A new International School for Government at King¡¯s College London has the ambition of ¡°upskilling¡± policymakers and civil servants from across the world, with modules ranging from ¡°user-centred digital government¡± to ¡°empathy and emotion in policymaking¡±.

The school was launched at an event featuring former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

Alexander Downer, the former Australian foreign minister who is executive chair of the school, told?51³Ô¹Ï?that the idea to develop the school had come from ¡°King¡¯s in collaboration with the civil service here¡±, with King¡¯s having been in ¡°extensive discussions with the Cabinet Office¡±.

Mr Downer, a former leader of the Liberal Party, said that ¡°the issue of improving governance through civil service upskilling is critical in this era of great transformation. So we¡¯ve taken the best of King¡¯s and also some module leads from outside King¡¯s to provide a programme that is¡­contemporary and accessible.¡± Working with digital technology will be one key emphasis, he added.

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The school will offer online modules ¡°with some direct engagement through webinars¡±, leading to certificates and diplomas, or providing credits that can be put towards master¡¯s courses, said Mr Downer. Other module titles include Robust Decision-Making Under Deep Uncertainty. The school will also launch its own executive master¡¯s course.?

Mr Downer said that the aim was to attract students from ¡°all over the world¡±, with the school ¡°in negotiations¡± with a range of governments: ¡°the South Africans, the Argentines¡­the Commonwealth¡±.

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Asked if the school¡¯s approach to government might be criticised as an outmoded ¡°technocratic¡± one in an era of increasing populism, Mr Downer said: ¡°There will always be a place for the right thing in government¡­Whatever the politicians decide to do, the civil servants need to be skilled up and ready to manage and handle it.¡±

He continued: ¡°It depends what a populist government decides to do¡­Do they want to spend more money than they can ever borrow? We [civil servants] can help them out there, we can tell them, ¡®that can¡¯t be done, my friend¡¯.¡± If a government were to pursue a ¡°populist¡± policy such as nationalising a railway, he said, then civil servants would be needed to work out ¡°how in practice¡± the government could manage a railway.

Mr Blair told the launch event that the new school was timely given the advent of a ¡°much, much greater focus on the processes and machinery and effectiveness of government¡±.

He said that while his time in opposition had centred on ¡°talking¡± and the communication skills needed to persuade voters to opt for a change, being in government was ¡°all about doing, and doing is infinitely harder than talking¡±. Those in government need ¡°executive skills¡±, he added.

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The skills required in government ¡°can be learnt and taught¡±, Mr Blair said.

Discussing Brexit, the former prime minister criticised the Labour party leadership¡¯s support for a general election as the route to resolving the crisis ¨C although he praised the leadership¡¯s recent move to work with other parties to block a no-deal Brexit. He argued for a second referendum and against ¡°mixing up¡± an election with Brexit. Boris Johnson was only seeking to do so because he saw ¡°political advantage¡± in using an election to force a no-deal Brexit, he added.

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com