When he first took on the Chief of Government Communications role in 2012, Mr Devan knew very little of what to expect, he admits.
Brought in to coordinate the Government’s public communication efforts and lead the Information Service to enhance its network across the public sector, Mr Devan had quite the task ahead of him.
But he was not apprehensive of the challenges ahead. “The fact that I wasn’t from the Civil Service probably helped, because I didn’t know enough to be afraid,” he says. “I didn't know enough to be hesitant about some of the things I wanted to do… I hadn’t learnt from experience to fear certain things.”
He looks back with gratitude at the support he received from the many Permanent Secretaries he worked with, who Mr Devan said “probably protected him from the worst mistakes” and had his back as he set about on his work.
In preparing for this interview, Mr Devan had flipped through one of his many notebooks from his earlier days in the MCI. He found “six or seven” goals jotted down that have since been achieved: establishing a media operations team, having a group of speechwriters, setting up data collection and analysis capabilities, and so on.
He is particularly proud of how the Government communications community has grown and added value to the Service. He pointed to the quality of leadership within the MCI’s Information Service and the wider communications community beyond the Ministry, such as the press secretaries. “They have grown into very substantial officers. And that gives me an enormous satisfaction.”