Ebène, 6 November 2017: Professor Barbara Simpson from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, an expert in leadership, is presently in Mauritius in the context of a research project to develop leadership programmes for government bodies.

The National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) had sought the collaboration of the University of Strathclyde and the Civil Service College, Mauritius, last year to conduct a research study on leadership in the public sector. The mission of Professor Simpson in Mauritius consists of conducting a research for which she will meet with a number of stakeholders in the public sector during this week. The outcome of these interactions will culminate with a training needs report which will inform the design of leadership programmes for the public sector.

The project is in line with the NPCC’s strategic plan 2016-2019, “Unleashing Full Potential Through Positive Habits”, which lays strong emphasis on promoting leadership across all sectors and at different levels.

It is to be recalled that the NPCC has implemented the Mauritius Leadership Brand as part of its ambition to promote leadership as an engine of growth. The aim of the Mauritius Leadership Brand is to build a reputation for developing exceptional Mauritian leaders with a distinct set of talents that are uniquely geared to fulfil stakeholders' expectations.

The project proposes to influence a reengineering of the conceptualization of leadership modules at the Civil Service College.

“The public sector is constantly evolving to respond to the new challenges unfurling on both the local and global scenes and thus, the need for leadership and nurturing talents across all spheres of the public sector is being increasingly felt. In this bid, promoting leadership skills has been identified as a critical effort to attain our objectives of propelling Mauritius to a high income nation in the years to come,” says Mr. Dev Appalswamy, the Officer in Charge of the NPCC.

“As the world becomes more global, there is growing need for more collaborative and innovative leadership in the public sector. The introduction of the Mauritius Leadership Brand is a bold step towards developing the Mauritians leaders of tomorrow. I am looking forward to working with a wide range of stakeholders here to deepen and share my understanding about the Mauritius Leadership Brand,” says Professor Simpson.

Professor Simpson will also conduct a public seminar jointly organised by the NPCC and the University of Mauritius at the R. Burrenchobay Lecture Theatre, Réduit, on Thursday 16 November at 1400 Hours. In the seminar entitled “New Leadership for Interesting Times”, Professor Simpson will shed light on the conventional models of top-down leadership and explain how leadership rather needs to be more social and relational and why it should engage collaboratively with all available talents and skills.

About Professor Barbara Simpson

Besides being an expert in the processes of creativity, innovation and change in organisations, Professor Simpson is also an expert in leadership-as-Practice and the performativity of leadership. She has extensively mastered the methods of inquiry for process research and the pragmatic processes in process research. She joined the Strathclyde Business School in 2004 where her research activities focused primarily on the processes of technological learning and small manufacturing businesses. She also maintained an interest in scientific and hi-tech innovation and the management of professionals, especially scientists.