GET Note

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.

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.

2009-07, Thomas, Theo

The severity and global nature of the current financial and economic crisis has increased the role expected of fiscal policy in stimulating national and global demand, protecting vulnerable groups, and investing for future growth (International Monetary Fund, or IMF 2009). For those that can afford it, this means quickly designing and implementing fiscal stimulus packages. These new challenges have arisen while governments across the world have, for some time, been reforming their budget management frameworks to improve public sector performance to better meet complex and ever-rising obligations. While there is a risk that the short-term stimulus diverts attention from longer-term performance reforms, this note suggests that 'performance-informed budgeting' can help countries better address the challenges of the current financial and economic crisis. Specifically, how governments might enhance the impact of their fiscal stimulus through three interrelated performance-informed areas: i) reprioritizing public spending to maximize the impact of the stimulus measures; ii) improving the efficiency and effectiveness of operational expenditures to avoid waste and maximize the available fiscal space; and iii) accelerating investment expenditures, to both stimulate demand and build for future growth.