Expert Group Meeting (EGM) Aide Memoire. Kampala Serena Hotel, Kintu Road, Kampala, Uganda August Organized by the

Transcription

1 Equipping Public Servants with Competencies and a New Mindset to Effectively Use Innovations for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Expert Group Meeting (EGM) Aide Memoire Kampala Serena Hotel, Kintu Road, Kampala, Uganda August 2018 Organized by the (UNDESA) in conjunction with the 5th Conference of Africa Public Sector Human Resource Managers Network (APS-HRMnet) 1

2 A. Background In September 2015, all Member States of the adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core. This is an ambitious Agenda that seeks to build an equitable and sustainable world in which no one is left behind. Therefore, all governments that aspire to successfully implement the 2030 Agenda, have a key role in realizing the SDGs. Consequently, the successful implementation is hinged, in major ways, upon the effectiveness, professionalism, commitment and ethics of public servants in carrying out their roles and responsibilities - from formulation of key policies and strategies to implementation, monitoring and assessment. The UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), during its Seventeenth session held in April 2018, has noted that Leave No One Behind should be a key principle of public administration along with principles such as efficiency and economic development. It also stressed the importance of civil servants and public-sector leaders in the humongous task of SDGs implementation. The extensive reach of public services in people s daily lives underscores the critical role of public institutions in realizing sustainable development. Given the urgent need for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda, institutions need to rise up swiftly to the challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Developing effective, inclusive and accountable institutions constitutes an important component of the 2030 Agenda, both as part of SDG 16 and because the whole 2030 Agenda will need capable institutions to be successfully implemented. Public servants are the building blocks of all public institutions. Therefore, capacity development of national public administrations becomes critical, because without willing, committed, and competent civil servants, most of the initiatives for peace, security and socio-economic development cannot bear fruit. Furthermore, the SDGs cannot be realized without leadership capacity at all levels to translate them into locally owned policies and strategies. It is therefore quintessential to mobilize and equip public servants at all levels, both local and national, with the requisite skills and knowledge to implement the 2030 Agenda. They need to understand the SDGs and the key principles of the 2030 Agenda which have implications for the skills, knowledge and mindset they need for integrating the SDGs in their daily work. They must be aware that development is simply not possible without peace and security. They need to realize that the rules of power and influence for the achievement of ubiquitous development goals have to rely less on traditional command and control models and more on knowing the essential insights, frameworks, methodologies and tools to leverage public service influence and drive outcomes and organizational success. They have to fully embrace the ethical values such as respect for democracy, leaving no one behind, integration, inclusion, partnerships, collaboration, respect for people and diversity, integrity, stewardship, transparency and excellence and be guided by these principles in everything they do. As transpired during the recent Symposium on Governance for Implementing the Sustainable Development Commitments in Africa organized under the leadership of DPIDG/UNDESA in Addis- Ababa, Ethiopia in December 2017, the requisite transformational change, at all levels within public administration, itself represents an innovative requirement, which heavily depends on the capacity, 2

3 first of all of public administration leaders, to innovate and process the transferability of innovations to provide unique, creative and cost-effective solutions for the implementation of SDGs. In order to spearhead the implementation of the ambitious 2030 Agenda, the current government leadership and next generation of public servants must develop new interactive skills that were previously not required of their predecessors. These include integrated policy analysis, aptitude to discern relevant innovative practices and adjust and transfer them to their own settings, mediating, negotiating and interpersonal skills, ability to include and integrate a much wider diversity of actors in the decision-making process, language skills and technological literacy. Public management leaders must also familiarize themselves with new concepts, such as: social capital, networking, crowdsourcing, big data, data visualization, disruptive innovation in public sector, the science of persuasion, visual communication, reputation management, and more. Most importantly, given the scarce resources for training purposes, priority training areas must be established by governments, which may include: integrated policy development capacities; resource management capacities (including financial and information resources); M&E capacity and the capacity for improved conflict prevention and mitigation skills. With this in mind, the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DPIDG/UNDESA) would like to organize an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) titled Equipping Public Servants with Competencies and a New Mindset to Effectively Use Innovations for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The EGM will be carried out in conjunction with the 5 th Conference of APS-HRMnet on Human Capital: Sustainable Future for Africa Agenda 2030 and 2063 resource management in public sector institutions in Africa with the aim to promote integrity and professional standards in the practice of human resource management in public sector institutions in Africa. These two events are organized in parallel due to the thematic congruence and complementarity of their objectives. This will enhance the exchange of knowledge and experiences between the participants, contribute to the cross-fertilization between the aspects of innovations in public sector and public service human resource capacity for the implementation of the SDGs. As a result, the parallel implementation will broaden the outreach, enhance the impact and provide a robust set of recommendations. B. Objectives The objectives of the EGM are three-fold. Firstly, through expert advice, identify and prioritize specific competencies, skills and related aptitudes that public servants require to implement the 2030 Agenda. Secondly, advise on actionable steps that public institutions around the world can take to build these capacities. Thirdly, explore, discuss, define and agree on the implementation strategy, approaches and methodologies for the global programme on Capacity development for the implementation of the SDGs: Working with public administration schools and institutes to mobilize and equip public servants for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of the SDGs that UNDESA has recently launched. 3

