James Kon
The Ministry of Defence’s (MinDef) Executive Development Programme (EDP) is essential for the professional development of officers in leadership roles to ensure they are capable and efficient in carrying out their responsibilities, said Permanent Secretary (Policy, Finance and Administration) at the MinDef Colonel (Rtd) Norsuriati binti Haji Sharbini. She said this during the launch of the 17th iteration of the programme on public policy and management for senior government officials at the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (SHHBIDSS), Bolkiah Garrison yesterday.
“The EDP modules will cover three essential elements of public policy and analysis, strategic management and defence management which should provide participants with an understanding of the types of public policy, its rationales, concepts, formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policy and the various tools for policy analysis,” she added.
This year’s EDP, which runs until December 2, comprises 30 participants, including 21 senior military officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), one officer from the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), five senior officers from government ministries (Prime Minister’s Office, MinDef and Ministry of Education), and three foreign senior military officers from Indonesia, Oman, and Singapore.
The three-month programme is led by a faculty of highly-experienced academicians and experts from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and features local content such as presentations from speakers and visits to various ministries, to provide a more in-depth understanding of the Sultanate’s strategic environment, alongside its primary focus on public policy and management.
Participants are encouraged to utilise the new skillsets, especially on policy formulation and change management, for more substantial contributions towards the achievement of organisational and national strategic goals against a dynamic security environment.
Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) and Associate Professor at LKYSPP at the NUS Professor Suzaina Kadir, in her opening remarks, lauded the close relations between Brunei and Singapore, especially in the areas of professional development and education between the two institutions.
A total of 387 senior officers have completed the EDP since it was first inaugurated in 2004.
