Bureaucratic hierarchies have served the public sector well for decades. While potentially cumbersome, everyone accepts that authority sits at the top and information flows downward. Everyone understands who is in charge, at what level, as well as their responsibilities. Standards and policies are controlled and followed. Work gets done. The dilemma, however, is that they stifle creativity and innovation, making adaptation to changing conditions slow. 

Hierarchies themselves have changed significantly over time. In some organisations, dialogue and consensus rather than authority and command determine decision making, encouraging participation and empowerment. Others have simplified their structures, and delegated authority further down the organisation. The organisational design literature speaks of functional structures (standardised services delivered in large volumes at low cost), divisional structures (a collection of functions which provide various services in common ways - but which often create organisational silos), and matrix structures (functions which share resources to complete other organisational outcomes such as projects). Constructs such as shared services, teams, networks and virtual practices have addressed some of the structural frustrations associated with these types of bureaucracies. In a fast-paced world that is not slowing down, the challenge for the public sector is how to adapt while continuing to develop policies and provide services for a growing tech-savvy population with an expectation of immediacy. Our speakers for this panel, Ms Erma Ranieri, the South Australian Commissioner for Public Sector Employment, and Dr Niki Vincent, the South Australian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, Professor Rob Briner, University of London, and Grant Stevens, Commissioner of South Australia Police will provide their insights into the issue of agility in the public sector today and how they seek to address it.