Public Sector Wales’ Post

The 2024 Public Sector Reforms National Workshop will offer thought-provoking and stimulating discussions about the current state of public sector reforms and the barriers to their success. It will investigate different reform approaches and highlight the vital role of public service management, among other important themes. Click bit.ly/rethinkingreforms to register now. #aigimoukhuedefoundation #publicsectorreformsnationalworkshop #closingthegapbetweenafricaandtheworld

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺: 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 "𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘴" 𝘢𝘯𝘥 "𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴" Sophus zu Ermgassen compelling comparison between the Appolo Space mission and the necessity to #restorenature is more than relevant to reflect the capacity to federate efforts in order build "𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳". A few recurring reflections from the work in Brussels: 🔴 Addressing nature loss, a significant global challenge, necessitates a redefined role and reallocation of resources within the public sector, emphasizing the foundational importance of nature to our economy. 🔴 Amidst shrinking public budgets (#MFF) and escalating crises, how will decision makers uphold accountability post-2028 #MFF? What implications arise from the potential abolition of the #LIFE program in this context? 🔴 Considering most liberal economic theories, the public sector's role is to guarantee that markets can work autonomously, how would global markets function in the future when considering that half of world's GDP is dependant on ecosystems? 🔴 Emphasising market solutions alone risks overlooking the vital role of public finance and the need to reassess its mission statement. Here's a read to find out about the carrots and the sticks needed: https://lnkd.in/egWJG2hr Katie Kedward Erik Gomez-Baggethun

On the meeting of the Expert Group on #EPSAS in Dublin, driven by #EUROSTAT I had the honour to report about the activities of our group Cities for Sustainable Public Finances #CSPF, hosted by #KDZ, and on our „spin-off“, the #TSI-project on Sustainable Local Public Finances #SLPF, financed by DG Reform and implemented with the help from Expertise France and KDZ. The question how to transform budget kpi‘s and the planning process to meet the United Nations #SDG‘s is getting in the focus more and more. So let‘s be ambitious to find some answers at least for the city level. More information may be found under www.cspf.eu - keep updated 😊

Are political commitments to a healthy, diverse, resilient natural environment matched by the policy and investment needed to make it a reality? It was great working with Sophus zu Ermgassen on Leading from the Front – the role of the public sector in nature recovery https://lnkd.in/eTTW2xsS . The Woodland Trust commissioned the research which makes the case for stronger public sector leadership in funding, regulation and policy, including: • an ambitious joined-up approach led by government, with a clear long-term plan setting out how recovery will be measured, paid for and delivered • effective regulation of new nature markets and land use to protect existing nature, including trees and woods • high and stable levels of public investment supported by the encouragement of well managed nature markets. We've also pulled together a briefing – Funding nature recovery in England - summarising what it all means for the Woodland Trust . https://lnkd.in/eqnZJ-2p This is part of the Woodland Trust’s efforts to stimulate new thinking in what feels like a very important area. Let me know what you think of the research and what questions we should be asking next. 

