The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) in partnership with the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD), the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the South African Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is managing a project directed at the documentation and sharing of experiences in Public Sector Reform across Africa. The project has been initiated as a component of an evolving larger initiative in capacity development and public sector reform within the ambits of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The evolving initiative seeks to intensify and enhance public sector capacity development efforts across the continent.

Many countries across the continent have initiated public sector reform programmes and initiatives directed at transforming and improving the delivery of public services. Rarely have these initiatives been documented for the sharing of practical lessons learned and for the replication of positive experiences. To enhance information sharing and learning across public sector institutions in Africa, it is necessary to intensify efforts directed at documenting specific cases in public sector reform. In lieu of which, this project has been initiated to encourage the documentation of case experiences for sharing across the continent and for encouraging greater interchange between officials involved in public sector reform programmes and initiatives across the region.

The case studies generated and documented will enrich and strengthen the African knowledge base on public sector reform and establish a framework for enhancing the prospects for co-ordinated reform interventions. At this stage, the partnership has mobilised resources for the documentation of ten case studies. It is anticipated that further resources may be leveraged for the development of additional case studies. In view of the limited resources, the project seeks to contract ten (10) case-writers from across the continent. Cases funded through this project and/or submitted to the project will be published for wider distribution across the continent. It is also anticipated that key individual (s) involved in specific cases and/or the case writer might be invited to a workshop/conference to present the case study.

The sections that follow are directed at providing a brief to the case-writers and outline the application process to be followed. In each case, it is expected that the case-writer will work in close partnership with the Ministry and Department of Public Service/Public Service Reform or similar Ministry or Department in the respective case countries. Where cases have not been approved for funding from the project, due to limited available resources, the supporting Ministry and/or Department will be encouraged to fund the drafting of the case for sharing across the continent.

The central objective of documenting a ‘case study’ within the ambits of this project is to facilitate the sharing of information and experience, with a view that the experience may be replicate where appropriate. To facilitate this process, it is necessary to provide brief guidelines on the content areas, the structure of the case and the writing style to be utilised for each of the case studies. To enhance exchange and learning across Africa, provisions are being made for the translation of the case studies. Cases can either be submitted in Arabic, English or French. Where an additional language is proposed this should be indicated in the application process. Where possible the request will be accommodated.

1. Content of the Case Study

In lieu of the range of possible case studies that can be documented within the realms of public sector reform, it has become necessary to priorities certain thematic areas for the sharing of information. The identified thematic areas also serve to encourage a focused exchange of experiences and to encourage further focused empirical research. The thematic prioritised case study areas are as follows:

1. E-government and Knowledge Management
2. Ethics and Corruption
3. Developing Human Potential within the Public Sector
4. Public Participation – Citizen/ Government Relations
5. Budgeting, Financial Management and Accountability
6. Service Delivery Innovation/ Institutional Systems Re-Engineering
7. The management of HIV/AID within Public Sector Institutions

Within the ambits of the prioritised thematic areas, case writers and the relevant Ministry and/or Department are encouraged to document cases that enhance learning, rather then document broad programme experiences. In so doing, the case to be documented should fall within one of the identified thematic areas. Where there is sufficient justification, cases may be funded that cut across two or more thematic areas or do not fall into any of the prioritised thematic areas.

1. Structure of the Case Study

To ensure consistency in all of the documented case studies the specific areas identified below should be reflected in each of the case studies. The identified areas are directed at enhancing the prospects of a meaningful exchange of experience and the possibility of replication, where appropriate. The areas to be included in each case study are as follows:

1. The contextual overview within which the case experience has been generated. The overview should also form the framework for the rationale of the case experience identified and the basis of the strategies and tools that arose and were utilized within the case experience.
2. A detailed descriptive overview of the problems or challenges the reform intervention intended to address as per a respective thematic areas. This should reflect on how the particular intervention was identified, its time frames, the resources and inputs required and actually available to implementation and the intended outputs.
3. A descriptive overview of the critical stakeholders, their roles and the process involved during the actual intervention of the case experience. An overview of the tools and strategies employed and/or solutions developed during the case experience.
4. An analysis of the successes, failures and challenges that arose during the implementation of the intervention/s and further gaps that remain either as a result of the intervention/s or which could not be addressed but were critical in the outcome of the experience.

