Strategy and engagement
Strategy and Engagement is a newly-formed division that combines strategic insights with technical engagement specialists to support externally-focused activities of the department.
Strategy and Engagement is comprised of Events, Protocol and Communications, Strategic Policy and Intergovernmental Relations.
The division identifies trends through data collection and analysis to support policy and external engagement activities of the department and government more broadly. Strategy and Engagement acts as a strategic commissioning unit and sources expertise from beyond DPC, to harness specialist expertise and resources domestically and internationally.
Strategy and Engagement works with external stakeholders, government representatives from other jurisdictions and countries as well as other Queensland Government departments by generating and sharing insights from research, analysis and evaluation work.
The division is positioned as a place to ignite and incubate ideas, act as agents of change and enable DPC and government more broadly. This extends to pushing the thinking on new policy methods and the creation of more agile systems and processes, along with new models of data collection and analysis.
Intergovernmental Relations focuses on promoting Queensland’s position on Council of Australian Governments (COAG) matters and other federal issues.
Key achievements for 2015–16
- Delivered the inaugural Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit, held on 27–29 April 2016.
- Led the Queensland Government’s input and negotiations regarding the Commonwealth Government’s Reform of the Federation agenda.
- Oversaw and led negotiations of significant intergovernmental agreements including 13 National Partnership Agreements.
- Coordinated and managed the annual Queensland Australia Day celebrations on behalf of the National Australia Day Council.
- Coordinated and managed 2016 Queensland Week.
- Prepared the Queensland Plan 2014–15 Annual Report, which provided an overview of the government’s progress on implementing the Queensland Plan.
- Progressed amendments to the Queensland Plan Act 2014 to streamline public authority and local government reporting.
- Recognised outstanding Queenslanders through the delivery of four significant awards programs:
- 2015 Premier’s Awards for Excellence to recognise Queensland public service
- 2016 Queensland Australian of the Year Awards on behalf of the National Australia Day Council
- 2016 Queensland Reconciliation Awards to recognise initiatives advancing reconciliation
- 2016 Queensland Greats Awards to recognise long-term achievements and dedication.
- Led the whole-of-government communication around key community issues such as alcohol-fuelled violence and domestic violence.
- Provided secretariat support to the Advance Queensland interdepartmental committee that oversees the implementation of the Queensland Government’s innovation agenda.
Future directions 2016–17
- Lead Queensland’s engagement with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and other whole-of-government interjurisdictional activities, including health and education funding arrangements and economic reform.
- Progress the development and implementation of the Advance Queensland initiative.
- Support the Queensland Plan Ambassadors Council to advocate for the Queensland Plan’s implementation by community, business and industry.
- Progress the amendments to the Queensland Plan Act 2014, which will streamline public authority and local government reporting.
- Develop the Queensland Plan 2015–16 Annual Report that will provide an overview of the government’s progress on implementing the Queensland Plan.
- Lead planning and delivery of whole-of-government communication, including strategic stakeholder community engagement programs, digital engagement, special events, and crisis communication.
- Provide strategic advice and coordination of the Premier’s official overseas visits and official functions.
- Lead preparation of and engagement in:
- the COAG Summit to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children
- the 2017 Annual Queensland Government—Australian Defence Force Consultative Forum.
- Facilitate regional development and efficient and consistent service delivery to communities on Queensland–New South Wales cross-border issues.
Case study
Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit
The inaugural Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit was held in Brisbane from 27–29 April 2016. The summit put a spotlight on Queensland innovation and investment opportunities, and brought together the world’s best visionaries in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship to inspire and empower Queenslanders.
The two-day summit was attended by more than 1700 delegates and showcased world-class speakers, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Social media hashtags #AdvanceQld and #AQSummit trended in the top five for three days during the summit, reaching an audience of 2.8 million people. The summit was a hot topic of conversation across social media platforms, generating more than 10,660 social media mentions, and reaching an audience of 20.5 million people.
The summit included a business concierge service, with 365 individual interactions with delegates, which resulted in identifying 132 specific opportunities (potential investments, partnership and collaboration opportunities and new commercial opportunities).
Positive feedback has been obtained through surveys sent to delegates before, during and after the summit. Results demonstrate an increase in understanding of the impacts of technology and consumer trends, and identify an increase in the average likelihood to invest in innovation. More than 90 per cent of delegates stated they would attend another innovation summit and they considered the summit as a valuable event for their organisations.