4 C. Participants The Experts will be drawn from nine African countries, namely: Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cote d Ivoire, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania. They have been identified because they have been working with DPIDG on the initiative for equipping public servants with competences and mindset to implement the SDGs. Ministers responsible for Public Service, several high-level human resource managers and Directors of Schools and Institutes of Public Administration participating in the 5th Conference of APS-HRMnet will participate in the meeting and enrich its deliberations. DESA will engage one consultant who in addition to preparing one background paper and participate in the facilitation of the meeting will put together the substantive materials from the meeting and edit them into a publishable document. Specialists from UNDESA, UNDP, UNITAR, UN Women, UN System Staff College, UNECA and UN-Habitat will also be invited to offer relevant substantive input in the meeting. D. Organization The EGM will take place during four days of the 5 th Conference of APS-HRMnet. On the last day of the Conference, the Experts will engage in a full day session discussing and crafting recommendations on the themes of the meeting. This serves as an excellent platform for the experts to distill and incorporate key learning points from the conference. The highly interactive parallel sessions of the APS-HRMnet Conference will provoke thought and give experts the opportunity to think analytically about the core themes of the EGM. The APS-HRMnet Conference will also bring in networking opportunities for the future implementation of the global program of UNDESA, as the human resource managers in the public service are major beneficiaries of the program. The interaction among human resources managers and leaders of schools and institute of public administration is necessary because human resources managers understand the needs and public administration schools provide training to meet those needs. The recommendations of the AEGM will be relatively easier to integrate in the plans of Ministries for training public servants and in the training programs of the Institutes of Public Administration. EGM will specifically address the topics on Implementing Agenda 2030 and 2063: Key competencies and mindset for public sector leaders and Public Servants Working with Public Administration Schools and Institutes to equip public servants: Training courses, modules, content, and training methodologies The state of human resource management in Africa Ethics and integrity: Repositioning service delivery ethos Leading and promoting a mindset and culture change for creativity and innovation in public sector institutions Performance and productivity management Talent management: Driving engagement and sustaining performance Decentralization, human resource management and capacity building at local level for service delivery in Africa: Implications for the SDGs and Agenda

5 Social security protection: A must for a sustainable future for Africa s human capital Professionalizing the human resource management function Attracting and retaining talent in the public service for the attainment of 2030 and 2063 development goals EGM recommendations will be integrated in the ensuing report of the meeting. E. Expected Outcome The meeting will make proposals and recommendations on the next steps needed to strengthen public administration capacity, at both central and local levels, for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In particular, the EGM will result in the identification of specific SDG-related competencies and innovative ways to equip public servants with them. This meeting will serve as a backdrop for other activities that will be implemented in UNDESA s global programme on Capacity development for the implementation of the SDGs: Working with public administration schools and institutes to mobilize and equip public servants for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of the SDGs and provide UNDESA with an opportunity to raise awareness of the need to adapt and better align academic curricula for implementation of the SDGs. A training program will be discussed and agreed between the experts, the HRM managers and Institutes of public administration. The working papers and reports prepared for the expert group meeting will contribute to the final report of the meeting which will be edited into a publication on Mobilizing and equipping public servants for implementing sustainable development in Africa. DPIDG s online training course on Transformational leadership capacities in Africa s public-sector institutions to implement the 2030 Agenda and achieve the SDGs will be also presented for the experts review and feedback. The online training course will be part of UNDESA s larger global programs on developing SDG-centric curriculum in institutes and schools of public management. F. Venue and Dates: The EGM will take place in Kampala Serena Hotel, Kintu Road, Kampala, Uganda, on August G. Contact Information: UNDESA/DPIDG Mr. John Mary Kauzya Chief, Public Service Innovation Branch (PSIB) Tel: +1 (212) kauzya@un.org 5

6 Mr. Garegin Manukyan Senior Governance and Public Administration Officer Public Service Innovation Branch (PSIB) Tel: +1 (212) Ms. Victoria Kim Programme Management Officer Public Service Innovation Branch (PSIB) Tel: +1 (212) Ms. Tiblet Kelemwork Technical Cooperation Assistant Public Service Innovation Branch (PSIB) Tel: +1 (212) DPIDG Website 6