Using New Technologies and Approaches Pamela Bigart World Bank

What Is Meant by Professionalization?  Mainstreaming: Identifying the contributions, responsibilities and accountabilities that the public procurement system delivers as integral to the overall public financial management and governance system in the country.  Institutions: Building the institutional structures both within the central governance system and within the implementing agencies.

Professionalization  Quality and Performance Standards: Establishing quality standards that reflect the implementation of good practice in the rules, responsibilities and practices of the procurement system; and monitoring performance against the standards.  Capacity of Staff: Providing for development and maintaining of knowledge and skills of people who are a key component of the system on a continuous basis.

Capacity Development  Focus in many countries remains on training existing public service staff on new rules  New Approaches involve building a career (professional) stream within the public service  Defining requirements or benchmarks that must be achieved to linked to promotion, pay or job security  Many countries are seeking certification capacity by partnering with external professional bodies (CIPS for example).

Using Existing Professional Development Institutions  Need to develop links to University or other professional development institutions that educate the graduates that enter public service. These are traditional institutions that develop professional capacity.  Help design appropriate content for such institutions.  Encourage development of programs that relate to skills needed for procurement such as an MBA program?

What Helps Build Success?  Communications strategy that provides key messages that are relevant to the target audience – need to build an understanding of value added of professional procurement capacity (not just compliance)  Need to establish professional development opportunities for public servants that can be implemented while they work – technology is an important tool to help in this area. Establish a process for individual professional development plans.  Need to ensure that staff with new professional skills are given an opportunity to apply their professional capacity and have access to mentors.

Success Factors  Ensure that the plan to professionalize procurement is consistent with the country’s overall public service practices or it will be meaningless.  Ensure that the certification process is fully customized to country practices (a certification process designed for another country should not simply be transferred)

Success Factors  Provide for movement between public and private sector. Professional organizations are most often linked to the private sector and not the public sector.  Professionalization means that public servants must perform to professional standards.

Using Technology  E-Learning provides the opportunity to improve skills and professional credentials through on-line accessible training  E-Learning captures time and effort of staff as a benefit of on-line systems ability to capture data.  E-Learning can be easily updated (if designed appropriately) as the system matures and develops

Using Technology  A dedicated website provides the opportunity to communicate professional criteria and standards in an open and transparent manner  Website can communicate the governments needs and attract candidates to the public service  Website should be a key element of the communication strategy

Using Technology  Management information systems capture data and provide the information that can help monitor performance and identify issues which management can address. This is a key element of maintaining a professional service.  Management information systems provide data that can support factual reporting and validate value added – what is the contribution of a professionalized public procurement system.  Management information systems can provide key links across government systems.

Some Common Country Issues – Not Just Africa  Traditional education system  Traditional civil/public service that relies on generalists  Lack of connectivity in country and in particular in the public service  Resources – time * human * monetary  Transition phase where many things are changing and an overall strategic plan does not exist.