How can UK government be more effective when addressing chronic problems like inequalities or crises like climate change? This idea of ‘effective government’ has no clear, coherent, or agreed definition. Rather, advocates of reform identify multiple principles to which to aspire, including to: - Hold to account the people and organisations responsible for policy. - Anticipate and prevent policy problems rather than react to crisis. - Avoid power hoarding at the ‘centre’. - Co-produce policy with citizens. - Ensure policy coherence and policymaking integration. - Foster evidence-informed policymaking. - Mainstream equity, fairness, or justice across all policy. - Ensure that public services deliver public value. There is no technical way to combine these principles or resolve their trade-offs. Rather, policymakers make political choices to signal rhetorical support for all of these aims but demonstrate strong support for some. This tension between effective government principles is at the heart of a dominant and pessimistic academic story of UK policymaking in which the principle of Westminster-style accountability overshadows all others. Consequently, policymaking is inevitably short-termist, elitist, and centralist, and other reform efforts are doomed to failure. We recognise this problem but present a cautiously optimistic account about future prospects, grounded in new efforts to promote ‘Positive Public Policy’ (PoPP). We describe the potential to reinvigorate a range of approaches including: - Strategic state approaches to encourage more policy coherence and policymaking integration. - Systems thinking and place-based approaches to situate holistic government in more local decision-making contexts. - Evidence-informed government, to reflect massive UK government investment in research for policy. - Renewed forms of public participation to boost democratic legitimacy and inform policy. - Behavioural public policy, to understand how people think and behave and support behavioural change. What is a more positive account of the limited progress of these reforms? First, although rather ambiguous, they are all sufficiently clear to prompt debate and collaboration on how to translate abstract aims into concrete change. Second, although we may witness short-term setbacks, repeated reform efforts often have a cumulative effect. Third, although there is limited financial capacity to support major reforms, these initiatives support the new government’s focus on reforms that offer tangible rewards from low investment. This new reality provides an important window of opportunity for learning and applying the lessons of Positive Public Policy. Full article: Paul Cairney, John Boswell, Sarah Ayres, Catherine Durose, Dr Ian C Elliott, Matthew Flinders, Steve Martin, Liz Richardson (2024) ‘The state of British policymaking: How can UK government become more effective?’, Parliamentary Affairs, https://lnkd.in/edXQadDY

Take a look at the newest edition of the Public Sector Journal from IPANZ, the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand. This issue covers: - Realising the potential of the first 2000 days: A social investment opportunity. - Embracing accountability: Chief Ombudsman New Zealand, Peter Boshier's reflections on public sector complaints processes. - He Māori Ahau conference: Empowering Māori in public service. - Why ethical AI and governance is just good information management practice, with Stephen Clarke MRIM. - Meaningful performance reporting: How do we get there? John Ryan, Controller and Office of the Auditor-General, New Zealand. - Cracking the code: What drives our behaviours and how to harness them for policy-making, with Abigail Bender. - Digital public infrastructure explained Luke Collier outlines what digital public infrastructure is and why the public sector and all of Aotearoa New Zealand need to get on board with it. - Kiwis under the lens: An inside look at New Zealand’s social media surveillance, with Rachel Levinson-Waldman. - Is New Zealand a world leader in public budgeting? derek gill looks at New Zealand’s Open Budget survey results and highlights the need for continuous improvement. - Zaira Najam reviews the 'Here Now' podcast episode and the recently published book 'Social Developments' written by Tim Garlick. - Learn about the Policy Project, based at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. I have been a member of IPANZ for several years, and recently joined as a member of their Journal Advisory Group because I see real value from this organization. If you have topics you think should be covered in future issues, pass me a message. If you are a public servant, you likely have more access than you know through your employer's membership status. Take a look at some of the resources, training, events and the Journal. Thanks Kay for the connection.

Scotland's public services face deep-rooted pressures. A new report, published in partnership with Audit Scotland, seeks to move beyond diagnosing the well-established challenges to providing realistic, impactful solutions that can benefit Scotland's communities. https://lnkd.in/dT4Tn8-Z

Join this Thursday: Learn systems innovation in government policy work from Policy lab UK and OECD experts: practical cases and room for questions.

Our report explores how knowledge brokers establish research-practice collaborations and opportunities to enhance public sector reform, focusing on the mechanisms and mindsets that create the conditions for trust and collaboration.

The latest in our Innovations in Public Policy series is by Dr Ian C Elliott from the UofG Centre for Public Policy on Mission-Driven Government. https://lnkd.in/eTyuVAzR The UK Government has committed to being a ‘mission-driven government’, with missions focused on clean energy, economic growth, the future of the NHS, creating opportunity for all and safer streets. The concept of mission-driven government has been subject to extensive discussion in the political media. However, it is not a new or novel concept. In fact, when the SNP came to power in 2007, the Scottish Government developed an approach centred around the idea of a strategic state which shares many of the characteristics of mission-driven government. This piece highlights valuable insights from the Scottish experience, the need for long-term and sustained investment in strategic capabilities, for improved accountability, and for collaboration between different levels of government. The Innovations in Public Policy series aims to explore some of the key ideas shaping policy-making under the Labour government. You can read more about the series and read other pieces from it here https://lnkd.in/gzNXNTr4