Advanced Diploma in Public Affairs

Advanced Diploma in Public Affairs

Purpose:

The purpose of the Advanced Diploma in Public Affairs is to provide learners with integrated knowledge for applied competence in the broader field of public affairs. It equips learners with knowledge and skills in various public affairs focus areas critically important for the effective and efficient administration of the State, which among others, includes communication, systematic inquiry, information gathering, and decision-making. These skills will enable them to become life-long learners and to innovatively participate as responsible citizens in their interaction in the public affairs space. The learners will be professionally equipped with the requisite public affairs education at the advanced level and practical expertise to fill the human capital gap in the administration of the State, therefore make a meaningful contribution towards socio-economic development. Upon completion of the qualification, the learners will be able to:

• Evaluate, philosophise, theorise, predict, strategically communicate and interact in the public space.
• Engage in systematic inquiry, gather information and interpret for strategic advice and action to optimise policy praxis.
• Demonstrate an advanced insight into the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the state, democracy and citizenship. Of critically important in this is the imperative of public accountability.
• Demonstrate advanced understanding of the politics and economics of the state.
• Understand the nature and importance of sound corporate governance for the success of the business unit/department.
• Provide strategic administrative services for the efficient and effective management of public affairs, including managing terms and projects in support of the strategic objectives of government departments and taking full responsibility for the work, and accountability for the actions, decisions and outcomes associated with delegated functions.
• Strategically manage human and financial capital to optimise the efficiency of the state. In other words, learners should be able to develop sound knowledge and integrate practices of strategic, financial, human resource, operations and knowledge management in meeting the mandate of government departments.
• Demonstrate ethical leadership in self-management and that of others.
• Analyse and synthesise public affairs issues for the solution of the complexities of governance in the 21st century.
• Identify, analyse, critically reflect on and addressing complex problems relating to poor service delivery.
• Ability to anticipate future public affairs phenomenon and act proactively (strategic thinking and reflection).
• Demonstrate an advanced insight into, and the ability to articulate and apply the basic values and principles of the administration of the State, including public sector norms and ethos.
• Demonstrate advanced insight into ethics and public value.
• Demonstrate the ability to manage change.
• Demonstrate advanced understanding of managing democracy in a developmental context.
• Advanced analysis, interpretation, and application of the principles of managing public affairs.
• Conduct research and extrapolate policy information for strategic planning in the public sector.

Rationale:

The 20th century templates that frame the foundations of the discipline are increasingly becoming inadequate. This requires a rethinking of its epistemological and ontological disposition in designing a qualification for education and training for those that chose a career in the administration of the state. The complexities of the 21st century as they relate to statecraft requires that the state should be staffed by the best and brightest, highly educated, sophisticated and capable with rounded knowledge, coupled with strategic and technical skills to function in a public space with efficiency and commitment to the common good. This emerged in many interactions with the public sector, where it was said that the existing qualifications lack the rigour and have largely been outpaced by the changing world where fundamental questions are how should the education and training of the 21st century officials of the state respond to Fourth Industrial Revolution and the decoloniality imperative. There were meetings with the Advisory board and the South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM). Insights from all these, coupled with the outcomes of the analysis of global trends relating to the organisation of the public affairs qualifications and the epistemological shift in the discipline, were used to conceptualise this qualification. This qualification is intended to maximise the employability prospects of the qualifying learners. It corrects the existing structural design where dichotomies based on false distinction between public administration/public management and local government were created. Local government is an important aspect of public affairs; in the same way, the general administration of the state is. The existing approach of educating either for employment in the administrations of the national/provincial spheres of government or those in the local sphere limits the employability prospects of learners. The qualification is designed to prepare learners for the entire area of activity called the public sector in which they should operate: public service (national and provincial spheres of government), municipalities, public entities, government enterprises and public sphere institutions. They can also work in the public affairs divisions of the private companies. Qualifying learners are expected to be responsible citizens with a strong sense of ethics and the ability to make a significant contribution towards building the capacity of the state in the pursuit of the public good.