Ethos Issue 4, Apr 2008

Reclaiming Public Administration
Jocelyne Bourgon

After thirty years of reform and experimentation, it is now time to outline a new, integrated model of public administration more relevant to the complex challenges of today, argues Jocelyn Bourgon, President Emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service.

Public administrations are a vehicle for expressing the values and preferences of citizens, communities and societies.

The past thirty years have been a rich period of experimentation in public administration, aimed at making government more efficient, effective, productive, transparent and responsive. It was also a period where much was learned about the importance of good governance and the shared responsibilities of the private sector, the public sector, civil society and citizens to ensure a high standard of living and quality of life. As a result, the current practice of public administration is no longer entirely consistent with the Classic model. Yet, practitioners do not have a modern, integrated theory adapted to today’s circumstances.

It is time to integrate the core values of the past with the lessons of the last thirty years to develop a new synthesis of public administration to guide practitioners serving citizens in the 21st century.¹

NOT ENTIRELY OF THE PAST
The Classic model emerged in the latter part of the 19th century, during the industrial revolution. It was founded on a number of conventions, including a strict separation of political and professional activities, public service anonymity and political neutrality. The power structure was vertical and hierarchical. It was ideally suited to repetitive tasks performed under precisely prescribed rules. The influence of scientific management led to an expectation that it was possible to define the “best” way to achieve complex results by breaking them down into simple tasks and that rigorous controls would ensure performance and accountability.

Today, few government activities come close to matching the Classic service delivery model which was organised hierarchically and controlled by delegated authority.² A recurring theme of the global government reform movement is the growth of non-traditional, nonhierarchical, and often non-governmental approaches to service delivery.³

NOT YET OF THE FUTURE
In public policy today, one finds a web of diverse policy tools, provided by a vast network of agencies, some in government but most outside. They are not managed in the traditional way but instead through networks of interdependent relationships.

Indirect tools, such as contracts, loans, transfers, grants and tax credits, account for most government services. They differ from the direct service delivery of the past. The more government uses indirect means of delivery, the less relevant the traditional model of accountability becomes.⁴

An increasing proportion of government services are intangible and knowledge-based. The quality and the nature of the services provided depend on the accumulated knowledge of the organisation and the know-how of the public servant providing the service. Controls do not improve performance and may even forestall innovation.

Coordinating complex operations is the new trademark of public administration. On important issues, it is necessary to develop a coordinated response to problems that stretch across boundaries. No government agency or country controls all the tools or has all the levers needed to address these modern issues. One cannot command collaboration (not even among agencies of the same government) or order trust. New ways must be found to encourage coordination in a non-hierarchical environment where powers and responsibilities are broadly dispersed.

Modern information and communication technologies allow citizens to reclaim their democratic institutions. It is no longer about democratic institutions providing services to citizens but about creating an enabling environment to empower citizens to take part in, even take charge of, the design and delivery of services provided to them. This is “initiating a dramatic change, a big U-turn, heading government back to the people”.⁵

An increasing number of public policies require the active participation of citizens, as agents, to achieve the desired policy outcome, in particular when issues require a change of societal behaviour which is beyond the state’s legislative authority and ability to act (e.g. obesity and global warming).

The hierarchical structure and authority-based public organisations created to meet the challenges of the industrial age are not well-suited to manage a highly dispersed system of relationships and shared responsibilities needed to respond to citizens’ expectations in the 21st century.

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