1. Public sector change management – looking back to look forward Dr. Richard Boyle Head of Research Institute of Public Administration Dublin Presentation to ACESA Conference 1 st October 2009

2. Where did pressure for change come from – the influence of theory Public choice theory Agency theory Management theory

3. Change context Proportional representation Pragmatism rather than ideology Consensus and partnership building Social partnership

4. Public service reform: some key developments Launch of Strategic Management Initiative (1994) Delivering Better Government (1996) Public Service Management Act (1997) PMDS (2000) Decentralisation (2003) Regulating Better (2004) Organisational review programme (2007) Output statements (2007) OECD review of the public service (2008)

5. Enabling change – structures and processes Top down Middle out Bottom up

6. Top down drivers of change Political direction Central agencies –Department of the Taoiseach –Department of Finance –Department of the Public Service – a cautionary tale

7. Middle out drivers of change The role of senior management – critical mass The role of change teams

8. Bottom up drivers of change The involvement of front line staff The voice of the citizen

9. The current change climate – lessons from Canada Fiscal reform on the scale required leaves little room for other substantial reforms Across the board cuts that affect programmes in an undifferentiated way have significant perverse effects ‘Doing more with less’ is not a viable solution to eliminating a sizeable deficit

10. Be wary of Changing structures as an ‘easy’ option New initiatives added on to existing ones Focusing on the process rather than the outcome Reform of the public service is a means to an end, not an end of itself.