Capacity Enhancement
Capacity Enhancement
Capacity Enhancement
33086
Capacity Enhancement
briefs
S H A R I N G
B E S T
P R A C T I C E S
A N D
L E S S O N S
L E A R N E D
This CE Brief proposes the Public Sector Governance Reform Cycle framework to help Bank staff and
1
clients identify tools and techniques to assess and strengthen capacity in the public sector. A number of
lessons and challenges have emerged: Tools relying on large sets of microdata benefit from both quantitative and qualitative data. Highly aggregated data are useful for cross-country comparisons and
awareness raising, while design of sector-specific reform programs requires specific and disaggregated
data. Employing a wide range of data sources and tools and triangulating results can greatly enhance
reform programs, whereas quality control will enhance credibility of results. The degree of impact on policy debate and capacity building depends on client demand, openness, participation, and transparency.
It is important to move beyond governance diagnostics to implement reforms and measure progress
against poverty reduction targets.
MAY 2004
NUMBER 7
which yields information for use in policy adjustments and diagnostics in the next round.
Although each of the tools discussed in this note is
primarily affiliated with just one phase of the cycle,
most of the tools cover more than one phase or are
closely linked with other instruments in other phases.
For example, the design of reform goes hand in hand
with monitoring and assessing the scope for reform
has elements of awareness raising. The following sections discuss various tools for each phase.
The proposed framework is a self-renewing governance cycle, designed to capture five main stages of
reform (see figure 1). Its main purpose is to illustrate
the process that helps to assess and enhance capacity
to build efficient and accountable institutions, while
providing a menu of tools and techniques that can be
used along the way. The cycle moves from (a) recognizing strengths and weaknesses in governance and
building awareness to (b) assessing the scope for
political change to (c) technical diagnostics and the
design of reforms. The next step (d) is managing the
politics of reforms in terms of engaging clients on policy recommendations and ensuring sustainability.
The cycle closes with step (e) evaluating results,
MAY 2004
NUMBER 7
Economic management
Structural policies
Social inclusion policies and equity
Public sector management and institutions.
Tools in Action
Box 1: Raising Awareness with Aggregate
Governance Indicators
Based on empirical research in 200 countries, WBI has developed six governance indicators intended to capture how governments are selected, monitored, and replaced; a governments
capacity to formulate and implement such policies; and citizen and
state respect for the institution of governance. By aggregating
many variables, this approach allows assessment of each country
and comparison with other countries for six dimensions of governance:
Voice and external accountability
Political stability and lack of violence
Government effectiveness
Lack of regulatory burden
Rule of law
Control of corruption
The findings provide insight into why previous attempts at
capacity development and institution building have failed. A
detailed analysis at the country, regional, or even provincial levels
reveals problems and raises awareness that can help reformers
and civil society to promote change. The indicators have received
international recognition and are used for country comparisons.
Five of the governance indicators constructed by WBI are among
sixteen concrete indicators used by the Millennium Challenge
1
Account to allocate funds to low-income countries. Special
emphasis is given to corruption; countries scoring below the
median on this indicator are ineligible for funding from this
source.
Tools in Action
Box 2: Assessing the Scope for Reform: Sierra
Leone Governance and Anticorruption
Assessment
The GAC assessment in Sierra Leone responds to a 2002
request from the President of Sierra Leone for action on gover1
nance and capacity building. Carried out in collaboration with the
U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), GAC promotes an in-depth diagnosis of the quality of governance and provides needed information for the World Bankassisted Sierra
Leone Institutional Reform and Capacity Building Project.
To ensure sustainable collaboration among local stakeholders,
DFID and WBI first promoted creation of a steering committee
responsible for implementing the GAC assessment and designing a
national governance strategy. The steering committee comprises
the Sierra Leone Governance Reform Secretariat, representatives
from the Sierra Leone Vice Presidents office, other parts of government, the Anti-Corruption Committee, civil society, the Central
Statistical Agency, the media, and the donor community (i.e.,
DFID, United Nations Development Program, and European
Union).
In a second step, with World Bank technical assistance, a local
survey firm designed and implemented three governance diagnostic surveys of public officials, households, and business people,
which identified institutional strengths and weaknesses. The
results provided the steering committee with information needed
for design of the national governance strategy and were compiled
in a report released at a October 2003 national workshop by the
Vice President of Sierra Leone. The national workshop offered the
opportunity to discuss the survey findings and identify key areas
for reform. The workshop also facilitated drafting of a governance
action plan, which the steering committee is currently revising for
discussion at four regional workshops in March 2004.
