© OECD A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU. Improving the implementation of good governance Tony Bovaird, Elke Loeffler, Salvador Parrado Governance International „Quality Management in the Public Sector“ Vilnius March 2006

What is ‘governance’ context- specificAny definition of public governance has to be context- specific We think that Governance goes beyond public service improvements to focus on improving the quality of people's lives. Source: Governance International, 2006

Improvement in public governance consists of … Improvements to the quality of life of citizens and other stakeholders as a result of government actions Closer adherence by all stakeholders to an agreed set of principles and processes by means of which appropriate public policies will be designed and put into practice

We need to measure quality of life improvements in … Public safety and security Jobs and economic prosperity Health Social wellbeing and integration Education and lifelong learning Access and mobility Liveable environment Home comfort and shelter Enjoyment of leisure and culture

International approaches to measuring quality of life improvements The Compass Project of the Bertelsmann Foundation in Germany supports measurement of local QoL indicators, with involvement of key stakeholders The Audit Commission in UK, with 90 local authorities, has developed 36 PIs which measure QoL in 13 fields. (Citizens are already asked every three years about how satisfied they are with the services which are provided by their local council) European Urban Audit is a consortium of 58 cities – it reports on 21 QoL PIs on 5 themes including socio-economic development, civic involvement, levels of training and education, environment, culture and recreation)

We need to measure improvements in public governance principles and processes … Democratic decision-making Citizen engagement Transparency Accountability Social inclusion and equalities (of opportunity, use, access, cost, outcomes?) for disadvantaged groups Fair and honest treatment of citizens Ability to compete in a global environment Willingness and ability to work in partnership Respect for the rule of law Respect for the rights of others Respect for diversity Sustainability of policies

International approaches to measuring improvements in governance processes First and second generation governance indicators in the World Bank initiative - includes the measurement of constraints and capabilities (e.g. literacy rate, budgetary volatility) Democratic Audit (DfID, IIDEA Stockholm) and civil liberties scores (Freedom House) Public perceptions and experiences of corruption (Corruption Index of Transparency International) Social audit (especially of equalities agenda, fair employment and environmental impacts) Activism in civil society and levels of trust (World Values Survey, Eurobarometer, UK Volunteering Survey) But significant deficiencies in these – and gaps

The objectives of the Governance Test the state of public governanceto provide an assessment of the state of public governance in a public agency – including the quality of life and the quality of governance processes to improve the strategic managementof their partnershipsto help politicians and other stakeholders to improve the strategic management of their partnerships, rather than simply in their own organisation to initiate a governance improvement cycleto initiate a governance improvement cycle in which all stakeholders work together to enhance the quality of life outcomes and governance processes to improve accountability of stakeholders to each other easy-to-understand outcome-based scorecardto improve accountability of stakeholders to each other by providing an easy-to-understand outcome-based scorecard

And now … You have the chance to test the quality of governance in YOUR OWN ORGANISATION You will find in your pack a GI GOVERNANCE SELF ASSESSMENT TEST (GOVSAT) Please fill it in in respect of YOUR ORGANISATION (or, if that is easier for you, in respect of THE PART OF THE ORGANISATION IN WHICH YOU WORK) We will then discuss in the plenary session how useful this kind of information would be in managing your organisation

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