IPAA NSW Spann Oration is back
The Spann Oration is one of IPAA NSW’s most significant annual events, established in honour of Professor Richard Neville Spann OBE, MA Oxon., FASSA (1916–1981). A foundational figure in Australian public administration, Professor Spann held the Chair of Government and Public Administration at the University of Sydney from 1954 until his passing in 1981, working closely with both State and Commonwealth Governments and chairing the Administrative Research Committee of the NSW State Public Service Board.
Each Oration aims to reflect his belief in the importance of ethical, capable, and future-focused public institutions. Over the decades, it has attracted some of the most respected voices in public leadership and policy, including Dr Lisa O’Brien, Lord Gus O’Donnell, Anna Bligh, The Hon Nick Greiner AC, Ann Sherry AO, Dr Peter Shergold AC, Sir Michael Barber and Elizabeth Proust AO. Together, these speakers have shaped a legacy of ideas and insight that continue to influence the culture and systems of the public sector.
Professor RN Spann: A Scholar and Contributor to IPAA
Professor Spann was a long-standing supporter of IPAA and an influential voice in its work. He edited Public Administration (now the Australian Journal of Public Administration) for two decades and was widely regarded as one of the most thoughtful and prolific contributors to the field.
His scholarship produced several landmark texts that remain foundational to the study of public service, including:
- The Public Bureaucracy in Australia
- Government Administration in Australia
- Public Administration in Australia
- Public Policy and Administration in Australia: A Reader
As both an academic and critic, Professor Spann shaped the discipline and practice of public administration in Australia for generations.
A Life of Service and Scholarship
Born in Manchester in 1916, the son of a joiner and cabinetmaker, Spann won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1937. After lecturing at the University of Manchester, he joined the Royal Navy in 1942 during the Second World War.
His academic career then took him to Harvard and the University of Chicago as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, before he returned to Australia in 1954 to accept the Sydney chair. Alongside his scholarly contributions, he regularly advised governments directly on matters of administration and policy.
Professor Spann passed away on 25 July 1982, leaving behind an enduring legacy.
**This information and biographical details are drawn from the University of Sydney and IPAA NSW archives
Read the IPAA NSW 2025 Spann Oration speech delivered by Her Excellency here.
View the image gallery from the 2025 Spann Oration here.