Aaron Maniam
Transformative Scenario Planning By Adam Kahane Berrett–Koehler Publishing, Inc. (paperback published in October 2012); 168 pp.
Managing Complexity with Courage, Conflict and Engagement
by Douglas O’Loughlin
ILOD Principal Consultant Douglas O’Loughlin outlines four key leadership competencies to cultivate in a world of greater complexity and uncertainty.
Transformative Innovation and the Policymaker of the Future
by Graham Leicester
The competencies needed to transform governance are already innate in the policymaking community — but a deliberate cultural shift may be necessary to bring them to the fore.
Public Sector Transformation — Six Small Ways to Make a Big Impact
by Andrew Tan
The Singapore Public Service can ready itself for a more challenging environment with more thoughtful communication, collaboration and creative use of resources.
Enabling Organisational Transformation: Possibilities and Practice
by Aurora de Souza Watters and Lena leong
Two public agencies illustrate transformational strategies that could help organisations rethink and reinvent themselves for the future.
Nudging Towards The Good: In Conversation
Interview with Gus O'donnell
The former Head of the Home Civil Service in the UK discusses behavioural approaches to public engagement, policymaking and sound values for the civil service.
The Value of Values in the Singapore Public Service
by Keith Tan and Ghalpanah Thangaraju
The transformation of the Public Service must also involve thoughtful reinvigoration of the values it stands for.
Ethics in Public Administration: Are We Teaching What Can’t be Taught?
by Celia Lee
CSC researcher Celia Lee makes a case for the systematic cultivation of ethical thinking and moral development in public administration.
Inclusive and Iterative Governance
Ethos roundtable with Mr Bui The Giang and Mr Abdul Mutalib Pehin Dato Yusof
Two distinguished participants from Singapore’s 6th Leaders in Governance Programme discuss income inequality, talent and governance which balances the needs of the public with the challenges of the future.
The First New Synthesis Laboratory for Master Practitioners
by Jocelyne Bourgon
A groundbreaking lab for practitioners demonstrates the robustness and applicability of the New Synthesis Framework in transforming ideas about public administration and public value for the future
Making Public Private Partnerships Work: Implications for Singapore and the Region
by Thia Jang Ping and Alan M. Trager
Can cross-sectoral collaborations be structured to deliver public value more effectively on a large scale?
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