Web 2.0 provides public servants with unprecedented opportunities to open up government decision making and implementation to contributions from the community.

City of Sydney Council (NSW) and Boroondora City Council (VIC) are just two examples of Australian Local Government organizations currently using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to allow their staff and the public to participate online.

However many public servants are still uncertain about what factors they need to be aware of in openly representing their organization in visible spaces like social networking sites, wikis and blogs.

To ensure Australian Public Servants (APS) engage online in a professional manner, theAustralian Public Service Commission has updated its APS Values and Code of Conduct.

Guidance is available on Managing Official Information (Chapter 3), and APS Employees as Citizens (Chapter 15).

There are various factors within each of these which Public Servants are required to follow, including:

• Being apolitical, impartial and professional
• Behaving with respect and courtesy, and without harassment
• Dealing appropriately with information, recognising that some information needs to remain confidential
• Delivering services fairly, effectively, impartially and courteously to the Australian public
• Being sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public
• Taking reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest
• Making proper use of Commonwealth resources
• Upholding the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS

Scenario Based Learning:

The most effective way to ensure public servants understand the requirements set out in the APS Values and Code of Conduct is for organization’s to incorporate these into their Learning & Development program through scenario based learning.

Scenario-based learning puts the learner in a situation or context and exposes them to issues and dilemmas and asks them to apply guidelines like those found in the APS Values and Code of Conduct to the situation. Scenario based learning can be carried out either in a traditional classroom setting through staff role-plays and a trainer on hand to advise  or more cost effectively through the use of scenario based e-learning where the learner navigates through the e-learning module and is given feedback based upon their responses.

Benefits of Scenario Based e-learning:

• Training staff in this way rather than directing them to a static set of guidelines transforms them from a passive learner to an active learner.
• The focus is on how the learner would use gained knowledge in a real-life situation giving them more preparation on how to accurately put this knowledge into practice when required.
• Public Servants learn from their mistakes in a virtual rather than a public space saving them and their organization from potential embarrassment.
• Depending on the organization’s budget, scenario based e-learning can combine various media such as audio, visual graphics and animations, and text to give the learner a more retentive and enjoyable learning experience.

Complementary training to assist online participation by APS staff could also include IT skills to ensure staff are comfortable with using computers and accessing the internet and general social media training to give staff an accurate understanding of Web 2.0 technologies.

Additional Resources:

• A Quick Start Guide to Twitter for Local Government
• The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) Web Publishing Guide helps Australian Government agencies to manage their websites and to identify their legal and policy obligations. It also includes Web 2.0 advice such as using YouTube.

Extracts taken from APS Values and Code of Conduct in practice – Section 4: Personal behaviour – Chapter 15: APS employees as citizens