Public governance is key to social and economic development, 'Growth with Equity' (theme of CHOGM 2013) audit approach or the ‘performance’ audit approach). We will also work to improve the relationship between key oversight institutions at the centre of government in member countries, in particular the interface between supreme audit institutions, the Public Accounts Committee and internal audit functions. We will work in collaboration with the CPA in this area, given their role in parliamentary capacity building. Small states applying comparative experience to develop more effective public administration The final area of focus for the Commonwealth over the next four years will be to support and enable small states to adopt and apply comparative experiences and ‘best fit’ solutions toward more effective public administration. In contrast to larger states, the opportunities for the smallest states to develop innovative solutions to public administration challenges appear weak and their smallness means that most development organisations pay inadequate attention to their specific public administration needs. Moreover, the middle-income status of many small states camouflages the extent of their vulnerability. In this regard, the Commonwealth will leverage the access and convening power that our historical engagement with small I n t r o d u c t i o n states has given us, as well as the Commonwealth’s networking potential and shared history of public administration, in order to identify, document and enable small states to adopt or adapt innovative models of public administration already in use in other small states. Particular attention would be given to those practices, which effectively address the unique characteristics of public administration in small states, such as multi-functionalism and a reliance on informal structures and personal influence. We will also support small states in adopting and implementing e-governance policies and strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public administration. Defined as ‘the utilisation of modern information and communications technology to interact with and provide services to businesses, citizens and other governments with the intent to improve transparency, increase public service efficiency and deepen democracy’, e-governance can help improve transparency, public service delivery, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector, increasing citizen participation in government. Recent Secretariat supported initiatives have highlighted the transformational effect e-governance can have on public administration – this includes the introduction of Transparency Sierra Leone (an online portal through which Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 11
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