We should begin by declaring our hand. We are both former senior executives who have spent over a decade in our new ‘pracademic’ careers, delivering short-course policy training for public servants and others interested in public policy, principally through the Australian National University’s Crawford School and National Security College but also through such courses delivered directly to departments and guest spots in other university courses. We are offering a mirror to those in the Australian Public Service (APS) concerned with APS capability.