A Framework for Decentralizing Civil Servants Workshop on Decentralizing Civil Servants Wednesday, 9 June 2004

Slide 1 Purpose of the Review To review the staffing practices in 8 countries in the context of their decentralization experience Based on this review, to develop a framework for analyzing the range of employer functions in terms of their contribution to the objectives of administrative decentralization Identify specific lessons for developing an action plan for administrative decentralization The paper also provides some suggestions for testing the framework in a broader set of countries

Slide 2 Achieving the intended degree of decentralization A decentralization strategy should address all 3 dimensions In practice the degree of decentralization in each dimension does not always line up – focus is often on political &/or fiscal aspects Achieving intended degree of decentralization depends on effective interaction among all 3 dimensions PoliticalFiscalAdmin’tive Dimensions DegreesDegrees Deconcentration (minimal) Delegation (intermediate) Devolution (substantial)

Slide 3 Effective interaction between administrative and fiscal decentralization Critically important to successful decentralization strategy Failure is inevitable without: Adequate fiscal tools to manage staff & other resources Administrative authority to allocate resources, supervise activities & otherwise ensure effective implementation And without these tools, a politically decentralized government cannot reasonable be held accountable

Slide 4 Objectives of a decentralized staffing model Decentralized administration means that local government has the means to effectively deliver its functional responsibilities To do so, it must be able to: hold staff to account allocate staff to where need is greatest manage its financial resources attract and retain skilled staff The following table identifies the various employer functions that contribute to these objectives

Dimensions of the employer function: Impact on Administrative Autonomy: Ability to: Hold staff account- able Allocate staff Manage financial resources Attract & retain skilled staff Budget Transparency  Paying staff from its own budget Budget & Establishment Control  Controlling overall staff numbers  Controlling staff no’s in local offices & fac’s  Authority to dismiss surplus staff Recruitment  Recognition as the formal employer  Authority to hire  Ind. merit-based recruitment mech. Career Management  Transfers within local government  Horizontal mobility  Promotion Performance Management  Directing & supervising activities & tasks  Conducting evaluations  Ability to discipline/fire Pay Policy  Setting local hardship/remote allowances  Setting overall wage rates Devolving the Employer Function

Dimensions of the employer function: WeakIntermediateStrong Benin India Pakistan Mexico Uganda Philippines Poland Indonesia Budget Transparency  Paying staff from its own budget PPPYPYYY Budget & Establishment Control  Controlling overall staff numbers n/aNNPNYYY  Controlling staff no’s in local offices & facilities n/aNNPNPPP  Authority to dismiss surplus staff NNNPPYPY Recruitment  Recognition as the formal employer PNPYYYYY  Authority to hire PNYPPYYY  Ind. merit-based recruitment mech. (eg PSC) NNNNYNNP Career Management  Transfers within local government NNYPPYYY  Horizontal mobility PNYPPYYY  Promotion NNNNNNNN Performance Management  Directing & supervising activities & tasks PNYPYYYY  Conducting evaluations NPYPPYYY  Ability to discipline/fire NNYPPPPY Pay Policy  Setting local hardship/remoteness allowances NNNNNYYP  Setting overall wage rates NNNNNNNN Assessing the Case Studies as Decentralizers Y=yes; P=partial; N=no

Decentralizers: Long term reforms WeakIntermediateStrong Budget Transparency Paying staff from its own budget Budget & Establishment Control Controlling overall staff numbers Controlling staff no’s in local offices & facilities Authority to dismiss surplus staff Recruitment Formal Employer Authority to hire Independent merit-based recruitment mechanism (eg, PSC) Career Management Promotion Transfers within local government ‘Free’ labor market across local governments Performance Management Directing & supervising activities & tasks Conducting evaluations Ability to discipline/fire Pay Policy Setting local hardship/remoteness allowances Setting overall wage rates Points of Entry for Administrative Decentralization, based on the Case Studies

= most critical Impact on Administrative Autonomy: Ability to: Dimensions of the employer function: Hold staff account- able Allocate staff Manage financial resources Attract & retain skilled staff Budget Transparency  Paying staff from its own budget Budget & Establishment Control  Controlling overall staff numbers  Controlling staff no’s in local offices & fac’s  Authority to dismiss surplus staff Recruitment  Recognition as the formal employer  Authority to hire  Ind. merit-based recruitment mech. Career Management  Transfers within local government  Horizontal mobility  Promotion Performance Management  Directing & supervising activities & tasks  Conducting evaluations  Ability to discipline/fire Pay Policy  Setting local hardship/remote allowances  Setting overall wage rates Can we extend the analysis to identify which functions are most critical to decentralization?

Slide 9 Testing the Framework Framework based on ‘desk’ review of 8 countries’ experience While promising, it needs to be tested more broadly to provide a solid, empirical basis Consideration should be given to using a standardized questionnaire; a draft is included in the paper Results will also give better evidence on which employer functions are most frequently devolved early on, and which are most critical in achieving objectives