European Perspectives for Public Administration Seminar ... · public administration”, E. Elgar. • OCDE (2016) “National Schools of Government: Building civil service capacity”,

EuropeanPerspectivesforPublicAdministrationSeminar“PublicAdministrationandPractice“

5-6April2018CNFPT(Centrenationaldelafonctionpubliqueterritoriale)

(Strasbourg,France)

Session4:ResearchintoPractice:Training Whatdoweneed?Whatdowe

get?Wheretogo?

PresentationFabriceLarat

V Session 4: Trainin

EPPA SEMINARPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PRACTICE, STRASBOURG APRIL 6TH 2018

Session n°4: Training

What do we need? What do we get? Where to go?

« The specificities of national schools of government »

Fabrice Larat, Head of the research unit, ENA, France

v PA training: The distinction between specialschools and universities

A matter of public choice…

… or of national distinctiveness (Kickert 2008)

Not bu chance that Ch. Pollitt opens his 2010 report withthe following quotation:

‘The modalities and content of the training offered to future administrative elites is far from being

neutral, and could not be’ (Bernard Boucault, Director of the French ENA)

v NSG’s main missions and mandates (according to OECD 2016, 26)

v Division of labour between academic education and professional training

Higher education Competitive entrance examinations

Preservice training at NSG

• Knowledge according academic disciplines

• Scientific methodology

Basic knowledge relevant for PA and for selection purposes

• General and specific knowledge about the PA

• Management techniques• Professional and social skills• Values and obligations of public

service

Goal: be prepared to occupy positions within public administration at a certain level of responsibilities (how PA works, what are the current issues and challenges, how to behave?)

Specificity of NSG: most of the training done by practitioners

vComplementarity of academic approach

How academics can contribute to professional training carried out by NSG:

¾ Understanding the complexity of policy making: Problematisation and contextualization

¾ Clarification: Rigorous use of concepts ¾ Generalization: Added value of theory¾ Comparative approach: Intelligent benchmarking¾ Scientific approach: methodology¾ Critical thinking: Reflexivity

) Prendre de la hauteur et apporter des clefs de lecture

vMain advantages of NSG as for preservice training

High degree of homogeneity among trainees :

9 In terms of shared administrative culture and habitus ) facilitate interministerial mobility

9 In terms of knowledge, competences and skills) similar level simplifies interoperability

9 In terms of professionalization ) ENA’s alumni are fully operational in three months after taking their first position

A tool of socialisation : contribute to diffuse and transmit the French administrative culture with it socially integrating service public » (Kuhlmann and Wollman, 2014, 279)

v A continuum between pre and post service trainingThe successive steps of public administration management and leadership training in France

(Larat 2017)

vChallenges faced by NSG as for their training goals

• Relevance : Maintaining the adequacy between needs from employers and the content of curriculum

• Diversification: Profile of trainees selected via competitive examinations

• Sound knowledge: Need to take into account the result of academic research in the content of training programmes

• Standardization 1: Criteria used as international standards for accreditation

• Standardization 2: Incapacity for NSG to grant diplomas

v Transformations en cours et à venir

• Création de chaires partenariales avec l’ENSCI sur l’innovation publique et avec l’ENS Ulm sur « Savoir et décision publique »

• Possibilité pour les élèves de la formation initiale de souhaitant d’obtenir un Master 2 à l’issue de la scolarité

• Changement de statut (Établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel/Grand établissement)

v Bibliographical references

• Kickert, Walter (2008) (ed) “The study of public management in Europe and in the US”, Routledge.

• Kuhlmann, Sabine & Wollmann, Helmut (2014) “Introduction to comparative public administration”, E. Elgar.

• OCDE (2016) “National Schools of Government: Building civil service capacity”, report, Paris.

• Larat, Fabrice (2017) “Developing an integrated and comprehensive training strategy for public sector leaders: The French experience” Teaching public administration, Volume 35, n°1, March.

• Pollitt, Christopher & Op de Beeck, Liesbeth (2010), “Training top civil servants : a comparative analysis”. Leuven : Institituut Voor de Overheid.

• Pollitt, Christopher 2016) “Advanced introduction to public management and administration”, E. Elgar.

vMain advantages

High