Theme A
People: New Approaches in Human Resource Management in the Public Sector

The dual pressure of globalization and localism forces government in developing countries to better understand the needs of their citizens and potential tensions in the society. Socio- cultural awareness, thus, had become a necessity for everyone working in the public sector. Meanwhile, the rapid development of technology must also be accompanied by development of human resource management in the public sector.

Sub-themes for this session include:
1. Enhancing human resource capacity to promote innovation
2. Integrated human resource management strategies for public sector
3. Policies and Instruments in human resource development
4. Maintaining employee engagement and motivation in times of rapid change

Theme B
Public Services: Challenges and Strategies for Delivering Better Public Services

Asia’s population is growing old and projected to reach as many as 923 million by the middle of the 21st century. The number of population that once was a great modality of development will soon become liabilities when their access for basic services becomes poor. Meanwhile, more and more people are moving from rural to urban areas. Almost 200 million of them have gone to urbanized areas during the first decade of the century. Meanwhile, governments across the world are catching up with the rapid growth of technology through invention and innovation in the delivery of public services.

This session will discuss the following sub-themes:
1. Innovation in public services delivery to cope with the megatrends
2. Policies on eradicating poverty and inequalities
3. Strategies to build an e-services: Experiences and lessons
4. Public services delivery in the era of sustainable development

Theme C
Institutions: Refining Governance Institutions for the Future

Knowledge-based economy needs knowledge-based approach to governance. Utilization of evidence-based policymaking, open government system, and e-governance is more important today than ever. Technological growth has helped Asia-Pacific countries survive the last two economic crises. Startups and tech billionaires grow rapidly in number. People become more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their government. Governments have to equip their employees with capacities to master these concepts. In the near future, some of the known positions in government bureaucracy could be replaced by artificial intelligence.

The session will tackle the following sub-themes:
1. Building social capital and social trust between government and the citizens
2. Governance approaches and sustainable development
3. Developing knowledge-to-policy and evidence-based policy
4. Strengthening public-private society partnerships to address common challenges

Theme D
Ethics: Redefining Public Service Ethics

The growing importance of social media has changed the way people, including civil servants, interact and voice their concerns. Is social media a private or a public sphere? How much freedom should government provide for civil servants to voice their concern through their social media accounts? Governments today have to deal with competing, wicked problems. Environmental degradation, economic crises, and demographic changes, to name some, have changed the way bureaucrats interact with politicians as well as with citizens. Do common public service ethics still matter?

The session will tackle the following sub-themes:
1. Managing integrity in the public sector
2. Shall we expand or limit public service discretionary power?
3. Lessons in the implementation of values-based governance
4. Contemporary public service values in the era of social media