Ready for Europe? Applying a Public Administration Assessment Tool (PAAT)
Development and Application of PAAT � The context and the problem � The approach and basic principles � The tool � Methodology � Content � Country findings � Lessons and Applications
Acceding to the EU: The Civil Service Challenge in Central & Eastern Europe � Countries wishing to join EU needed public administrations that worked at advanced country levels � Acquis Communautaire requirement � Member Countries wanted to look across the table at “equals” � More broadly, CEE countries needed modern administrations to compete in global economy � So CEE chasing 2 Rabbits: EU and OECD
EU-Bound Country Administrative Performance: 3 Critical Areas � Establish center-of-government institutions for cohesive policy making � Create dedicated management structures to move EU accession process forward � Develop Politically Neutral, merit-based, professional civil service (today’s focus)
Top Ten Civil Service Problems in Post- Communist CEE Politicization (fusion of Party cadres and govt. bureaucracy) 1. Lack of civil service legal framework and oversight 2. institutions (cs statute, redress mechanisms, cs commission or merit protection board) Fused pay and benefits; low and compressed basic pay 3. Overstaffing in “budget sphere; ” in deconcentrated local 4. govt. Lack of modern HRM systems (HRMIS, payroll; job 5. evaluation system) Lack of performance and or merit-based HR practice 6. (appraisal, pay, promotion) Lack of competitive recruitment mechanisms 7. Lack of horizontal mobility across agencies 8. Highly centralized authority; little delegation 9. 10. Narrow technical skills; limited policy or management skills
The Problem � Public administration requirements for EU accession: crucial for entry but vague � How to define concrete targets and standards for assessment? � How to determine the starting point and measure progress? � How to design targeted reform/ assistance programs? � Need a diagnostic tool to set bar and monitor actions � Overarching question: What constitutes a modern civil service?
The Approach � Develop analytic framework to assess administrative capacity and performance for 3 pre-accession countries: � Estonia � Hungary � Czech Republic � Identify essential – the minimal – characteristics of advanced administrations � Highlight criteria by which presence or absence of these “desirable” characteristics determined � Specify range of performance indicators for characteristics � Apply indicators across country cases as objective tracking of countries’ relative progress on admin. development � Framework shows gaps between desired state of administrative performance and current reality � Framework generates more precise prescription for steps needed to reach desired status
The Approach (2) � Standards distilled from EU members and other advanced countries from OECD � No particular model offered; systematic but flexible definition of international good practice includes basic levels of: � Probity � Political neutrality � Professionalism and transparency � Competitiveness � accountability
Approach (3) � More precise prescription for steps (and technical assistance) needed to reach desired status � Assessment performed by experts in consultation with self-analysis by country officials (PAAT resembles PEFA) � Methodology remains “work in progress”
The Tool: Performance Matrix Template Performance Good Indicators and Practice Benchmark Evaluation Action Technical Ref Criteria Score Information Summary Required Assistance X. Objective Score: Desirable characteristics � � �
The Tool � Objective � Desirable Characteristics � Good Practice Criteria � Performance Indicators and Benchmark Info. � Score � Evaluation Summary � Action Required � Technical Assistance
Conceptual Basis of Performance Matrix � Objective = specific dimensions or goals associated with well-performing, advanced country public administrations � E.G., All modern civil services governed by legal and ethical framework. � E.G., Modern civil services have fair and effective HRM policies and practices � Desirable Characteristics= those attributes that define reasonably advanced state of development on particular objective � E.G., advanced govt. legal frameworks ensure impartial treatment of citizens � E.G., staff selection and promotion is open and transparent and merit-based
Conceptual Basis of Performance Matrix (2) � Good Practice Criteria= basis by which to assess whether govt. possesses desirable characteristic � E.G., Existence of public redress mechanism to air citizens’ grievance against cs ruling � E.G., Promotion through open, merit based procedures � Performance Indicator/ Benchmark Info= evidence that govt. meets criteria (and some measure of quality/ extent) � E.G., Statute providing for establishment of ombudsman with powers independent of civil service � E.g., Promotion process overseen by third party (measured by percent of promotion decisions reviewed by assessors unconnected with the decision)
Conceptual Basis of Performance Matrix (3) � Nature of indicators varies � Numerical quotient suggests better or worse performance (i.e. % of staff recruited through advertisement) � Affirmative or negative assessment (i.e. legal provision for ombudsman) � Some indicators un-usable due to lack of data but worth incorporating for robust, longer term assessment and future data collection � Some indicators precisely linked to EU norms
Scoring Scores between 0 and 5 for each criterion � Scores averaged for each larger � dimension/ characteristic No total country PAAT score � Collective judgment of Bank staff, experts, � country officials reached consensus Scores based on actions already taken and, � informally, on 3 underlying variables: Country understanding of issues & types of reforms 1. needed Level of govt. commitment to serious reform 2. Country capacity to undertake reforms 3.
Scoring Matrix for Public Administration Development
Beyond the numbers � Numerical ratings understandably contentious (Bank staff blood on floor) � Additional, important matrix columns: � Evaluation summary (qualitative discussion of assessment basis for each criteria) � Action required (recommendations for specific actions to reach good practice on each criteria) � Technical assistance (aggregated into programmatic framework for future international aid) � Findings based on extensive applied research -- not back-of-envelope � In-country, in-depth analysis and interviews over several missions distilled in 3 country case studies � Extensive research on advanced country practice and norms to develop applicable metrics/ standards
Evaluation of Civil Service Human Resource Management Ref Good Practice Criteria Perform ance I ndicators Used & Benchm ark Other Optim al I ndicators I nform ation A. Legal and Ethical Fram ew ork Desirable characteristics • Specific legislation governing the civil service, w ith subsidiary legislation and/ or regulation that elaborate rules/ procedures/ system s for personnel m anagem ent • The behaviour of civil servants and political appointees, including probity considerations, is governed by a Code of Conduct • Merit-based rules and procedures for civil service personnel m anagem ent • The scope of the civil service is clearly defined • I m partial treatm ent of citizens, transparent civil service operations and policies A1 The civil service is Is there a civil service law? governed by specific Are there subsidiary regulations describing legislation procedures? A2 The scope of the civil Does the law define which categories and types of service is clearly defined staff are civil servants? A3 There is a code of conduct Is there an adequate code of conduct or equivalent Resemble OECD published civil or equivalent framework framework for civil servants? service codes of conduct that governs the behaviour of civil servants A4 The civil service is Is explicit political activity prohibited by law? Enforcement measured by absence politically neutral of observable political activity / electioneering while on duty or on governmental premises Is there a clear distinction between political appointees and career civil servants? Is the ratio of political appointees to civil servants E.g. US 1: 394, Sweden 1: 2051, UK similar to good practice? no political appointees
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