Civil service reform

Case studies

Many of the references cited elsewhere in this topic guide are a rich source of case study material. Some additional case studies are cited below.

Roberts, J. and Andrews, M., 2005, 'Something Funny Happened on the Way to Reform Success: The Case of Budget Reform Implementation in Ghana', International Journal of Public Administration, vol. 28, p. 291–311.
Why did budget and management reforms in Ghana eventually falter after an initial period of progress? This article from the International Journal of Public Administration examines the development of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in Ghana between 1998 and 2002. A number of factors may explain why reform implementation was derailed, including reform ownership and political will, organisational integration and organisational incentives, and strategic capacity. All of these factors are commonly presented as influences on reform implementation. The Ghanaian experience provides detail as to how such influences could work.
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Owusu, F., 2006, 'On Public Organizations in Ghana: What Differentiates Good Performers from Poor Performers?' African Development Review, vol. 18, no. 3.
Are there significant differences in the characteristics of poor and good performing public organisations? What are the implications for public sector reform policy in Africa? This paper from the Department of Community and Regional Planning at Iowa State University uses Ghana as a case study to provide guidance to policymakers on ways of creating effective and efficient public sector reform strategies.
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Bana, B. and McCourt, W., 2005, 'Institutions and Governance: Public Staff Management in Tanzania', Management in Development Working Paper Series, no. 14, February, Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester.
How do institutional arrangements affect the way public servants are managed? This paper from the Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) looks at the post-independence institutional framework in Tanzania. Excessive presidential powers and centralised staffing authority have resulted in the duplication of functions between central and line agencies. A climate of corruption and favouritism has reduced confidence in civil service staffing. Institutions need to be realigned to serve development needs.
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Morgan, P. and Baser, H., 2007, 'Building the Capacity for Managing Public Service Reform. The Tanzania Experience', Discussion Paper, no. 57Q, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Maastricht.
The Government of Tanzania has made genuine progress in building capacity to design and manage public service reform. So how did Tanzania achieve this institutional and organisational change? This case study prepared for the European Centre for Development Policy Management by the African Capacity Building Foundation examines this process, focusing on the role of the President’s Office - Public Service Management (PO-PSM) unit as a change manager within the public service
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Caiden, G. and Sundaram, P., 2004, 'The Specificity of Public Service Reform', Public Administration and Development, vol. 24, p. 373–383.
What are the key contours of public service reform and what can we learn from experience so far? What impact has New Public Management (NPM) had? Despite universal recognition of the decline of public services and the need for reform, considerable divergence of views still exists on the best strategy and sequencing of reform to adopt in individual countries. This article, published in Public Administration and Development, examines the nature of public service reform, outlines some of the universal problems faced by reformers and applies this analysis to the potential for public service reform in India.
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