GSDRC newsfeed on Public service management

Legitimacy and Context: Implications for Public Sector Reform in Developing Countries

Christine Andrews — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How can successful public sector reform be achieved in developing countries? This article from Public Administration and Development argues that understanding the interplay between public institutions and the surrounding social context is fundamental to developing a reform strategy. Poorer and socio-economically stratified countries face greater reform challenges owing to public institutions' lack of legitimacy. Reforms should focus on areas of governance that impact on poverty and inequality.

Public Sector Capacity Reform in Ethiopia: A Tale of Success in two Ministries?

Getachew Hailemariam Mengesha, Richard Common — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How successful has Public Sector Capacity reform been in Ethiopia? This article from Public Administration and Development assesses the outcomes of the Public Sector Capacity reform in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the Ministry of Education (MoE). It finds a remarkable transformation of service delivery in both organisations. The introduction of business process reengineering (BPR) brought high levels of user satisfaction and spectacular improvements in performance. However, the government will need to maintain the momentum of reform and extend it. Incentive schemes and a monitoring system could prevent regression.

How to Bring About Change in the Bangladesh Civil Service? Attempts to Change Mindsets, Behaviours and Practice

Colin Jacobs — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is the way forward for civil service reform in Bangladesh? This article from Public Administration and Development looks at the role that the Bangladesh civil service might play in enabling pro-poor reform and growth. It explores how a senior leadership programme, such as Managing at the Top (MATT2), can create a critical mass of reform minded civil servants. Developing leaders, reforming their attitudes and providing practical skills are all critical aspects of enabling change. However, a single programme is unlikely to be successful. Furthermore, while an incremental approach to reform may be realistic it should not fall into an acceptance of the current status-quo.

Examining Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes: A Role for Increased Social Inclusion?

Benedicte de la Briere, Laura B. Rawlings — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Conditional Cash Transfer programmes (CCTs) provide money to poor families, contingent on specific verifiable actions such as children's school attendance or preventative health care. How successful are CCTs in addressing social inclusion and inter-generational poverty? What is their impact on social accountability relationships between beneficiaries, service providers and governments? This summary focuses on the Social Inclusion section in a World Bank paper. While CCTs hold promise, they are not a panacea against social exclusion. They should form part of comprehensive social and economic policy strategies and be applied carefully in different policy contexts.

Social Exclusion, Social Isolation and the Distribution of Income

Brian Barry — Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT

While social exclusion is unquestionably closely associated with poverty, is it inextricably linked? Can a community marked by significant inequalities of power and status still be socially integrated? This paper from the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion discusses the relationships between social exclusion, justice and solidarity, with a particular focus on class systems within the USA and Britain. Despite varying income distribution, government policies targeting inequality and favouring social solidarity can promote an integrated society.

Following the Money: Do Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys Matter?

Geir Sundet — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Expenditure tracking, or �follow the money�, has become a byword in development circles for interventions that look into whether the money gets to where it is supposed to be going. The best known �follow the money� initiative is the Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) methodology that was developed in Uganda in the 1990s. The Uganda PETS found that 80% of the funds intended for primary schools were diverted on the way. This large �leakage� was subsequently cut to only 20%, an improvement that was attributed to a public information campaign that was initiated after the publication of the first PETS. This U4 Issues Paper reviews the evidence concerning the efficacy of expenditure tracking, recommending closer attention to the political context.

Decentralisation and Gender: Coordination and Cooperation on Maternal Health Issues in Selected District Councils in Tanzania

Liss Schanke, Siri Lange (eds) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How do Local Government Administrations (LGAs) in Tanzania coordinate and cooperate to reach gender-related goals? This study, published by the Chr. Michelsen Institute, identifies good practices in examining how five district councils cooperate with local communities, civil society organisations and the private sector to improve maternal health, and how well different departments within district councils coordinate their work. Structural problems, partly linked to financial issues, impede sustainable cooperation between local government and civil society. Cooperation with the Department for Community Development is central to enhancing participation and including lower local government levels.

The Role of Public Services in State- and Nation-building: Exploring Lessons from European History for Fragile States

Steven Van de Walle, Zoe Scott — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What role can public service delivery play in state-building? This article explores lessons from Western European history to argue that the design of public services is a far more political matter than is often recognised. Rather than being a neutral process, a historical review of service provision shows that it has been used as a political tool for building state legitimacy and concepts of nationhood. The paper concludes that donors need to rethink their approaches to service provision in fragile states in light of these findings.

National Programs: The Challenge of Implementation

Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How do national programmes aid the statebuilding process? This chapter from the book 'Fixing Failed States' assesses the success of national programmes in Europe, the United States and Afghanistan. Currently, statebuilding strategies falter because they fail to link intentions to realistic and innovative delivery mechanisms. The real work lies in implementation, and national programmes can provide the implementation vehicles that align vision, rules, resources and participants to achieve a common goal.

