What is a unified public service?
Len CookFormer Government Statistician
The Public Sector: In the service of the public"New thinking on the public services of New Zealand"
Wellington, 5-6 September 2013
A joined up telecom
– Hanoi, Vietnam
Some universal outcomes expected of governments
• Time (foresight, continuity, durability)
• Place (global, national, regional, local)
• Citizens (future, past and current, generations, life-course stages)
Enduring issues where collective wisdom and experience determine the likelihood of robust
policy• The collective management of risk and uncertainty is a critical role
of government. • The management of national assets (Environment,
Reputation/identity, Integrity of government) • The efficiency and quality of accumulated infrastructures
(transport, energy, housing)• Key sectors of government (Justice, Taxation, Education, Health,
welfare)• Protecting the functioning of the small NZ economy among the
global economy• Ensuring the shared prosperity of citizens• Countering inequalities that really matter
Infancy Education Housing/Family Development
Retirement
Birth family stability Health / disability
Income of birth family
Lifestyle/ dietGender equity
Relevance of education
Household stability Structural shifts in jobs
Migration
Home ownership Partner history
Lifestyle Parents Family arrangements
Parents Wealth accumulation
Parents Education
Health eventsParticipation
Life Course Influences On Cohort Life Expectancy
Estimated Life Expectancy
at key stages of life cycle
BIRTH TO DEATH EXPERIENCES
Lifestyle provision
AGE
Diagnosis of NZ Health Sector 2009• Insufficient formalised processes for establishing sector outcomes and
overseeing the future whole-of-system performance• Absence of an effective governance body to identify core systems,
inputs and outputs, and appropriate evaluation methods• Inadequate mechanisms for defining performance expectations for
consumers• Inadequate capacity for regular expert review of systems and
performance, and defining best practice• Insufficient legal and financial authority for cross-sectoral investment
and Governance• Unsatisfactory leadership in the development of whole-of-government
systems and leadership skills• Poor encouragement of innovation
Investments fundamental to a public service that necessitate unified leadership
1. People2. Knowledge3. Recognition in roles and structures of the
authority needed for public service wide, and sector specific systems leadership
4. New Zealand specific focus5. Citizen engagement6. Ethics and integrity7. The impact of information technology on the
production function across key public service sectors
Sources of performance degradation
Policy and investments are only poorly directed at their relevance to the long term decisions
that they will eventually shape.
Limited account of the impact on citizens, business, local and central government.
Resource loss and social cost from poorly targeted change, of institutions, statutes,
regulation
Opportunity cost from poor political use of the responsiveness of the New Zealand Parliamentary processes to give an
unchallengeable statutory authority to decisions of the executive.
Economic loss and social cost from failure to capture the full potential benefits of
recognising and managing the key sectors of government as complex systems. Limits to
autonomous agency model
Comparison of Autonomous Organisation Form with Organisations that are part of an Integrated Networked
System
Organisations with an integrated network system
Autonomous Agencies
Information driven Information protected Benchmarking Self referencing
Value chain leadership Integration on matters with political gainsCapital switched to raise ROI Rigid capital base
Dynamic outputs/ services Output rigidityAccreditation and standards Sets own standards
Continuous improvement
Inspection costs highPeriodic restructuring
Consumer shifts drive services Consumer shifts unanticipatedHighly leveraged infrastructure
Dynamic processesSingle use project specific systems
Professional, expert leadership Generic managerWorkforce development Immigration, frequent recruitment
Focus on prospects, future context Output specification retrospectiveMultiplicity of relationship forms Contractual engagement
Risk mitigation key priority Risk mitigation fragileResponse to system failures Sorry / let’s move on
An Ideal model of sector transformation
Continuous Improvement (efficiency)
Culture Process measurement Consumer expectations
Transformation (Competitive) Business knowledge Industry benchmarks Sector knowledge
Service Reductions Reduced wellbeing Clarity of political preference
Output cost contributions Inputs flexibility Consumer linkages
Output mix reallocation Change in political preference
Clarity, robustness of political preference Consumer linkages Inputs flexibility
Capacity to direct and implement change at level of key sector of public service
Change in production function
Cost shifting/ output mix change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=L3Kor38Aczg#t=3
TREVOR MANUEL – SOUTH AFRICA