Review of Commonwealth Secretariat’s work on Political-Administrative Interface
Reference: G/CWG/601
Location: London, UK
Duration: 25 person days
Closing Date: 6 Jan 2012
Purpose
To review the governance work of the Commonwealth Secretariat on improving the Political-Administrative Interface, in order to provide recommendations for improving its impact on development goals, and its focus.
Background
For nearly two decades, the Commonwealth Secretariat, at the request of member countries, has carried out considerable politically-sensitive development work at the centre of the government. This work has included:
- Facilitating retreats and workshops during critical transitions for Cabinet Ministers and Permanent Secretaries to fine tune leadership and teamwork in the political-administrative interface, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean.
- Consulting regularly with Ministers, Cabinet Secretaries and Heads of Public Service to validate emerging priorities that support member needs.
- Giving policy advice to central government and its institutions to inform and guide governance and public administration reforms.
- Building the capacity of central institutions through the placement of long-term experts, to bridge capacity gaps, mentor and advance reforms.
This work builds on the Secretariat’s perceived comparative advantage as a political organisation: in particular, the high level access, convening power and trusted partner status that the organisation enjoys. The mutual trust, common values, shared traditions, and similar administrative systems in the Commonwealth create synergies for tackling political-administrative interface barriers to development outcomes.
These advantages appear to help the Secretariat address the political sensitivities of reforming the political-administrative interface in genuine partnership with members in a way that IFIs or other multilateral organisations and bilateral donors are either unwilling or unable to do.
Development of 2013-16 Strategic Plan
The Commonwealth Secretariat is now commencing the development of the 2013-16 Strategic Plan, which is due to enter into effect in January 2013. In particular, the Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD) is considering how the Public Sector Development programme should be shaped and implemented, including identifying areas on which the programme should focus.
“Support to the Political-Administrative Interface” has been identified as one likely core focus area for the future Public Sector Development programme, based on the Secretariat’s track records and comparative advantage in this area. In this regard, GIDD wishes to have the evidence to validate its belief that this field is a genuine comparative advantage of the Secretariat, in which it can demonstrate it has delivered impact or can be confident of potential impact on development outcomes.
Scope of work
The consultant will:
- Conduct a thorough review of existing literature available on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work on the Political-Administrative Interface (see Annex 1 of articles attached, including presentations made), with specific regard to:
o Post-Election and other Cabinet Retreats
o Workshops for Ministers / Permanent Secretaries
o Annual Meetings of Heads of Public Services, where relevant.
- Interview GIDD staff {and where relevant, staff from the Political Affairs Division (PAD)} and review work done by GIDD (and where relevant, PAD) in this area.
- Consider the broader context in which the Secretariat is operating, including any similar or related work that other relevant organisations have carried out in this area.
- Reflect on how the Commonwealth Secretariat can most effectively and appropriately utilise and build upon its comparative advantages in this field of work.
- Produce a report synthesising the findings of the above and offering guidance on practical priorities. The report shall specifically provide recommendations on:
- How the Secretariat can execute such events in a structured way to optimise their effectiveness.
o How the Secretariat can effectively carry out structured “follow-up”, including using the ‘third country’ training programmes in Malta and Singapore, and ensure the sustainability of its interventions in this area.
Duration and Timeframe
The assignment will require 25 person days to be carried out over the period January to March 2012.
Interfaces
This work will be carried out under the guidance of the Director of the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Location
The assignment will be carried out in London, United Kingdom, primarily at the Headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Total Budget
The total budget of the assignment is £8,750 at a rate of £350 per day.
Person Specifications
Expertise on the governance agenda in international development thinking and practice.
- Experience in evaluation of international development assistance.
- Good record of publications in relevant areas of governance, public sector development and/or international development.
Annex 1
On Commonwealth Secretariat work
Agere, Sam (1999) “Redefining Management Roles: Improving the Functional Relationship between Ministers and Permanent Secretaries” Managing the Public Service Strategies for Improvement Series: No. 10, Commonwealth Secretariat.
Kathyola, Janet (2010) “The political-administrative interface: The key to good public sector governance and effectiveness in Commonwealth Africa”, Commonwealth Good Governance: Developing capacity in the public sector, Cambridge: Nexus Strategic Partnerships.
Presentations Made – quarterly team-building event: Dunstan, et al.
From Commonwealth Good Governance Yearbook (2011):
Job, Toyin (2011 forthcoming) “Supporting Political and Administrative Interface Management in Public Administration: The Case of Sierra Leone”
Nwasike, Joan. 2011 ‘Political transitions and torn loyalties’. Global International Briefing: 1st Qtr, p.87. Global Briefing, Nexus Strategic Partnerships, London UK.
Nwasike, Joan (2011, forthcoming) “Ministerial enabling environment for development: How the Commonwealth Secretariat is making a difference in the Caribbean region”
Nwasike, J. 2011. Centres of Government in Small Island Developing (SIDS) States. Working Paper presented at the Small States Project Meeting, Malta, Nov. 17-18.
Osei P. & Nwasike, J. 2011. The Contract System of Employment for Senior Government Officials: Experiences from the Caribbean. Commonwealth Secretariat, London, UK
Wilkins, John (2011, forthcoming) “Minsters champion reform in the Commonwealth”
Other Relevant Pieces
Ben-Gera, M (2009) “Coordination at the Centre of Government for Better Policy Making”, Conference Paper, Conference on Public Administration Reform and European Integration, Montenegro, 26-27 March, SIGMA.
Manning, N (2010) World Bank approach to public sector management 2011-2020: Better Results from Public Sector Institutions, Washington, DC: World Bank.
OECD Working Papers on Public Governance 2007/6 A Matheson, B Weber, N Manning: "Study on the Political Involvement in Senior Staffing and on the Delineation of Responsibilities Between Ministers and Senior Officials.
World Bank: training ministers and PSs in Madagascar
Civil Service Leadership Development Programme in Afghanistan
http://www.undp.org.af/whoweare/undpinafghanistan/
Projects/sbgs/Prodocs_SGBS/CSLD_Prodoc_2005.pdf
Program for Public Sector Leadership Capacity Building for Good Governance in Africa
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/cafrad/unpan018074.pdf
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