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The History of the PSSN

Apolitical Over the past decade, the PSSN has attracted senior government officials from around the world. Senior officials from multilateral institutions such as the OECD, the World Bank, NESTA and the Asian Development Bank as well as the private sector have also contributed to the Annual Retreat, offering their strategic expertise to the public sector, as well as learning about the nature of public sector strategy.

2010

First International Public Sector Strategy Workshop

LONDON

2011

Second International Public Sector Strategy Workshop

ABU DHABI

2012

Third International Public Sector Strategy Workshop

SEOUL

2013

The Uniqueness of Small Country Strategies

ABU DHABI

In partnership with Chatham House

2016

Effective Governance in a Strategically Complex World

OXFORD

In partnership with Salzburg Global Seminar and Apolitical

2019

SALZBURG

Country partners: Australian Public Service, Privy Council Office of Canada,
Irish Public Service and Civil Service College Singapore 

2020

ONLINE

ONLINE

2021

ONLINE

2024

SALZBURG

What's been achieved?

PSSN has developed thematically and expanded in size since 2010. Whilst changing every year, PSSN has always offered the opportunity for senior public servants to interact informally with their cross-sectoral peers. This has proved to be an invaluable testing ground for creative ideas and new ways of thinking which can be applied to daily work in serving government.

The Network has allowed members to sustain contact well beyond the end of the Foresight Retreat. It is now a network of high-level government officials, who come together annually to consider the disruptive forces shaping the next 10 or 20 years.

From exploring how to future-proof society in the face of automation to upholding the social contract in the 21st century, examining the impact of migration flows on government policy and defining a core set of attributes for successful central units, the PSSN has proved to be an invaluable testing ground for a discussion of new ideas. Conclusions are summarised in a report after the seminar, which is made publicly available for interested readers.

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