This presentation by Edwin Lau, OECD, on the “WorLd Class Civil Service" was made at the meeting of the OECD Working Party on Public Employment and Management on 20-21 April 2015. For further on information on the OECD work on Public Employment and Management please see http://www.oecd.org/gov/pem/.

1. “WORLD CLASS” CIVIL
SERVICE
Working Party for Public Employment and Management
April 20, 2015

2. Changing
boundaries
of the core
public sector
Users
Increased involvement af
users to optimise service
value and exploit gains
from co-production &
auto-management
Partnerships
Innovative use of joint
incentives in public &
private communities
Political mandate
Sharper priorities of
tasks and service levels
Suppliers
Rethinking of sourcing
strategy & core
competencies
Changing core competencies of the
public sector
Policy
making
process
boundaries
Service
delivery
process
boundaries

3. What Civil Service do we need?
• Clarifying the focus
– Civil Service : independent policymaking & advice
– Public Service: service delivery
– Broader Public Sector
• Shift from job description to competency framework as component of overall Organisational capability
• Changing demands on the Civil Service: From advice & compliance to:
• Identifying sub-groups: front line staff, support staff, analysts, managers, senior leaders; general v. specific,
technical skills, leadership skills
• Benchmarking the Civil Service requires a normative statement of expectations and roles
Requirements Skills Indicators?
Innovation Problem Solving, Design, Behavioural Insights
Value for Money; Benefits
Realisation;
Cost & benefit analysis; contract & performance management;
prototyping & evaluation
Openness; Partnerships;
Relationship management
Social media, business management; information management;
sub-national relations
Accountability & Transparency Ethics; regulatory and legal frameworks; indicators
Coherence
Strategic thinking; outcome indicators; enterprise architecture, co-
ordination across levels of government
Anticipation & Prevention;
Risk Management
Foresight, Data Analytics; Risk analysis
Staff Engagement Leadership; Strategic HRM

4. Taking a broader institutional context to
examine the Civil Service
Functions
• Strategic planning; Policymaking & design;
Policy advice
• Delivery
• Rule of Law
Institutional
Features
•Machinery of Government (structure; reg regime)
• Civil servants
• Skills
• Values / Ethics
• Engagement
•Instrument choice / Resource allocation
Outcomes
• Delivery on strategic objectives
(e.g. Inclusive Growth)
• Service quality
• Service access
• Trust
Political agenda setting & guidance
Political & Social Accountability

5. Levers to shape & prepare the Civil
Service
• Leadership
• Recruitment
• Holistic planning (link org capacity
with strategic outcomes)
– Workforce planning
– HR development
– Leadership development
• Compensation
• Work Environment & Conditions
• Performance & Accountability
Regime
• Monitoring & managing employee
engagement
• Training; Learning
• Composition: diversity, gender
experience, education
• Post-public employment
Australian Public Service
Capability Review Framework

6. Proposed calendar
• Public Employment & Management Working Party, 20-21
April
– Workforce composition indicators; strategic HRM questionnaire
– Proposal for OECD recommendation on public sector workforce
– Public Sector Skills project
• Public Governance Committee, 23-24 April
– PGC Symposium on Performance
– Proposal to benchmark Civil Service
• Skills Workshop with Schools of Government July 6 (tbc)
– Identification of key skills and competencies.
– Input into the Ministerial
• PGC Ministerial, 28 October
• Breakout session on benchmarking Civil Service to test draft OECD
recommendation on public sector workforce
• Draft set of indicators to benchmark Civil Service ?

7. • How can international measures of government
effectiveness help improve the performance of our
Civil Services?
• How are different countries objectively measuring the
performance of their Civil Services?
• Is there more that can be done to quantify
effectiveness in key areas of Civil Service
performance?
– Do we understand what elements constitute a world class
public administration?
– Can we identify both suitable internationally comparable
metrics?
– Which countries are at the leading edge?
Questions for discussion