MasterCraft Series – Evaluating Public Sector Transformation: Lessons from the APS Reform agenda
Major reform programs are designed to improve how public services operate and deliver outcomes for citizens. Yet evaluating whether reform has made a difference can be challenging, particularly when change occurs across multiple organisations, over several years, and in a constantly evolving environment.
The APS Reform Agenda 2022–2025 brought together a wide range of initiatives intended to strengthen capability, leadership, integrity, workforce performance and service delivery across the Australian Public Service. Understanding whether these efforts made a difference required an evaluation approach capable of capturing change across a complex and interconnected system. In this MasterCraft session*, Antonia Quadara will share lessons from leading the evaluation of the APS Reform Program. She will explore the practical challenges of evaluating large-scale reform, including measuring progress, understanding contribution, and balancing accountability with learning. Drawing on real-world experience, the session will provide insights into how evaluation can support better decision-making, strengthen stewardship, and help public sector leaders understand what it takes to achieve meaningful and sustained change.
*Please note this event will be recorded. You can view this video and other MasterCraft Series events here.
Presenters
Dr Antonia Quadara, APSC
Dr Antonia Quadara leads the Evaluation and State of the Service Report team in the People Insights Branch at the Australian Public Service Commission. She has more than 15 years of experience leading strategy, evaluation, research and organisational improvement initiatives across the public sector. Antonia specialises in evaluating complex programs and systems-level change, with expertise spanning public sector reform, stewardship, organisational performance and evidence-informed decision making. She has led major evaluation and research projects for governments and public institutions, applying approaches that bring together theory, evidence and practical decision-making.
Throughout her career, Antonia has worked at the intersection of evidence, strategy and implementation. She is particularly interested in understanding how change happens in complex public sector systems and how evaluation can generate practical insights to support future reform efforts. Most recently, Antonia led the evaluation of the APS Reform Program 2022–2025, examining how multiple initiatives combined to drive change across the Australian Public Service and identifying the conditions that support sustained reform over time.
Facilitator
Anthony Dusan, APSC
Participant benefits
- Identify challenges involved in evaluating reform at scale in complex systems.
- Learn how to generate evidence that supports both learning and accountability.
- Apply lessons from the APS Reform Agenda to future change and transformation.
Suitable for
All Staff
Category and User level
This learning experience aligns with the Working in Government Craft at the Foundation level.
Price
Free of charge.
Additional Information
- To enrol in this session you will need a valid APSLearn profile.
- Steps on how to create an APSLearn profile or to view FAQs can be found here.
- If you have moved Departments or you have multiple APSLearn profiles, you can request to merge your profiles here.
- If your training venue is at MoAD, please refer to the directional map to assist with locating the training room.
Attendance (Virtual)
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* Capacity limits may apply. Please log into APSLearn to check availability.
- If the session is full or none of the additional sessions are suitable, you can express your interest, through APSLearn, for this event. You will be added to a mailing list to be notified when a new session becomes available.