ORGANIZING AND MANAGING THE REFORM PROCESS

11. ORGANIZING AND MANAGING THE REFORM PROCESS

The proposed reform is a complex and multifaceted process of change involving all public administration components which must play an active part in it. Extensive and multifaceted are also the relationships to the environment in which the reform takes place - the citizens, the civic society, the private sector, political representation, state power authorities and the European Union. Therefore the reform must be structured and managed as a comprehensive programme and process, taking fully into account all internal and external relationships. In doing so it is necessary to make adequate use of both the formal instruments of change in public administration (laws, orders, implementation plans, reorganizations, cancellation of positions, establishment of new institutions, etc.), and, even more so, of instruments stimulating interest, initiative and cooperation (information, discussions, consultations, advice, training, exchange of experience, encouraging new ideas and improved performance, appreciating excellent results, etc.). Due to its significance for the future development of the Czech Republic the reform must be managed by the Government and the manager of every governmental institution must bear direct responsibility for its implementation.

The individual reform areas will have to be examined and, where Tecnically possible, structured, and managed as individual reform programmes and projects. This approach will make it possible to define the responsibilities, objectives and required and controllable results and to allocate adequate funds. Every programme or project must have its own manager (e.g. for dissemination of information and marketing of the reform, the reform of law-making and legislative processes, the management and development of human resources, etc.), whose rights and duties (with particular reference to coordination and cooperation) must be clearly defined.

11.1 Reform Management at Government Level

To assure the top management of the public administration reform the Government should establish a Government Committee consisting of ministers or their deputies and selected top-level experts. The Committee will approve the basic directions and principal measures of the reform, monitor and evaluate its progress and periodically inform the Government and the Parliament.

A central reform office (secretariat, or a unit of similar name) should be established and attached directly to the Government Office. It should be a highly professional body consisting of experienced specialists and practitioners knowledgeable of public administration operation and of the principal aspects of the reform, including topics such as diagnosing organizations and organizational processes, planning and implementing organizational and systems change, project management and financing, legal aspects of reforms, personnel management and human resource development. The reform office should make intensive use of specialized working groups and individual external experts for selected objectives and problems of the reform. It will work under the Government Committee and fulfil the following principal functions:

preparation of reforms concept, strategy, plans and budgets,
analysis of problems and needs,
overall coordination of all reform activities and measures,
monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the reform,
dissemination of information on the reform and mobilization of public support (public relations function),
organization of exchange of experience and use of European experience,
coordination of technical assistance and international consultations in support of the reform,
organization of training connected with reform preparation and implementation,
management and technical support of organizational units and individuals entrusted with reform management in particular sectors and public administration components,
preparation of working documents for the Government Committee and the implementation of its resolutions.

The members of the office must be trained for its operations and should have the possibility of using professional advisers with excellent experience with modernizing public administration in EU member states.

The functions currently performed by the Department of Public Administration Reform established in 1998 in the Ministry of the Interior should be transferred to this office by 2000. Pending the establishment of the reform office by the Government, the Ministry of the Interior is to be regarded as the addressee of the respective recommendations made in these Proposals.

11.2 Managing Sectoral Reforms

In every sector it must be the minister or the head of the central government agency concerned who will be directly responsible for reform management; he may delegate this function to his deputy.

The functions analogous with those of the central reform office will be performed in every sector by a reform cell, secretariat or department, reform organizer, manager of change, or some similar unit. It will cooperate closely with the central reform office, observing its mandatory methodological guidelines in key aspects of the reform. It will direct and coordinate the sector reform according to the needs, possibilities, specific objectives and best experience of the given sector.

Before starting their work the heads and other staff of sectoral reform cells will undergo intensive short-term training. During the whole reform process they will be provided with professional information, consultations and training by the central reform office according to their needs and requirements.

11.3 Managing the Reform of Territorial Administration

The management and co-ordination of the territorial reform, including the coordination of decentralization and de-concentration of state administration, was entrusted to the Minister of the Interior. However, the critical policy issues of this sensitive field (decentralization, self-government, relations between self-government and state administration and coordination of the activities of central authorities in this area) should be decided and coordinated by the Government itself.

In every territorial administration authority the head of the authority must be responsible for participation in the reform. Reform cells or reform/change managers may be established in territorial authorities similarly to sectoral authorities, taking into account the size of the authority and the scope of reform activities. Their staff will be trained by the Ministry of the Interior, which will also provide continuous professional support in the course of the reform.

The functions and responsibilities of the ministries in coordinating and promoting regional development and regional public administration, and in further improving the system of regional and local state administration and self-government, are yet to be defined.

11.4 Managing the Reform of Key Processes in Public Administration

The typical feature of these functions and processes is that they cut across sectors and fields of public administration and apply (to a varying extent) to all or several sectors as well as territorial administration. Their reform necessitates the definition of common objectives and principles to enable both sectoral and territorial authorities to reform and improve these processes, taking fully into account their own specific conditions and experience and using their own initiative and ideas. Methodological guidance, co-ordination, control and evaluation of the whole process will be assured by the central reform office in collaboration with the ministry or agency governing the respective process. Every key process should have its own reform manager, professional working group and reform project.

