People and not just Processes bring Change.

The Europe 2020 Strategy calls for a new form of governance as the Union sets employment, innovation, education and social inclusion as its primary objectives in achieving a smart, sustainable and an inclusive economy.

In this regard, is within reach of its jobs and growth targets, as the latest EU Country Report applauds Malta’s economic triumph in becoming one of Europe’s fastest growing economies. The report goes on to acknowledge the government’s effort in eliminating red- tape and unnecessary bureaucracy as Malta continues to outpace its neighbouring countries, following the successful enrolment of the much-anticipated public sector reform. Indeed, Malta is reporting sturdy progress, but there is still room for improvement, as Prime Minister Dr. boldly claimed, the public sector needs to start nurturing leaders and not just administrators.

As a matter of fact, this reasoning is in accordance with the conclusions drawn from a case- study that centred on the recently-introduced electoral manifesto implementation process; where a team, under the stewardship of former Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, devised a centralised system so as to ensure that all government pledges were honoured according to time and budget specifications. The research, which was part-financed by the European Social Fund and following the award of an ENDEAVOUR Scholarship, verifies existing theories that it is people, and not just processes, who enable change, since organisational change stirs a cultural shift which affects people, their role and behaviour. The research conveys that change and project management are equally valued since the two branches of management build on one other. The study further reveals that respondents claimed to be naturally compelled towards change agents who demonstrated leadership and soft skills other than technical or personality traits. Ultimately, solidifying the notion that managers play a crucial role in attaining organisation-wide change as collective leadership, effective communication and winning employees’ support were considered to be highly sought for in a change agent.

Certainly, the findings reported could aid future change agents in affecting public sector- wide reforms, as the electoral manifesto implementation process can serve as a strong mode to base other reforms on.

The aforementioned research was carried out as part of my MBA course requirement following the successful award of an ENDEAVOUR Scholarship which was part-financed by the – European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2014-2020, “Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the wellbeing of society.”

Tyson Fenech