Results Matter June 2007
MfDR Readiness Assessment of
Public Sector Organizations in South Asia
By Ziba Farhadian-Lorie, Principal Economist, SARD
Senior government members from South Asian countries at a retreat to review
the readiness assessment findings
Managing for development results (MfDR) in the public sector is a change management
process involving both individual organizations and units of the public sector.
Introduction of MfDR in 2 Stages
Introducing MfDR into the government of a country therefore requires change
at both the institutional and organizational levels. Stage 1 of this process
of managed change is the introduction of a results focus into the country planning
and budgeting processes, along with various technical devices and processes
that can demonstrate that the focus remains on results (e.g., introduction of
logframes and indicators at the project and sectoral level; monitoring and reporting
processes). Stage 2 cascades the philosophy and practices down to the individual
organizations within the government, holding these units responsible for delivering
the planned results identified in stage 1.
To date, few developing countries have moved from stage 1 to stage 2. Many
are still planning the implementation of stage 1, with stage 2 lying ahead as
an unclear gap in the implementation process.
Readiness Assessment Tool
Based on the above, the South Asia Regional Department (SARD) has developed
a readiness
assessment tool to assess the existing capacity of a public sector organization
and develop an action plan to address identified capacity gaps. In practice,
the model was applied in 10 public sector organizations in Bangladesh, Nepal,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Samples
of readiness assessments can be found in ADB’s Community of Practice
on MfDR website.
Readiness assessment will identify the organizational structure, systems and
processes, strategy and policies, and available resources (human and financial)
that allow organizations a capacity to deliver their identified results. The
identified results (impact, outcome, outputs) of an organization are a function
of the role of the organization in the whole of public sector; such results
also depend on the role of other stakeholders.
The readiness assessment aims to provide a descriptive and analytical assessment
of the level of readiness of a particular organization to improve its results
management orientation, and to provide the information necessary to develop
a capacity building plan to strengthen its results management approach. The
main purpose of the tool is to address the need for capacity assessment of the
main sector agencies in SARD’s core sectors in each developing member
country. Action plans can then be developed to address these capacity gaps as
part of the results-based CPS. This model is now being considered by an MfDR
committee in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development-Development
Assistance Committee, which has been charged with developing a good practice
model for this purpose.
Bangladesh
- Local Government Division
- Local Government Engineering Department
- Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
- Directorate of Primary Education
Nepal
- Ministry of Education and Sports
- Ministry of Physical Planning and Works
- Department of Water Supply and Sewerage
- District Development Committee Dhanusha
Pakistan
- Projects Wing of the Planning Commission
Sri Lanka
Late start – selection of pilot organizations under way
External Environment
- Traditional culture in bureaucracy
- Political instability and slow devolution n
- Unclear national planning and implementation framework
- Low salary and morale of civil service
- Weak transfer of national systems to organizational level
Clarity of Results
- Broad organizational mandate of ministries
- No organizational results chain
- Lack of clarity in addressing the outcomes of the organization
- Overlapping mandates even within government
- Lack of linkage between sector and organizational results chains
Adequacy of Resources
- Insufficient budget to achieve national targets
- Need for a focused human resource development plan
- Human resource capacity building overlooked
- Inadequate access to modern information technology systems and equipment
Management Infrastructure
- Two levels of policy mismatch: vertical and horizontal
- Donor harmonization generally weak
- Less understanding of working regulatory management frameworks
- Divisions, sections structures require updating
- Lack of adequate performance standards in job descriptions
Values/Culture and Vision/Leadership
- Low morale of the civil service
- Traditional working patterns remain
- Undefined mission and vision
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Weak/no monitoring and evaluation policy for ministry and lower levels
- Erosion of demand for results from lower levels
- Information on non-government organization and private sectors weak
- Weak data supply due to inadequate capacity at lower levels
View entire document
| About
Results Matter
Topics 
Top of page
