Discussion Paper

Discussion Paper Public Service Reforms: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities 5 March 2013 THE DEVELO PMENT CONTEXT Introduction Need for reforms Public service in both the developed and developing world plays a vital role in providing public goods, such as defence, public order, property rights, macro-economic management, basic education, public health, disaster relief, protection of environment, and coordinating private sector activity. A capable public service is essential for creating a favourable investment climate and facilitating people’s participation in economic life. As countries get more globalized governments face increasingly complex and cross-cutting issues, such as economic volatility, climate change and migration. Wide use of the internet has made citizens more aware and impatient and that puts public servants under greater public scrutiny. Against this backdrop, public service delivery has acquired new dimensions as governments need to respond not only to changes in the global Public service delivery has acquired environment but also to the demands of an active citizenry. Formulating integrated new dimensions as governments policies and their effective implementation would require an adaptable and efficient need to respond not only to changes public service that can anticipate emerging challenges and ensure that potential in the global environment but also strategies are informed by better understanding of future contexts. It must also learn to the demands of an active to empower people and be able to work with them, as traditional vertical citizenry. accountability systems can act as a major impediment to working across boundaries1. There is a widespread perception that public servants in many Governments have not delivered what was expected from them. On the other hand, returns from improving effectiveness of the government are immense. An efficient public service is necessary (though not sufficient) for benefits to reach the socially and economically weaker sections of the society who have fewer alternatives to services provided by government. Mere allocation of funds for programmes that do not work effectively would be a waste of public money unless extra efforts are spent on improving government efficiency, and also to ensure that the poor are able to participate and put pressure on public administration to deliver so that they receive the intended benefits. The importance of good governance and having honest and competent public sector institutions for a country’s economic and social development is now widely accepted. Daniel Kaufmann, who worked as the World Bank’s Director for global governance, states that countries that improve their governance effectiveness raise their standard of living, as measured by per capita incomes, by about three times in the long run2. Poorly functioning public sector institutions and weak governance are major constraints to equitable development in many developing countries. In addition, governments must work with the people to ‘build anticipative capacity, inventive government and foster an innovative society in order to create emergent solutions to the complex challenges’3 that the society may face in future. In other words, the Classical model that saw government as primarily a provider of professional services is no longer sufficient today. Public interest now is a collective enterprise that involves government, citizens and civil society as value creators and co-producers of public goods. Governments and governance the world over are undergoing a ‘paradigm shift’ in their traditional roles and structures of inflexible control and procedure orientation, towards result orientation, flexibility, facilitation and a citizen-centric approach4. Success however would, to a large extent, depend upon a cultural change in the Civil Services. Excessive caution, reliance on precedents and following the beaten path have to give way to innovation and inventiveness and to trying out new methods. Merit, capability and quality should matter more than mere seniority. 1 O'Flynn, Janine L., Blackman, Deborah Ann and Halligan, John, Working Across Boundaries: Barriers, Enablers, Tensions and Puzzles (September 14, 2011). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1927666 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1927666 2 World Bank 2000: Top of Form Reforming Public Institutions and Strengthening Governance: A World Bank Strategy. However growth may take place without following the route of traditional governance reforms, as in Central Asian Republics where the growth pattern is based on export of natural resources (oil, gas) and labour-intensive raw materials (cotton), commodities that allow high degrees of monopoly at the expense of broad-based pro-poor economic development. See Jörn Grävingholt, 2011: The Political Economy of Governance Reforms in Central Asia, German Development Institute 3 See module 5 of A New Synthesis of Public Administration: Serving in the 21st Century by Jocelyne Bourgon. Kingston: School of Policy Studies and McGill-Queen's University Press , 2011 at http://www.nsworld.org/ 4 Anita Karwal, Effective Public Service Delivery and e-Governance: Who Drives Whom?, at http://www.nsworld.org/ 2 Public Service Reforms: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities ISSUE ANALYSIS Any external effort towards reforms should take account of the economic, social, cultural, constitutional and political context of the state in which they are implemented. Reforms that have evolved in some developed countries and have improved accountability of their civil service cannot be replicated elsewhere unless local social and political conditions are kept in mind. Some of the common issues and challenges associated with public service reforms are discussed below. Merit-based recruitment For the transition from an oppressive to responsive bureaucracy, the public service needs to merit- based, politically neutral, well-structured, “right-sized”, well-paid, accountable, professional, free of corruption, well-trained, performance-oriented, and relatively open. Attention to be made to the short term postings as many recruitment practices allow not fully transparent recruitment. Full enforcement of civil service laws and regulations on civil service recruitment is also a challenge. The new public management A public service concept introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s which adopted market norms in public service delivery, applied business principles to their operations, and paying new attention to customer choice and satisfaction. While this option creates semi-autonomous organizations which could handle individual tasks easily within the organization, it led to proliferation and fragmentation of the government apparatus and reduced the capacity to handle multi-sectoral issues. Whole-of-government The new coordination practice introduced to address challenges identified in the new public approach management. It proposes a public service which works across organizational boundaries to enable more effective policy development, implementation and service delivery. In many cases cross- sectoral agencies were created for coordination. The approach can also bring about a stronger control of the central government agency, stronger audit systems and financial management and can re-establish a common ethics and cohesive culture which was lost by the new public management. Improving accountability Accountability helps indicate the results achieved by the government using public fund. Major options are through performance evaluation system (e.g., more transparent record management and data collection), results-based programme delivery, citizen charger, and through Right to Public Services laws. Public financial management Sound public financial management supports the efficient and accountable use of public resources, helps macroeconomic and fiscal stability, and guides allocation of resources to address national priorities. Countries like Ghana, Mali and Nigeria improved its financial management, which resulted in e.g., double tax revenue and more timely submission of financial reports. Stakeholder ownership and Participation of citizens in programme delivery brings in more accountability, awareness of the participation citizens, and reduces repression and exploitation. Citizens involved will increase the knowledge, and be empowered, and the participating organizations will become more vibrant. A work analyzed approx. 500 studies on participatory development programme shows that the citizen participation is sustainable beyond project lifetime only when the citizen organizations are linked with markets, or skills training is provided. Decentralization Decentralization of resources and authority to local governments is a formal way to induce participation. However, decentralization has to be inclusive (i.e., addressing issues of less-powerful, e.g., immigrants, minorities, ethnic groups) and to be accountable. For effective public service performance, a good balance of centralization and decentralization has to be sought and to be maintained, with an option to strengthen local governments so they can take on more responsibilities. Political economy of reforms Political context has to be taken into consideration when designing any strategy on civil service reform. The issues include power relations involving kinship, ethnicity and personal factions, as well as party politics and the quality of political leadership. 3 Public Service Reforms: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities Merit-based recruitment The

Load more