Public Administration Reform Practice Note Global Practice Meeting on Public Administration Reform

The Practice Note Provides a strategic framework for UNDP Country Office staff and Regional Programmes for PAR programming Provides UNDP’s development partners with clear sense of UNDP’s strategic focus Provides a ‘portal’ to more detailed programmatic guidance: toolkits including primers, case studies; other resources.

Process of developing the PN Mapping of UNDP activities, lessons from experience and evaluations Inputs by the Democratic Governance Group, PAR Advisers based in NY, Oslo and the SURFs. Comments from Network Discussion between October 8 th and October 22 nd, involving over 20 participants. Review by the Democratic Governance Programme Team – over 25 responses. Peer review by senior practitioners in partner agencies

PAR Practice Toolkit Practice Note Primers on: –PAR in francophone countries –PAR in post-conflict –PAR in the HIV/AIDS most affected countries –Gender mainstreaming in PAR Case studies and regional studies Policy Positions ARNs, Consolidated replies, network discussions, consultant rosters, etc. Other Practice Notes and Toolkits In Governance –A-C –Decentralization –Access to Information Practice Notes in Other Practices –Poverty –HIV/AIDS

UNDP Practice Notes Anti Corruption Electoral Systems Access to Information Parliamentary Development Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Poverty Reduction and Human Rights Gender Equality The Role of Economic Policies in Poverty Reduction UNDP’s Role in PRSPs Trade and Future Multilateral trade Negotiations Etc.

Substance and Scope of PAR The PN is built around capacity development at the individual, institutional and societal levels for poverty reduction in four areas: – Civil Service Reform –Improving the policy making system – Reforming the machinery of government – Reforming the public expenditure management system

PN provides practical guidance for DG practitioners Entry points and sequencing Winners and losers Gaining support and fostering leadership Accounting for different administrative traditions Enshrining the Human Rights Approach Measuring Progress

Main issues in PAR for UNDP Difficult to define a UNDP role compatible with its resources. Other players have increased their role in this field, e.g. World Bank, ADB, IADB, and DfID Surveys in Africa, Asia, and the Arab States have shown that focus on reform of central government declined while decentralization has become a core area for UNDP UNDP’s comparative strength is evolving:

UNDP’s Niche UNDP’s twin pillars of a pro-poor and human rights-based approach to PAR are a focus on open government and decentralization UNDP practitioners, informed by this Practice Note and accompanying toolkit will be able to engage in a dialogue on all aspects of PAR, and be advocates for UNDP’s pro-poor and human rights-based approaches.

UNDP’s strategic approach Engaging in a dialogue for pro-poor, democratic and human rights based reform Promoting a participatory process in elaborating the reform policy and designing reform programmes, and ensuring that reforms have full ownership Ensuring that reform of the public administration begins with using and developing existing capacity

UNDP’s strategic approach Promoting ‘open government’: accessible; transparent; accountable; includes public participation in decision-making; and government-held information is accessible. Assisting government in creating the enabling legal and institutional environment for decentralization PA in post conflict countries.

UNDP’s strategic approach To engage the government on PAR issues means finding strategic opportunities for funding or dialogue. UNDP programme staff should be prepared to engage in a dialogue on all aspects of PAR, because: – UNDP has a particular perspective, and – because there will be cases in which it is the best suited to lead in supporting a PAR programme.