1. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION The Civil Service challenge A global challenge, a Georgian challenge Xavier Sisternas Principal Administrator, SIGMA xavier.sisternas@oecd.org Civil Service Reform Conference NATO-Civil Service Bureau Tbilisi, 13 June 2012

2. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION “ Even if their economies were robust enough to merit admission, none of the states queuing at the door would find it easy to meet the EU’s demanding standards on honesty and impartiality in public life”. “ Several countries that are already part of the block do not, in all regards, meet the EU’s own standards. Nor is membership of this dismal subset limited to some of the 10 former Communist countries that joined EU in the past decade.” Financial Times, 5 June 2012. Balkan concerns, EU must tackle enlargement with care

3. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1) Democracy and development needs a professional Public Administration managed by a competent Civil Service  Without a strong and stable public administration there is no: real democracy, rule of law, legal certainty, safety, human rights, protection of businesses' rights and public services.  Social and economic development needs “good governance”: strong institutions + strong checks and balances.  Tight correlation between professional Civil Service and good governance/administration: Civil Service also plays a check and balance role.

4. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2) What is a professional Civil Service? Scope:  Core of public institutions  Distinction between political and professional positions and responsibilities Roles:  Perform core State/public functions  Exercise of public powers  Key policy advice  Law and policies drafting, implementation and evaluation Not service delivery, not auxiliary jobs Values and principles:  Objectivity, guided by public interest  Legality  Integrity and honesty  Political impartiality  Loyalty to the Government of the day  Refusal to carry out improper orders  Accountability  Orientation to results/service/citizen (effectiveness and efficiency)

5. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 3) Building professionalism: the merit model (OECD+EU countries) Merit civil servants:  Competent, qualified individuals  Induction+ continuous training  Public service ethos and values  Rights and duties  Tenure:  Stable appointments  Protection against unfair dismissal  Partial insulation from politics to protect from undue political interference  The State as the employer institution Merit-based human resource management:  Selection: open competition, equal opportunities, professional and independent selection boards  Career paths, fair promotion  Appropriate and fair remuneration  Fair disciplinary system  Procedures preventing excessive discretion and inadequate political interference in HRM  Transparent procedures and judicial control + Many options: Career/position model Centralised or decentralised HR system Performance appraisal or not More or less homogeneity/flexibility More or less detailed Civil Service Code

6. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 3) The merit-system in the private sector: a “Great Place to Work” www.greatplacetowork.co.uk www.greatplacetowork.co.uk

7. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 4) Merit reforms: more failure than success Merit system implementation largely fails in countries in transition and in development: merit principles and procedures are not respected in practice. Why?:  Politics continues to be driven by clientelism and rent-seeking  Strong spoils systems, that help to finance political competition  Public jobs to buy political support  Oligarchies and traditional loyalty ties  Ministers doesn’t accept restrictions in their power/autonomy  Some individual civil servants prefer the clientelistic system Some success through “islands of excellence”: Central Bank, MoF, Tax, Customs and other key agencies

8. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 5) Your country, your Civil Service Reforming the Civil Service is central to make the Government more effective Merit-based bureaucracy High income countries Mixed bureaucracy Bad EU performers Clientelistic/ Patronage / Spoils system bureaucracy Low-income countries

9. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 6) Building the Georgian Civil Service: the pragmatic way Getting merit and politics to live together  Look for reform opportunities that acknowledge political realities  Repoliticise the reform debate and agenda  Explain that the merit system is a precondition for any NPM / managerial approach Selective / gradual reforms  Reform as a long term process: reform is not passing a law  Use alternative approaches: hybrid or political appointments for “politically sensitive” positions  Create “islands of excellence” in key ministries and agencies  Get reputation, trust, reliability, and build upon it  Attract best graduates  Pay attention to the emergence of the Civil Service as an interest group

10. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION 6) Building the Georgian Civil Service: pressure for the reform Create external pressure  Incentivise and give visibility to the demand for better governance and public services  Look for powerful external forces to push for the reform: society/NGOs and business demands, EU + international pressure Build a reform coalition  President / Prime minister to lead  Ministry of Finance as key actor  Line ministers and local governments are important stakeholders  Win wide political consensus  Try to commit civil service unions Choose momentum  Legitimacy and plenty of time 10

11. © OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION Thank you 11