With the impact of the global recession continuing to squeeze and reshape economies
around the world, public administrators are facing up to the challenging task of developing
more innovative solutions to protect essential public service delivery frameworks and
buffer the public sector reform process in the face of deep financial cuts.
There has been much debate in trying to define what public sector reform is, and how it
should be implemented. The United Nations Economic and Social Council, in its 2006
paper, stated that "public sector reform consists of deliberate changes to the structures
and processes of public sector organizations with the objective of getting them to run
better. Structural change may include merging or splitting public sector organizations while
process change may include redesigning systems, setting quality standards and focusing
on capacity-building".
In terms of service delivery, governments around the world have to balance resources
and investment with results and outcomes. Public Administration itself, whether at local,
regional, federal, or national levels, comes under increasing public scrutiny as citizens
come to regard this aspect of national activity in the same way as any other – one from
which they expect efficiency, accountability, productivity and responsiveness. In order
to meet citizen’s demands and to operate within the present financial constraints, public
administrations are having to embrace reform.
The International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) carries out a substantial
amount of work to support administrations across the world in their efforts to bring about
change and reform, providing a range of different services:
• Research – ICPS research makes a significant contribution to learning about
public sector reform, highlighting best practice, current trends and leading thinking.
The Centre has a repository of materials, including research papers, films and
documentaries, and works in collaboration with a number of academics, universities
and research organisations across the world
• High level networks – ICPS has developed a network for senior officials that have
a professional interest in the field of public sector reform, and provides opportunities
throughout the year for them to gather and share ideas and best practice.
• Consultancy – ICPS provides consultancy services to public administrations
and agencies around the world on areas including: structures of Government,
institution building, human rights, citizen participation, accountability, public sector
management, policy design and delivery.
• Training – ICPS provides training and advice to governments and public
administrations, through working in collaboration and delivering bespoke training
programmes which are tailored to their precise requirements. The Centre also
provides internationally recognised professional qualifications in the area of
governance, Parliament and policy, and these are accredited by the Chartered
Management Institute.