Celebrating Public Service Day - Performance reform agenda for greater alignment, attainment of government goals |28 June 2014

These past few days we have promoted the role, professionalism and visibility of public service through the social, economic and environment sectors, but have we ‘increased the responsibility and accountability of public service employees, to provide for an efficient, transparent sustainable and long-term viable service within an affordable expenditure framework’, as the Public Administration and Public Sector Reform Programme requires of government?

In his National Day address, President James Michel stated that the government and its people will need to organise themselves, become more productive, become more responsible, deepen knowledge, work harder, become more creative and innovative, be smarter in the way business is done… (President Michel, June 18, 2014).   

The second generation of reforms captures this through its performance reform agenda that would help achieve greater alignment and the attainment of overall government goals by enhancing government effectiveness, coordination, improved performance and accountability.  In March 2013, a Results Based Management Policy (RBM) was introduced in government with the approval of Cabinet.

The RBM policy is an integrated approach aimed at binding government-wide system to align government programmes and budget with the overall government outcomes, as expressed in the Medium-Term National Development Strategy (MNTDS). Hence, the expected results of an RBM policy are: planning for results; performing for results, and results-based decision-making.  The integrated approach of RBM strategy provides for four major components:

•    Strategic Planning (SP).
•    Programme Performance-Based Budgeting (PPBB)
•    Results-based Personnel Performance (RBPP); and
•    Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).

These four components or major government strategies will inform government on how policies, programmes and projects will result in the achievement of a country’s key national or sectorial goals, how cost-effectively budgets are being used, information on personal performance notably on how line and senior managers and executives are handling their responsibilities, and information on progress towards achieving stated targets and goals with substantial evidence on what is working and what is not.

Progress made
Through the adoption by Cabinet of a Results-based Management (RBM) programme, the government has engaged in adopting modern public sector management practices through:

•    RBM component one: Strategic Planning, has begun with the introduction of an internationally recognised strategic planning framework being implemented through the development of the MTNDS, and is being led and coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment (MOFTI). In the Ministry of Education, strategic planning has taken place with the technical help of the European Union through Unesco and IIEP.

•    RBM component two: Programme Performance Based Budgeting (PPBB), led by the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment with technical assistance of World Bank, had its policy and framework approved in Cabinet in January 2013. PPBB ensures that budget information and decisions are structured according to the objectives of government, allowing budgetary decision-makers to allocate resource to priority objectives and compare the cost and benefits of funding different priorities. It is in its second year pilot phase in two ministries – Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). This year, four more ministries with their respective agencies will be chosen for piloting.

•    RBM component three: Personal Performance Management System (PPMS) led by the Department of Public Administration had its policy and framework approved together with the RBM Policy in March 2013. The PPMS will link the measurable performance of personnel responsible for each function at all levels so that staff are committed to the results they intend to achieve and accountable for the resources they have been allocated. PMS will be institutionalised at a later stage when Strategic Planning, PPBB and M&E are in place in the public sector.

•    RBM component four: Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) was approved by Cabinet in August 2013 to put in place government-wide M&E systems that can look at numbers and go beyond, to establish whether service delivery has resulted in improved economic and social circumstances of the Seychellois; results that are measured and performance assessed to determine the real outcome and impact of policy implementation, programme execution, project accomplishment, the performance of public bodies and the funding that accompanies it all. M&E together with PPBB and Strategic Planning form part of the first phase implementation. A national institutional framework for M&E is being established.

The road map
The Results-based Management framework will affect the way the public service does its business; it will plan strategically and through the National Medium Term Development Strategy work towards inclusive sustainable development. The institutionalisation of Programme Performance Based Budgeting will ensure that budget information and decisions are structured according to the objectives of government, thus allowing budgetary decision-makers to allocate resource to priority objectives and compare the cost and benefits of funding different priorities.

Monitoring and Evaluation once established as a government wide system will enable government to increase the availability and use of timely and accurate information within and across government.
 
A robust Personal Performance Management System will establish the accountability framework that allows clear lines to be established between personnel performance and organisational performance; it will link organisational objectives captured in plans and subsequently in job descriptions to personal objectives that require individual officers to be accountable for such results (and appraised accordingly) when they hold a particular post.

Hence the Personal Performance Management System will link personnel responsible for each function at all levels so they can commit to the results they intend to achieve with the resources they have been allocated.

Change management is needed in order to adopt the RMB methodology; capacity building will accompany all innovative ways of working in order to create managers with new managerial capacity able to produce performance information and use it to produce even better performance based on government priorities; then we will see that the call of the President on the need to improve on work productivity, to take work seriously and serve the public well, with respect and with equity, will have borne fruit (President Michel, International Public Service Day message, June 23, 2014).