Local Government in Post-Conflict Situations: Lebanon Case Study

K Hamill, Z Ali-Ahmad — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How can donors contribute to sustainable post-conflict recovery and service delivery through support for local government? This paper from the United Nations Development Programme identifies lessons using post-2006 Lebanon as a case study. International actors can respond to a post-conflict situation while simultaneously building the capacity of local government. Local government can be used to reach beneficiaries comprehensively and systematically.

Education and Fragility: A New Framework

Yolande Miller-Grandvaux — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is the relationship between education and fragility? How can education mitigate fragility and promote stability? This article from The Journal of Education for International Development presents a new framework for education programming in fragile and conflict-affected states. Developed by USAID in 2006, the framework casts education in the forefront of programming priorities as a response to conflict in countries affected by unrest.

Rationale, Issues and Conditions for Sustaining the Abolition of School Fees

Birger Fredriksen — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is the rationale for abolishing school fees and what challenges is such an initiative likely to face? This chapter by Birger Fredriksen argues that removing school fees is necessary for sub-Saharan Africa to achieve its enrolment objectives and to stimulate further educational improvements on the continent. For the initiative to be effective, abolition of school fees must be implemented in coordination with other reforms targeting quality, access, and financial sustainability.

Going to Scale with Community-Led Total Sanitation: Reflections on Experience, Issues and Ways Forward

Robert Chambers — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How can Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) be scaled up to address open defecation (OD) and its resulting health problems? This paper, published by the Institute of Development Studies, draws on cases from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kenya to highlight learning points. A crucial component in bringing this revolutionary, participatory approach to more of the 2 billion people living with OD involves finding, supporting and multiplying champions.

Improving Water Utility Services through Delegated Management: Lessons from the utility and small-scale providers in Kisumu, Kenya

Water and Sanitation Program, World Bank — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How can adequate water and sanitation services be provided in poor urban areas? Partnerships with small-scale providers are increasingly important as utilities struggle to serve a growing population, particularly the poor. This field note from the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program explores a successful delegated management approach being used in Kisumu, Kenya?s third largest city. The model rests on principles of transparency, clear contractual arrangements and the right financial incentive for all parties.

NGO Provision of Basic Education: Alternative or Complementary Service Delivery to Support Access to the Excluded?

Pauline Rose — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What role should NGOs take in providing basic education? How effective is NGO provision in facilitating access to education? This paper from the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity shows that NGOs increasingly see themselves as providing education services that are complementary rather than parallel to the state system. However, there is very little systematic, critical analysis of who is gaining access to education offered by alternative providers, or what they are actually getting access to. Further analysis of alternative provision of education is therefore needed, including the implications for NGO-government coordination.

Access to Basic Services for the Poor: The Importance of Good Governance

Sheng, Y.K. et al — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What role can good governance play in attempts to implement the Millennium Development Goals and eliminate global poverty? This report, part of the Asia-Pacific MDG Study Series, argues that removing physical, legal, financial and socio-cultural barriers matters as much as monetary aid. Including more service providers - in the formal and informal sectors, and through civil society organisations and traditional institutions - will support this effort. Moreover, working towards good governance creates cycles of empowerment that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of services and empower the poor to become agents of their own development.

Promoting Health Equity in Conflict-affected Fragile States

K Ranson, T Poletti, O Bornemisza and E Sondorp — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What are the main factors that threaten health equity and health care equity in conflict-affected fragile states? What strategies can reduce the impact of these factors? This paper prepared for the World Health Organisation examines the impact of conflict and state fragility on health equity. It identifies the key drivers of health inequity in conflict-affected states, as well as some useful strategies for addressing equity in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Blind Optimism: Challenging the Myths About Private Health Care in Poor Countries

Oxfam — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The realisation of the right to health in poor countries depends upon a massive increase in health services to achieve universal and equitable access. A growing number of international donors are promoting an expansion of private-sector health-care delivery to fulfil this goal. This briefing paper from Oxfam contends that while the private sector can play a role in health care, prioritising this approach is extremely unlikely to deliver health for poor people. Governments and rich country donors must strengthen state capacities to regulate and focus on the rapid expansion of free publicly provided health care, a proven way to save millions of lives worldwide.

Strengthening Voice and Accountability in the Health Sector

Cathy Green — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How can greater voice and accountability for citizens bring about improved health services? This Technical Brief from the Partnerships for Transforming Health Systems Programme (PATHS) reviews several voice and accountability initiatives supported by PATHS in selected states in Nigeria. It concludes that the creation of formal mechanisms of voice and accountability can be effective in opening space for citizen-state accountability and improving service responsiveness. Further work is however needed from the government on strengthening accountability mechanisms for these initiatives to be fully successful.

Decentralisation, Local Development and Social Cohesion: An Analytical Review

Zoe Scott — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There is a vast difference between the purported benefits of decentralisation and its actual effects on service delivery, economic development and social cohesion. This analytical review, published by the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, discusses the nature, extent and impact of decentralisation in developing countries. Decentralisation cannot be considered the solution to all local service delivery and economic development issues, and should not necessarily be standard policy in all development contexts.