GET Note

18 items available

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https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9409

The GET Note -- Recently Asked Questions Series captures the knowledge and advice from individual engagements of the World Bank’s Global Expert Team (GET) on Public Sector Performance.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 14

Managing and Monitoring Grand Design Public Administration Reforms
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-08) Verheijen, Tony
A grand design attempt at public administration reform can be thought of as any centrally designed, multiple agency reform program or process designed to modernize or improve the performance of administrative structures at the center of Government, usually with a focus on addressing persistent underlying inefficiencies. International practice shows that reforming selected central institutions (especially those that hold the purse strings) is a different matter altogether from addressing performance issues in large ministries with a service delivery mandate. Therefore, it is of critical importance to ‘unpack’ these particular reforms and uncover the persistent issues that arise in countries attempting to pursue such reforms. The four grand design cases highlighted here were selected for their comparability in terms of size and economy, and as examples of reforms from different regions. The cases presented here are Brazil, Nigeria, Russia and Tanzania. Each of these cases has specific characteristics, based on a unique country or reform context, but they share the features of a broad, across-the-board reform approach (in three of the four cases with a clear sub-national dimension that is distinct from the national one). This note focuses on the three critical design aspects of such reforms: a) reform coherence, b) effective anchorage and, c) blending technocratic solutions with substantive service delivery improvements.
Strengthening Cabinet Office Procedures
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-06) Goldsworthy, Diana
Located at the hub of Government’s decision-making system, center-of-government offices are crucial to a government’s capacity to define and implement their policies and programs. The work of coordination can be complex and demanding, especially where conflicting political imperatives are involved; and where capacity in the center-of-government office is lacking. For both reasons, standard procedures are essential to create a reliable, non-controversial framework within which to deal with competing priorities and demands. The procedures may be basic and simple in the first instance, gradually becoming more sophisticated over time as capacity increases. This note describes some of the basic procedures being developed and introduced in the Prime Minister’s Office of the Kingdom of Tonga, which serves both the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Although the procedures are tailor-made for Tonga, they are based on generic models that can be observed in many differing administrations.
Targeting Results, Diagnosing the Means: Innovative Approaches for Improving Public Sector Delivery
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-05) Watkins, Joanna; Manning, Nick
This note sets out approaches to reform which start with identifying the shortcomings in results and which then look for pragmatic solutions that fit the particular context: no best practice, fewer universal recommendations for institutional design. The relative merits of this type of approach have not been empirically tested, but they are nonetheless intuitively reasonable and offer an alternative to other models of institutional reform which have not had great success. This note argues that these results-based approaches are a welcome breath of fresh air in a difficult domain. They are clearly in tune with the current results focus of the international development community and they address many of the challenges recognized by practitioners in previous approaches. However the authors still have remarkably little hard evidence on which to base a robust assessment of the effectiveness of this type of intervention.
Public Service Delivery in the Era of Digital Governance: Case Studies from Indonesia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-05) Karippacheril, Tina George
In an era of digital governance, information technology, internet, mobile devices, and social media have transformed the organization, management, and delivery of public services. Developing country governments around the world are gradually replacing paper-based processing and delivery with next-generation technologies to serve citizens. In Indonesia, a host of citizen-led approaches have emerged ahead of government process transformation efforts. This global expert team (GET) note examines case studies of digital-era governance (DEG), a concept put forward by Dunleavy, further developed by means of examples from Indonesia focusing on demand-side approaches to stimulate improvements in public sector performance.
Does the Public Sector HRM System Strengthen Staff Performance?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12) Watkins, Joanna; Manning, Nick; Degnarain, Nishan
