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It is my pleasure to welcome you to Devcon 2005, the first State Services Senior
Leaders Development Conference. Devcon replaces the previous Public Service
Senior Managers conference (PSSM). Devcon has been designed to be wider in
scope and will, for the first time, bring chief executives and senior leaders
together from across the State sector.
Devcon 2005 is themed on the Development Goals for the State Services. These
goals outline the future direction for New Zealand’s State Services. The goals
are aspirational in nature and give us the opportunity to focus on performance
and quality for the State Services as a whole. The Development Goals were
agreed by the Government and launched in March 2005.
The ideas behind these goals are not new, but by making them clear, visible, and
by setting timelines for progress, a clear agenda has been set for the State
Services.
A well performing State Services can make a real difference - to New Zealand’s
success as a country and to the people that make up our society. More than
190,000 people work in the State Services, 13 percent of New Zealand’s
workforce. State servants work in a wide range of agencies and carry out a huge
variety of work. Taking a perspective that is bigger than our individual
agencies will enable the whole to be greater than the sum of the parts.
The conference programme is designed to leave you with a greater understanding
of the Development Goals and the value of an all-of-government approach to the
implementation of these goals.
I hope you will find the day inspiring and challenging. And I also want you to
enjoy this conference - to use the occasion to establish new relationships and
networks. This is the first time senior leaders of the State Services have been
bought together in this way and it provides a special opportunity for us to
make new connections and forge greater understanding.
Mark Prebble
State Services Commissioner
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