Current and future development In the Service of citizens: Managing modernisation of the Swedish Civil Service –a multilevel, multitask, step by step process Current and future development Bengt Eriksson Swedish administrative development agency, HR-development, Helsinki September 11-12, 2006

Historically: drivers for HR-development In 1985 the parliament passed a bill on Human Resources Management (HRM) that stated that HRM in the civil service should focus the interest of carrying out government business and act as a strategic tool for the modernisation of the civil service, Accordingly the parliament in 1986 passed a bill on the leadership of agencies in the civil service, In 1991 the social partners in the government administration closed an Agreement on Individual Pay, stating that pay should be decided individually and differentiated according to skills, responsibility and market demands, From 1994 there is in the civil service a delegation of employer responsibility to the heads of agencies,

Historically: Drivers continued In 1994 a new Law on Public Employment passed Parliament. Most career based systems were abolished in favour of position based systems, where most positions are filled through open competition and Heads of agencies got the full responsibility for staffing and other use of resources in order to reach their objectives.

The Committée for Central-government Administrative Policy 1995-1997: conclusions for HR-development Increase the cooperation inside the administration And with participants outside the administration To accomplish a central public administration characterized by democracy, the rule of law and efficiency

A definition of joined-up government?: The development of a joined-up public administration is about to, inside the framework of the specialised administration, adding dimensions of coordination, collaboration and integration. From To Hierarchical thinking Horizontal thinking Focus on individual organisations Focus on systems or processes Closing out of actors Diminished borders to the outside Organizational borders Focus on processes across borders Autonomous agencies Higher degree of sharing resources with others

HR-results and experiences Increased demands on competencies (46 % av the civil servants have three or more years of academic studies), Middle management reduced to a minimum, Number of civil servants reduced by nearly 50 %, The growth of a new civil service culture, Joined-up government and more of collaboration, The ambition to be a model employer, Increased focus on work environment, equity, diversity, leadership.

Towards the ”new” civil servant Collaborative, thinking horizontally with fewer borders to the outside, Sharing/spreading resources (e.g. knowledge & skills), Concern for ethics, Knowledge in change management, International outlook and orientation, Developed leader- and co-workership.