Calling public sector managers and policy makers

By Bridget Workman

Edition 9 – December 2017 Pages 29

Tags: public sector • workplace

Do you work in the public sector providing or managing workplaces for government occupiers? Does your organisation make policies and standards for how and where government workplaces should be built, designed and used? Are you seeking ideas and innovations to make government workplaces more efficient, effective and sustainable?

If so, then The Workplace Network is for you. TWN is a community for executives in public-sector real estate and their staff. Our members are leaders from public-sector organizations worldwide including Ministries, public corporations, departments and agencies in central, federal and local, provincial governments. Among their many functions our members provide 18million sqm of workplaces for hundreds of thousands of public sector office workers. Creating efficient and effective workplaces is crucial to improving public services at the same time as saving public money.

The Network offers members insights into current issues and future trend. This community of global leaders brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience and TWN members can tap into this rich pool of international resources and information at the annual workshop and throughout the year. By being exclusively public sector we find we have much in common that is particular to operating in the sector.

We exchange ideas, strategies and solutions on everything from public policy, strategy and funding to design and construction, technology, sustainability and innovative workplaces. We showcase innovative solutions and offer opportunities for our members to collaborate. The relationships built at our annual workshop have been crucial in helping and inspiring the work of our members. Executives attending our workshop have said they value the opportunity to take what they’ve learned and apply it to the management and operation of their own organizations.

At this year’s workshop in Ottawa members focussed on approaches to creating effective and efficient workplaces, improving sustainability in buildings and communities, security of buildings and infrastructure, the use of smart building technology and BIM, using data in strategic planning and performance evaluation, and of topical interest to several of our members, the rehabilitation of Parliament buildings.

Members also have access to the results of the annual Member Survey for benchmarking, and the TWN’s learning and development network, the Worldwide Workplace Web (W4), is open to the up and coming stars among your staff.

Our members’ impact and influence is huge. According to this year’s Member Survey they directly own or manage around 300million sqm of built assets and manage about 10million hectares of land. They own some of the most important public buildings in major cities, and also many of the properties found in every town throughout their countries, including government offices, heritage buildings, courts, laboratories, hospitals, schools, military buildings and police stations.

As well as owning and managing buildings used by government and the public most of our members commission major public construction and many of them also set policies and standards for all government occupiers – not just for those properties they directly own and manage. Some of our members are involved in planning new cities and most are becoming more involved in setting strategies for development, economic growth and sustainability, co-ordinating across different layers of local and central government.

Our members create and safeguard public places, look after our heritage and are important players in the property market. They are among the leaders of innovation and expected to operate to the highest standards. TWN offers the chance to find out about and keep up with the best in the world.

Any public sector real estate organisation from around the world can apply. Once enrolled the senior executive becomes part of our community, can attend the annual workshop free of charge and gains access to the Network. He or she can nominate members of staff to attend the annual workshop and take part in the W4 network.

Currently the Network extends to 19 member organisations with 170 individual members and associate members. We welcome applications from any public sector real estate organisation. The Network’s business is conducted in English, but of course there are many languages spoken among our members, including our Spanish-speaking Secretary Luis del Moral Gonzales. Contact us at admin@theworkplacenetwork.org or visit www.theworkplacenetwork.org