Strategic leadership of public sector reform John Wilkins It is held that there can be no meaningful public sector reform without public service renewal – no agenda for change and no progress without capacity development. And there can be no reform without the stewardship of strategic leaders. This means that there can be no transformation in today’s networked government without collaborative leadership. The fact that this capacity is found wanting in many parts of the Commonwealth presents dilemmas for governments in sustaining public service renewal and reform, with real development implications. Public sector reform and capacity development Many countries are taking steps to streamline government, strengthen institutions and modernise management. Open and accountable government is critical for realising people’s rights and delivering public services. Institutional capacity enables good governance in the form of competent leadership, strategic planning, resource management and efficient administration. The gap between enacting public policy and implementing programmes is out of step with growing citizen expectations. The management challenges are daunting: focus on internal process and organisation rather than on citizens; untapped technologies to improve service quality and timeliness; fragmented and incoherent policy agendas; indifference to performance culture and accountability for results; and weak capacity in ministries and sub-national governments. New approaches are needed to bolster public sector interventions and to mitigate management challenges. The World Bank1 (WB) acknowledges that not all problems can be solved. It has a new, more realistic approach to public sector management, which recognises that: • Reform matters and is best seen as a problem-solving task • Reform is difficult because knowledge is weak and political economy is spotty • The development community has less knowledge than it thinks, but more than it uses • WB is a distinctively strong player, spending US$4–5 billion a year on reform • WB is committed to doing better, knowing better and integrating better • Working with WB starts with defining the functional problem to be solved One unknown in this new approach to reform concerns the role of public service leadership. The Overseas Development Institute2 confirms that progress depends upon leadership, policy, institutional foundations and international partnerships. Developing the capacity of government to administer, deliver and renew public services must be managed concurrently with reform. The reform deficit is most pronounced in settings with weak institutional capacity. In many countries, capacity has eroded so that there are major human resource shortages in professional and technical occupations; limited budgets for recruitment and retention of qualified knowledge workers; talent migration towards stronger economies in other sectors and abroad; and inadequate leadership competencies to motivate and manage public service performance. In developed countries, the workforce is aging, requiring attention to succession planning, working conditions, pension fund solvency, and health and social costs. In developing countries, the workforce is increasingly diverse, mobile and motivated by higher paying job opportunities in a global market. There are trade-offs between the security and continuity of long-term public service employment and the performance basis of short-term contract employment, particularly for executive cadres. The changing dynamics require new strategies and flexible policies, practices, and terms and conditions to create an employment environment conducive to attracting, retaining and developing talent for the public service. The intent of reforms has been good, but the experience on the ground indicates shortcomings in support mechanisms. There are renewed efforts in the Commonwealth to network training institutes to replenish public service skill gaps. And cabinet secretaries and/or heads of public service are sharing and championing whole-of-government strategies for capacity development. Commonwealth Governance 64 Handbook 2013/14
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