1. Re-inventing Government 25 – 28 th April, 2006 Managing the Policy Process Prof Wendy Thomson McGill University

2. Effective Policy Management ? 5 questions for you. 1. What are the issues in your government? 2. Where do policy ideas come from ? 3. Is reform driven by policy or by finance? 4. What are the institutions and actors in the ‘governance’ system that deliver policy? 5. How do you know ‘what works’ and ‘for whom’ it is working ?

3. Where do policy ideas come from ? Reactive to problems or events Civil service & technical advice Political party Special advisers Public opinion polling & surveys Think tanks

4. What is driving reform ? Financial imperatives – reduce public expenditure Ideological – smaller state Policy commitments - delivery

5. Who actively delivers policy ? No government can deliver its policy by itself Relies on a series of people & institutions The ‘delivery landscape’ Needs efficient process And aligned purposes

6. How do you know what works? Evidence-based policy development Consultation with stakeholders Pilots and smaller scale experiments Clear targets and deliverables Active performance management Program evaluation

7. 5 practical policy tools 1. Project management of policy 2. Cabinet clearance system 3. Aligning resources & policy 4. Landscape mapping 5. End to end reviews

8. Effective Policy Management ? 5 questions for you. 1. What are the issues in your government? 2. Where do policy ideas come from ? 3. Is reform driven by policy or by finance? 4. What are the institutions and actors in the ‘governance’ system that deliver policy? 5. How do you know ‘what works’ and ‘for whom’ it is working ?

9. Re-inventing Government 25 – 28 th April, 2006 Managing the Policy Process Prof Wendy Thomson McGill University