Ethos Issue 4, Apr 2008

Reclaiming Public Administration
Jocelyne Bourgon

POLICY CHOICES AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
A good policy is one that achieves its intended results at the lowest possible cost to society, while minimising unintended consequences. While policy decisions get the most public attention, policy implementation is where success is defined.⁶ The role of public administration is to transform good ideas into solid results to serve the public interest.

Modernising public administration will involve:

• New approaches to service delivery that empower citizens to play a key role in
  service design, delivery and innovation. While the traditional face-to-face approach will remain, particularly for highly complex services, the aggressive use of information technology makes it possible to maximise opportunities for users to take ownership of service delivery functions.
• New approaches to public policy through citizen engagement. Citizen engagement elevates public discourse, expanding the sphere within which citizens can make choices. It encourages debate, leading to broader consensus on government initiatives. It enhances the legitimacy of government action with other governments in international forums.⁷
• New systems of accountability to balance the impact of rules and constraints to
  pursue policy goals, with reasonable risk-taking to innovate and improve performance, and with the obligation to maximise the achievement of results for citizens. The emerging focus on results is important. No organisation should be judged as successful if the cost burden of required compliance is at the expense of achieving results or exceeds the overall benefits to society.
• New forms of accountability to citizens: Public reporting on the achievement of societal goals based on evidence, comparative analysis, peer review and benchmarking with countries of a similar level of development, would elevate the public discourse and enrich the current system of accountability for the exercise of power.
• Network management across agencies as a complement to vertical authority and accountability structures, supported by common information management systems transforming individual knowledge into the shared property of the collective and encouraging system-wide innovation.
• Partnership and shared governance as the management model of non-hierarchical relationships. Partnerships require lead time upfront in order to define common goals, purpose, decisionmaking mechanisms and roles and responsibilities. They also require sustained commitment, respect and trust.

None of these were trademarks of the Classic model.

CONCLUSION
As Donald Kettl has noted, "Public administration is in trouble because it does not match up well, in theory or in practice, with the problems it must solve." He goes on to summarise the challenge very well, "Public administration without a guiding theory is risky; administrative theory without connection to action is meaningless. That dilemma is the foundation of a genuine intellectual crisis in public administration."⁸

It is time to reclaim public administration and refashion it for a new century.

The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon served as President of the Canadian Centre for Management Development from 1999 to 2003. Her work led to the creation of the Canada School of Public Service. She became President Emeritus of the School in 2003. From 2003 to 2007, Ms Bourgon served as Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where she played a key role on behalf of Canada in guiding OECD reforms. Since 2007, she has
been Distinguished and Visiting Professor Public Administration and Public Service Reform, University of Waterloo and Distinguished and Research fellow at Center for International Governance Innovation. Ms Bourgon also serves as special advisor to the Privy Council Office and she pursues her work in support of the public service and public service reform as President Emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service. As an eminent expert in governance and public
sector reforms, Ms Bourgon provides advice to various Governments around the world.

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