 

 

 

5. A set of lessons that are informed by the outcomes of the case experience and a reflection on the viability of replicating the experience in other African context.

Whilst each guiding section serves to enhance the prospect that the documented case study would be useful for learning and sharing, the emphasis would be on documenting the initiative directed at responding to the problem and/or challenge confronted. It is expected that this section would capture the details on the processes initiated to respond to the challenge and the specific solutions developed. Sections I) to III) is likely to be more descriptive, whereas IV) to V) is likely to be more interpretative. Given the limitation on the length of the case study, it is essential to be very focused in the documentation process. Where appropriate appendixes may be utilised for the sharing of detailed processes, strategies, products and solutions. As resources for the translation of the case studies are limited, each case study should be understandable without any of the appendixes.

1. Style and Length of the Case study

Given the sharing and learning objectives of the project, the writing style for each of the case studies should be simple and accessible. The simplicity of the writing style would also assist the process of translating the case study for broader distribution. Pending the availability of resources, the project will attempt to secure the services of an editor to support the process of ensuring a simple and accessible writing style.

Each of the case studies should be between 18 - 20 pages or 18,000 to 20,000 words. Focused cases enhance the prospects for learning and exchange. Where exchange is enhanced through further details, writers are encouraged to include these as self-standing appendixes. Whilst extensive appendixes may not be included in a publication of the cases, a list of the appendixes will be included in each case coupled with contact details for gaining access to the appendixes.

3. APPLICATION AND CASE STUDY SUBMISSION PROCESS

In responding to the Terms of Reference (TOR) and in submitting a case study for sharing, each application and submission will follow the following process.

Stage One: Submission of an application together with a letter of support from the relevant government Ministry and/or Department. Each application should be no longer than two pages (excluding a cover letter, the relevant letter of support and the CV of the case writer). Each application must include the following information:

1. Case Writers contact details (e-mail details encouraged)
2. A brief synopsis of the proposed case study
3. The thematic area of the proposed case study
4. A brief outline of the learning and sharing benefits that can be derived from the proposed case study.
5. The qualifications/experience of the case writer that renders her/him the best person to the draft the case study (as per the CV to be attached)

Closing Date: 30^th August 2002

Stage Two: Approval of funding support and the contracting of case writers. Where relevant applications will be translated for review by a review panel comprising one member from each of the participating partner institutions. In addition to ensuring a spread of cases across thematic areas and across the continent, the central criteria for funding will the extent to which the case study will contribute to learning across public sector institutions and the extent to which the experience may be replicated (where appropriate). The decision of the panel on approved applications will be final.

Decision Date: 6^tth September 2002 (applicants will be informed of the outcomes. Successful case writer will be contracted by the CPSI shortly thereafter)

Stage Three: In line with the contract and TOR for the case study, the case writer will collect the required information and develop an initial draft of the case study. This will be submitted to the review panel for analysis and to provide guiding input to the case writer. Guiding comments and inputs on each case will be provided within 20 days of submitting a draft case. The case writer retains responsibility for submitting the case for review to the supporting government Ministry and/or Department.

Submission of Drafts: 15^th October 2002

Stage Four: This stage involves making the required changes and submitting the case study for approval to the relevant government Ministry and/ or Department. The responsibility for this resides with the contracted case writer. After receiving written approval of the case, the case study will be submitted in electronic form to the project manager from the CPSI. The letter of approval must be faxed or e-mailed (where appropriate) to the project manager.

Submission of Final Case -Study: 30^th November 2002

The project will be managed by the CPSI and all correspondence should be directed to the Project Manager:

All correspondence (applications and case submissions) must be directed at the Project Manager. However, if guidance is required on the application process and in the drafting of the case studies, contact can be made with one or more contact persons from the partner institutions – as captured below:

The following is an elaboration on the motivation for the identified thematic areas and possible specific areas of investigation in the development of the case studies, as noted in Section 3.1 ‘Content of the Case Study.’ The suggested areas are merely guidelines, but do not preclude that proposals to investigation other areas within the specified thematic areas will necessary be excluded.

