Showcasing and Rewarding European Public Excellence © Opening up the Public Sector through Collaborative Governance Smart Public Service.

Showcasing and Rewarding European Public Excellence www.epsa2011.eu

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Opening up the Public Sector through Collaborative Governance

Smart Public Service Delivery in a Cold Economic Climate

Michael Burnett, EPSA Final Conference, Maastricht, 16 November 2011

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Introduction – Self

Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years working in and with public sector

Public sector expert Deloitte and Touche/KPMG (14 years)

EIPA expert PPP/public services (6 years) Done business in 20+ European countries EPSA Co-theme leader “Smart public service delivery

in a cold economic climate”

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Where we are – The cold climate

Banking crisis Economic crisis Public finance crisis Currency crisis

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The importance of where we are

The sustainability of Europe’s social model is at stake eg sustaining employment, promoting employability, maintaining diversity etc

The questions are profound – What is the state for? There’s an emotional dimension... - What will be our legacy to our children and

grandchildren? - It’s never easy to move from expansion to

contraction The essential need for change to face the future

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Smart public service delivery matters more than ever

Europe’s public finances are in a grave crisis The problem can’t be fixed in one or two years The problem can’t be fixed with painless solutions There are limits to the scope for tax increases,

better tax collection and continuing to borrow Future economic growth can’t be relied on to fix the

problem Public administrations are not totally in control of

their future Lack of trust and moral authority in public

authorities

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Smart public service delivery – Key issues

Who should provide services? How should they be provided? What should be provided? Who decides the who, how and what? How are decisions made?

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Challenges

Stabilising public finances Effective financial sector regulation Continuing to address the climate change agenda Protecting competitiveness Protecting employment/employability Protecting diversity

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Theme 1 – Smart public service delivery

Directly related to one key aspect of Europe’s economic crisis ie stabilising public finances

Innovative and successful changes in how services are delivered leading to:

- Improved service at the same or lower cost - Maintaining diversity in service objectives while

reducing costs and maintaining quality - Redefined service at significantly lower cost - Significantly improved service relative to cost increase

Imaginative and improved performance measurement linked to service objectives

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General evaluation criteria

General award criteria relevant to all three themes were: Innovation Public concern Sustainability Impact Learning capacity and transferability

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Theme 1 – Specific evaluation criteria

In Theme 1 we were looking for initiatives which: Balanced cost change with change in service

standards Linked service objectives and measurement indicators Showed evidence of attention to diverse service

objectives

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Theme 1 – Statistical overview

103 applications 8 evaluators 22 countries plus EU institutions 3 evaluators per application

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Theme 1 – Applications by country

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Theme 1 – Applications by administrative

level

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Theme 1 – Applications by size of

organisation

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Theme 1 – Applications by sector

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Theme 1 – Final Nominees

EPSA2011261 Change² - City of Mannheim: Achieving More Together (Mannheim, Germany)

EPSA2011108 Political Management based on Economic Stringency and Strategic Budgets (Bilbao, Spain)

EPSA2011253 NDLA: Innovation in Acquisition, Development and Distribution of Digital Learning Resources (Norway)

EPSA2011152 High Technology at Low Cost in the Management of CAP Subsidies in Catalonia (Spain)

EPSA2011258 Effectiveness in Healthcare. Computer System to Manage the Surgical Process (Forli, Italy)

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Theme 1 – Key messages

Importance of strategic framework for budget and service reform

- Clear budgetary targets

- Prioritisation of service objectives Importance of commitment at all levels in organisation

- Political engagement

- Staff commitment

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Theme 1 – Key messages (continued)

Relevance of size and level of administration

- Particular challenges for small administrations

- Implications for administrative reform? Relevance of technological innovation

- Often necessary but not in itself sufficient

- Importance of “adopt, adapt, improve”

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Contact details

Mr Michael Burnett Expert, European Public Management European Institute of Public Administration Maastricht, the Netherlands Tel. +31-43-32 96 286 E-mail: [email protected]