Purpose Given the importance of context in shaping learning, the authors argue that there is a need for research aimed specifically at elucidating organizational learning in a public sector environment. To address this need, the purpose of this paper is to present both critical and practical insights into the nature of public sector learning, based on a detailed mapping of learning in a knowledge-based public sector organization. Design/methodology/approach A purposive case study is employed to explore learning in a knowledge-based organization facing few of the known impediments to learning. Findings Learning occurred in a range of ways, through both formal and informal mechanisms. Four learning sites were observed: project, program, operational and strategic. Little use was made of formal evaluation products. Learning was constrained by mental models and organizational context and was, thus, found to be strongest in areas relating to the agency’s core business and dominant professional expertise (international agricultural research). Research limitations/implications The findings of the study are based on the learning experience of a single public sector organization in the applied research and development sector. Further work is needed on public sector organizations operating in a variety of situations to determine the generalizability of the patterns reported here and to develop and validate the mapping approach employed in the study. Practical implications The mapping approach enabled parts of the organization that were not included in the learning conversation to be identified. The involvement of the researchers also precipitated learning activities and consciousness, suggesting that practically-oriented research may be a useful learning catalyst for small organizations. Originality/value Learning in public sector organizations is usually approached through the “lens” of models developed in business settings. Mapping learning provides a way of showing what is learned, how it is learned, and its relationship to the public sector environment, characterized by legislation, political variables and ministerial oversight. This approach offers a way forward in the understanding and development of public sector learning.

In this paper, we focus on a policy trial that was undertaken in a complex and controversial policy field (Indigenous community development), with the avowed objective of learning from experience in the field . We observe that despite significant implementation effort and quality evaluation, little systematic policy learning occurred. Four impediments are identified: (i) the policy environment was highly politicized and contested, (ii) the results challenged accepted ways of working, (iii) there were no systematic processes for policy learning to occur, and (iv) the learnings were distorted by inter‐agency competition and associated ‘labelling’. We suggest that, in controversial policy fields, the most useful first step in enhancing evaluation‐use is for bureaucracies to institute systematic processes for evaluation findings to be considered, with the aim of elaborating ‘what works’ into a consensual approach to change. Without change of this kind, evaluation‐use will remain a failed area of policy.

Achieving improvements in indigenous health and education and reducing the incidence of crime and domestic violence in indigenous communities has proved heartbreakingly difficult. The Murdi Paaki COAG trial in western NSW aimed to break this pattern of failure by tailoring flexible Commonwealth and State government support to indigenous communities, working within a framework of shared responsibility.In this article we assess the trial as a policy strategy by comparing outcomes and patterns of outcomes across the sixteen communities. We found that the strategy worked best where 'good enough' governance was aligned with flexibility, rather than with control. This way of working is difficult for governments as it can be a slow process, and requires stability in the policy and engagement framework to deliver results. More broadly, our findings confirm the usefulness of complexity theory to illuminate and to explain the evolution of process in administrative contexts involving networked governance.

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