Tools in Action
Box 4: Designing Reforms: Latvia State
Modernization Project
In Latvia an integrated diagnostic framework was used to
ensure that a proposed reform fits well with the countrys objectives and institutional context. The Latvia State Revenue Service
(SRS) Modernization Project was designed to meet the countrys
need to reform its revenue administration in terms of technical
efficiency and to facilitate its entry into the European Union. A
basic questionnaire identified deficiencies in organizational structure, management practices, and operational tasks and served as a
basis for project design. An assessment of vulnerability to corruption in the tax and customs administration was accompanied by
in-depth surveys of businesses, households, and public officials,
which helped to prioritize areas for reform. With the support of the
prime minister, a corruption survey of government officials was
undertaken and followed up by the creation of an SRS Asset
Declaration Unit, which was later expanded to cover the Customs
Service.
In 2001 a law was adopted creating legal and financial accountability for executive agencies. The design of a three-level organizational structure, piloted in two regional offices, helped to consolidate and integrate functions and restructure all local offices to
enhance service delivery. After the first round of diagnostic work,
SRS undertook periodic internal and client surveys to assess client
satisfaction, staff morale, and ethics and started a public information campaign.
Findings of the surveys have led to changes in management
and business processes, including an internal reporting and audit
strategy, guidelines to deal with corruption cases, a bonus system,
and a code of ethics.
Tools in Action
Box 6: Monitoring and Evaluating with
Scorecards
Originating in the work of an independent NGO in Bangalore,
India, the first scorecard survey in 1994 ranked the performance
and degree of user satisfaction of urban services such as electricity, health, water, and telephone in the format of a report card
(hence the name) and launched a strong advocacy campaign on
the basis of the findings. The result was that the worst-rated
agencythe Bangalore Development Authorityreviewed its
internal systems for service delivery, introduced training for junior
staff, and along with the Bangalore Municipal Corporation, began
to host a joint forum of NGOs and public agencies to consult on
solving high-priority problems such as waste management. The
Karnataka Electricity Board also formalized periodic dialogues
with resident associations to garner feedback from users, while
two other public agencies tried to strengthen their grievance
redressal systems.
Since then, scorecard surveys have been applied in different
geographic and sectoral contexts by different agencies. At the
national level, they have been applied to assess pro-poor services
in the Philippines and to specifically assess the quality of governance in Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
The community scorecard, a more local and rural hybrid of the
citizen report card, emerged recently through the work of CareMalawi. Instead of surveys, these scorecards rely on focus group
discussions with communities and providers to monitor performance of local public facilities. The two groups can thereby interface locally to establish feedback loops and action plans for
reform.
Emerging Lessons
As the nature of tools and the context in which they
have been applied varies considerably, it is difficult to
draw robust lessons. But a few general conclusions
1 Najma Siddiqi, Kofi Anani and Guy Darlan. April 2004. Capacity For
Community Empowerment: The Case of Nigeria. World Bank Institute.
Challenges Ahead
The effective use of governance tools throughout
the PSG cycle largely depends on the sustained political buy in they receive. Although political commitment can be leveraged by partnering with other
donors and civil society, it is subject to constant
change. As the stocktaking exercise reveals, tools to
manage the politics of reform are scarce and only a
few pilots are under development. Teaming up with
partner institutions and academia may help to intensify these efforts.
Another challenge lies in the need to move beyond
governance diagnostics to implementing reforms and
measuring progress against poverty reduction targets.
Complementing diagnostic tools with specific indicators that would allow tracking of progress in line with
the targets embodied in poverty reduction strategy
papers and the Millennium Development Goals could
be a next step.
In addition, the diversity of available tools calls for
more consolidation and quality control to make them
easily accessible and relevant for operations. Work in
http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/pdf/
coalition_summit.pdf. Civil society has been playing an increasingly important role in generating pressures for reform
18 For information on these surveys, please see
http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/pe/PETS1.pdf.
19 For information on citizen report cards and community
scorecards, please see, respectively,
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/sdvext.nsf/81ByDocName/
ToolsandMethodsMonitoringandEvaluationCitizenReportCard
and
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/sdvext.nsf/81ByDocName/
ToolsandMethodsMonitoringandEvaluationCommunityScoreCard
20 For information on the methodology used in Tajikistan, see
http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/communityempowerment
About World Bank Institute (WBI): Unleashing the Power of Knowledge to Enable a World Free of Poverty
WBI helps people, institutions, and countries to diagnose problems that keep communities poor, to make
informed choices to solve those problems, and to share what they learn with others. Through traditional
and distance learning methods, WBI and its partners in many countries deliver knowledge-based options
to policymakers, technical experts, business and community leaders, and civil society stakeholders; fostering analytical and networking skills to help them make sound decisions, design effective socioeconomic
policies and programs, and unleash the productive potential of their societies.
WBI Contacts:
David Potten, Lead Specialist, Country Programs
Tel: 202-458-7873, Email: dpotten@worldbank.org
Imtiazuddin Ahmad, Sr. Operations Officer
Tel: 202-458-1878, E-mail: Iahmad2@worldbank.org
Visit our website for more information and download the electronic copies of all Capacity Enhancement Briefs:
http://www.worldbank.org/capacity
MAY 2004
NUMBER 7