In the thick of it: A critical evaluation of the home Civil Service policy profession

Collins, Matthew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7458-3593 2025. In the thick of it: A critical evaluation of the home Civil Service policy profession. SPPD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Despite repeated attempts to develop competency and skills frameworks that would drive civil servants to provide high-quality policy advice, it remains the case that there is little research establishing what policy officials need to be good at. Guided by the academic literature relating to competency frameworks, this thesis evaluates the Policy Profession Standards against two bodies of evidence: a systematic review of the public policy literature and a Delphi Method study that introduces, for the first time, the perspective of government ministers. Drawing upon those results, this thesis produces a new typology of competence for individual policy capacity that identifies requirements for three types of knowledge (specialist policy knowledge, general policy knowledge, and system knowledge); four types of skills (policy-making, social, communication, and the ability to balance these appropriately); 11 dispositions (political astuteness, creativity, judgement, leadership, adaptive capacity, risk-taking, resilience, integrity, moral courage, political impartiality, and self-awareness); and two types of experience (of the users of their department’s output, and of the culture within their department). Comparing the Policy Profession Standards against this typology reveals that important facets are missing from the current framework and that these gaps include several elements identified by the key consumer of this advice: ministers. The thesis concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of these absences and whether the current requirements are fit for purpose. The conclusion drawn is that this new typology offers those charged with training the next generation of policy officials a firm foundation upon which to base recruitment, training, and individual development activities.

Item Type:	Thesis (SPPD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	20 May 2026
Last Modified:	20 May 2026 12:24
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187127

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