The utilisation of information technology for service delivery and the management of government is increasingly providing opportunities for enhanced development across the continent. Increasingly, it is being used to improve governments’ internal operations with the intent of reducing costs and time in the delivery of services. Effective IT utilisation is also providing governments with the opportunity to deliver services through a variety of electronic mediums [i.e. Internet, telephone, television, etc]. In addition, it is providing an effective base for improving knowledge generation and management across governments. IT utilisation has the potential to enhance accessibility of information about public service and thus, empower citizens and enhance accountability.

The management of ethics and the implementation of anti-corruption strategies remain major challenges across the continent. In developing specific tools to enhance ethical practices in public service institutions, governments have used a variety of tools and practices. These have ranged from the application of ‘codes of conduct,’ improvements of internal financial procedures and practices and the application of risk management techniques. The variety of techniques used is also reflected in the range of strategies used to fight corruption. These range from the creation of various specialised agencies, the transformation and passing of legislation to combat corruption and the creation of partnership forums with civil society organisations.

Capacity requirements within public administrations that are modernising and rapidly increasing their information technology infrastructure usage are changing. In some countries building basic administrative capacity to ensure efficiency is still required. In others, advanced skills for managing in the information age are the priority. Ranges of interventions are being implemented to address capacity constraints. These include, focused training courses, long-term education and learning programmes, to name a few. Within the frame of these capacity development interventions, increased attention is being paid to the development and enhancement of leadership capacity within public service organisation. In

some institutional reform interventions, this aspect of strengthening the capacity of institutions is central. However, the extent of success and the specific utility of these training, learning and education interventions ranges between different African contexts and reform initiatives.

In order to successfully deliver development programmes within the context of poverty, disease and mobile communities, many African countries have had to consider more sophisticated approaches to budgeting and financial management. For many African countries, ensuring the sustainability of long-term initiatives especially when the initial funding for the initiative is provided by international donors continues to be a challenge. Processes such as multi-year budgeting linked directly to growth and development strategies are being used to address this issue. In addition, new legislation to ensure the accountability of senior public officials with regards to the expenditure of funds is also being introduced to curb wastage and corruption. However, the levels of sophistication and strength of financial controls and accountability in the use of public funds range between African states.

Public participation is a critical element in deepening democracy and building a government that is more transparent and more immediately responsive to its constituencies’ needs. With the advent of democracy in many nations across Africa, the need to provide mechanisms for the public to more effectively engage government in state affairs has become imperative. Although public participation is most often discussed in relation to the legislative function of government, public administrations are also beginning to function in more consultative and interactive manners. Through building partnerships with communities, non-governmental organisations and private sector interest groups, government is able to consult on the nature and levels of services required as well as negotiate service delivery options that are both effective and affordable.

In the African context, where in most instances resources are limited resources, substantial geographical distances and extreme poverty, alternative and innovative ways of delivering services are critical. Also, in areas where service delivery mechanisms are weak, innovation and systems re-egineering may focus on getting the foundation in place to ensure the uninterrupted supply of basic service. Furthermore, as economies are globalising at a rapid pace, technology enabled solutions are increasingly being explored to create greater access to improved services. Within this context, various public service institutions and agencies are exploring new working relationships in order to benefit from streamlined systems and economies of scale. In addition, they are also changing their institutional forms and systems to become better service providers.

The impact of HIV/ AIDS on public administrations across Africa cannot be underestimated, particularly within the context of increasing the momentum for institutional reform and human resource capacity to effectively implement within transformed institutions. African countries already in the more advanced stages of the epidemic are noting substantial changes in patterns of employment, staff turnover, use of sick leave and medical care as well as succession planning. Public services are facing huge challenges with regards to mitigating the effects of the epidemic and numerous activities have been initiated in this respect. For instance, public services must now plan for the impact of the disease in a range of areas. In terms of policy, departments and agencies require comprehensive HIV/ AIDS policies that address awareness raising, encouraging preventive behaviour and dealing with HIV positive colleagues in the workplace. In planning, administrations have to project the likely turn-over of staff, particularly those in critical services such as education and health, and develop appropriate succession plans. Budgets need to be developed and accommodate provisions for healthcare of workers as well as huge costs of awareness raising programmes and the training of staff to meet the requirements of the succession plan.