About Me

Hello! My name is Belinda Tobin. I have had the honour of serving as a public servant for over 20 years. During this time, I have seen firsthand how supporting creativity can build dynamic teams and deliver incredible results. However, I have also seen how fear, risk aversion and misguided views can lead to stagnation, dissatisfaction, and in some cases, even despair.

It was when I began my own dedicated creative practice and deeper research into creativity itself that I realised that we don’t have conversations around creativity at work. But why? The more I investigated it, the more it became clear that it was core to all we were seeking to achieve. This was the motivation for my book – to bust the malicious myths and reset the mindsets that keep us from embracing and expressing this core human capability for the benefit of our communities.

I have spent several years researching creativity, the individual preconditions and the organisational settings in which it thrives. I have developed original frameworks, including the Creative Energy Equation and the Creative Governance System. I have published several non-fiction titles and made submissions on creative confidence to Productivity Commission inquiries. My book and the services on this site are the practical culmination of this work, which I plan to deepen through PhD research into public sector creativity from 2026.​

Alongside my focus on creativity in government, I dedicate time to my own creative practice as an author of fiction and non-fiction, a series executive producer for a web film project, and a curator of events celebrating independent authors. This blend of public sector experience, research and hands-on creative work shapes a grounded, hopeful approach to helping agencies use creativity in the service of excellent community outcomes.

You can find out more about my other creative work here.

My Work

Creativity is not a word you will hear often in government offices. Still, after more than twenty years in the public sector, I see it everywhere – quietly powering innovation, resilience, productivity and problem-solving every day. What is not being done, however, is acknowledging the pivotal role creativity plays in government work and consciously nurturing it for the benefit of the public servants and the communities they serve. The big problems of our time need bold action, and this will only be possible when we foster the creative confidence of our government officers and elected representatives.

This book and site exist because it is time to come truly to understand creativity, question outdated assumptions about what it is and who has it, and become intentional about nurturing it as a core public sector capability. Because, with continued ignorance, governments forfeit people’s potential, squander energy for meaningful change, and limit the solutions available to address the complex challenges we face. If we continue the delusion that creativity is inconsistent with the stability and consistency that citizens demand, then we will slip too far backwards and cause the vulnerability we are striving to prevent.

The Why of my work is simple: to help shift mindsets so public servants see themselves as shapers of society; the creators of the conditions their citizens face now, and which their children will face in the future. To do this, this site offers resources that celebrate the creativity already present and provide the support needed to flourish for excellent community outcomes.