11.5 Managing the Reforms of Civil Service and Human Resource Development

The drafting of the Civil Service Act has been entrusted to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

The overall management and coordination of civil service establishment and development, personnel management, training and human resource development in the first phase of the reform was entrusted to the Ministry of the Interior. Later on, these functions should be transferred to the central reform office affiliated to the Government Office (see para. 11.2 above), which in turn should propose suitable arrangements for managing and developing the civil service on a long-term basis. A special working group for the civil service, personnel management and training may be established for this purpose.

Personnel management and the development of human resources must be within direct competence and responsibility of every managing official in public administration, but should be performed in the framework of a uniform system, on the basis of common principles and with the necessary professional support.

11.6 Establishing a Professional Base for Public Administration Improvement

The proposals for a reform strategy have been drafted in a peculiar situation, marked by a total absence of professional, methodological, information, research or internal advisory bodies responsible for systematically modernizing and improving public administration structures, procedures and work methods, including the application of current IT. In the course of the reform such a base must be created (see also para. 7.7); a suitable long-term arrangement should be suggested by the central reform office.

11.7 Using External Consulting Services

The use of external consultants in administration and management may become an effective instrument of the reform in questions where public administration suffers from a shortage of professional competence or where independent opinions and proposals of external experts will be desirable. This instrument is in standard use in public administration of most European countries. The use of external consultants on contract basis must be based on common principles and guidelines, which are to be developed. Effective use of consulting services (both external and internal) should also be a subject of training programmes intended for the staff of sectoral and territorial administration reform cells.

11.8 Disseminating Information and Marketing the Reform

Dissemination of information on the reform and its "marketing" must be conceived and managed as an integral part of the reform and its programme and extend over the whole duration of the reform. Their correct concept and professional performance can contribute to the much needed "rehabilitation" of public administration in the eyes of the public and enhance the citizens´ interest in public affairs. It is necessary to plainly explain to the public why the reform is important to it and where the results should be felt (improved services to the citizens and business firms, less corruption, etc.). Within public administration it is necessary to focus in particular on explaining the necessity of the reform, enlisting support for specific reform proposals, stimulating initiative and increasing interest in staff self-development.

Information must be provided regularly, frequently, openly and in a factual way (also informing about problems and difficulties), refraining from undue politicization and exhibiting a thorough knowledge of the situation. The representatives of the Government and other state authorities and agencies as well as other public personalities must themselves be provided by up-to-date and reliable information. High-quality and well-processed information must prevent inaccuracies, such as the confusing of public administration with the civil service, providing inaccurate information on EU criteria and requirements, reducing the total reform to the establishment of the regions and the Civil Service Act, and similar. Adequate attention must be given to explaining the "soft" aspects of the reform (courtesy and decency in dealing with the citizens, genuine interest in collaborating with colleagues, positive attitude of the citizens to public authorities, etc.), which need to be better understood and supported both within public administration and on the part of the public.

11.9 Costing and Financing the Reform

Reform preparation and management must include the estimation of costs, budgeting, and financial justification and provision concerning all proposed changes. When drafting these Proposals, it was not possible to work with figures, particularly because it is not clear which solution will be preferred in some fundamental reform areas (e.g. the scope of decentralization to regions, staffing of regional administrations and possible savings in central administration, or the pace and ways of implementing the Civil Service Act) or because the work is in germinal stage (e.g. system of life-long training in public administration, or proposals for a public administration institute). Work on law harmonization and the establishment of institutional capacities for acquis implementation is in progress, but information on financial requirements and impact is sparse and unreliable. It is also known that some fundamental reforms must be implemented regardless of costs. That should not mean, however, that the cost aspect of the reform may by fully neglected, especially since some areas offer several alternative solutions with different cost requirements.

Generally speaking, we must be aware of the fact that the achievement of reform objectives (see Chapter 2) will not be cheap. However, the costs will be distributed over time and can be partially compensated by savings. The costs of the reform activities proper will have to be differentiated from the costs of resulting solutions, which will represent a regular burden on the state budget and the budgets of territorial self-government. Conversely, it will be possible to count on the support of PHARE and later on the use of EU structural funds for some fields of reform measures.

It is possible to recommend that the reform strategy should

instruct all reform implementation entities to supplement, in co-operation with the Ministry of Finance, every single reform step and measure submitted for approval to the Government or another authority by an estimate of medium-term cost impact,
include the financial implications of the reform in the management of all reform areas and measures, while respecting the generally valid methodologies and procedures,
take the costs and the financing possibilities into account when comparing alternative solutions,
request the central reform office to provide, in co-operation with the Ministry of Finance, methodological guidelines on economic, costing and financial aspect of the reform.

If the cost aspect of the reform and the search for economy measures fail to receive full attention from the very beginning it will be extremely difficult to focus public administration on economy and cost effectiveness in the future, although they belong to principal objectives of the reform (see Chapter 2 and para. 7.6).

11.10 Monitoring and Evaluating the Progress of the Reform

Monitoring and evaluation of the progress achieved by the reform must be a standard element of all reform management. Apart from that there should be a team of independent professional "reform auditors" to systematically monitor the progress actually achieved by the reform and recommend adjustments in strategy, implementation plans and procedures. Once a year, this audit team should submit an independent report assessing the progress of the reform to the Government and the Parliament.