An important objective of any Human Resource Management (HRM) system in Government is to motivate staff to perform well. This GET note looks at several HRM levers that Governments have at their disposal to influence staff performance. In particular, some of the most common levers in the public sector include: effective recruitment and retention of staff; strong staff engagement in the organization’s mission; well-designed incentives for staff to perform as well as ‘opportunities to perform’; tailored training and capacity building; and high quality performance dialogues with staff and effective follow up. In designing a HRM system that utilizes these levers effectively, this GET Note shows that it is more important to diagnose the root cause and understand the major issues of poor performance, before proposing reform actions. This paper proposes three important design questions for managers of HRM systems to assess whether they have a well-designed HRM system. 1) Does the HRM system provide both ‘external incentives’ and ‘opportunities to perform’? Does the HRM system provide the right balance between short and long term incentives? And are the broader, supporting aspects of the HRM system working effectively? The note concludes by highlighting that even where the HRM system is well designed, careful consideration must be given to two further aspects: a) how to implement reforms to improve the design of the HRM system, and b) how to ensure that a well-designed HRM system is operating effectively.
Entry-Level Civil Service Leadership Development Programs: Survey of Selected International Experience
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-11) Roseth, Benjamin; Dahal, Sudyumna
This note presents an overview of several entry-level civil service leadership development programs (ELDP), defined here as a government program – separate from mainstream civil service recruitment and development mechanisms – that seeks to recruit young professionals, select the best candidates based on merit, develop their skills to meet the business needs of government ministries and programs while preparing them for leadership in the civil service. It draws on experiences from the Unites States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Liberia. All of the programs analyzed cover the national or federal level of government. The remainder of the note is organized into five sections: (i) Background, which places ELDPs in the broader context of civil service reform; (ii) Advent of ELDPs, which describes the challenges ELDPs were designed to address; (iii) Analysis of Programs, which describes the general characteristics typical to ELDPs; (iv) Country cases, which highlights salient characteristics of each of the four ELDPs analyzed; and (v) Initial thoughts on introducing such programs.
Managing a Sustainable Results Based Management (RBM) System
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-03) World Bank
This note presents a framework for thinking about public sector results based management (RBM) systems, with a particular focus on the issues line agencies face in complying with mandates and directives from central agencies on monitoring and evaluating performance. It also provides five lessons learned from RBM systems of relevance for countries pursuing results based management reforms. Taking a system's view of results based management reveals a number of different approaches and techniques used across the public sector to improve results.
Driving Performance through Center of Government Delivery Units
(Washington, DC, 2010-11) World Bank
Several governments around the world have recently established delivery units at the center of government to drive performance improvements. This development may be in addition to whole-of-government reforms to improve performance, such as citizen charters, service agreements, or performance reporting. Given rising interest in public sector performance innovations, this note provides an overview of center-of-government delivery unit arrangements, including key factors for success, with a particular focus on one of the first incarnations of a central delivery unit - the United Kingdom's Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU).
Overview of Public Sector Performance Assessment Processes in Japan
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-08) Matsuura, Miki; Watkins, Joanna; Dorotinsky, William
The Government of Japan began introducing evaluation techniques in 2001 within the context of a Central Government reform program that involved the establishment of new ministries and the integration and abolition of existing ministries. Japans approach emphasizes assessing policies and activities, and then incorporating results into future planning and budgeting, with a focus on making public sector programs and activities more efficient. This is a synopsis of Japans experience with public sector performance assessment processes between 2001 and 2010. This note presents a range of initiatives underway in Japan, including policy and activity evaluation, as well as the spending review exercise designed to make public sector service delivery more efficient. The intention of this note is not to necessarily endorse Japans approach, but rather to document it as a case study.
Non-monetary Awards for Public Sector Programs and Institutions : Survey of Selected International Experience
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-04) Watkins, Joanna; Beschel, Robert
This guide presents a range of non-monetary award programs to recognize performance improvements in government programs, initiatives, and agencies. Nine award programs are drawn from Canada, Ireland, Abu Dhabi, the Philippines, the United States and Jordan. Each of the programs are analyzed along the following dimensions: objectives, target applicants, award categories, selection criteria, participation, selection process, type of reward, year of establishment, and number of awards given per year. Individual program details along these dimensions are available. The first section presents the theoretical background on how non-monetary award programs function, their expected benefits, and guiding principles to harness the potential benefits of such a program. The second section highlights the findings from the analysis of the nine programs along the key dimensions.