Tenth Anniversary United Nations Public Service Forum. UN Public Service Day UN Public Service Awards Ceremony. Theme:

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1 United Nations Tenth Anniversary 2012 United Nations Public Service Forum UN Public Service Day UN Public Service Awards Ceremony Theme: Innovation and Citizens Engagement for Effective Governance AIDE-MEMOIRE June 2012 New York, United States

2 1. PURPOSE The United Nations Public Service Forum will take place in New York from 25 to 27 June This event, which will focus on the theme of Innovation in Citizens Engagement for Effective Governance, is organized by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in partnership with UN-Women. This year s event is highly symbolic and unique as it is the tenth anniversary of the UN Public Service Day and Awards programme and the ceremony will be held in the General Assembly Hall. The United Nations celebrates Public Service Day to recognize the institutional contribution made by public servants to enhance the role, professionalism, image and visibility of public service, and to recognize the value and virtue of service to the community. The United Nations Public Service Forum is a unique global event on public governance that provides a platform to explore, discuss and learn about: Emerging challenges, issues and trends - what are the major challenges and issues governments are facing at present and what is their vision of the future? Innovative practices to address these challenges - what are the governance solutions that are being spearheaded in different parts of the world? Capacity development strategies, approaches and tools - how can we learn from these practices and what tools are available or can we develop to move forward? Every year the Forum focuses on a specific critical area of public governance, and provides an opportunity to explore and discuss all of its different dimensions and components in an organic way. This year the focus of the Forum is on Innovation in Citizens Engagement for Effective Governance, a theme of great relevance in all of our societies. In fact, citizens the world over are demanding better governance, greater participation in public affairs and enhanced integrity and accountability of public leaders. It is, therefore, critical that governments come together, through a forum like the UN Public Service Forum, to discuss how effectively they engage citizens in public affairs and how efficiently and equitably they deliver services, and reflect upon what can be done better to ensure that citizens have at the very least access to basic services, enjoy decent living standards and have an active role in shaping the decisions that affect their lives. The ultimate goal of the 2012 Forum is to build the capacity of governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, to promote innovative development strategies, institutions, mechanisms and processes to engage citizens in public policy-decision making and service delivery so as to make governance more effective in the promotion of socio-economic development. The Forum also aims at fostering better international and regional cooperation, while giving government officials an opportunity to exchange good practices, experiences and lessons learned. The Forum is uniquely positioned to benefit from the first-class innovative practices and success stories of the 2012 winners of the prestigious United Nations Public Service Awards who are recognized for their achievements on the first day of this high-level event, which also coincides with the celebration of United Nations Public Service Day on 23 June. 2

3 Over 400 participants, high-level officials from the United Nations, as well as government officials from around the world are expected to attend. Participants will include world leaders, ministers, senior government officials, mayors, civil society representatives, the academia, the private sector, as well as representatives from international and regional organizations. 2. BACKGROUND Since 2002 UNDESA, through its Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), has organized global events on issues related to public governance in order to provide world leaders, innovators, government officials, and regional and international organizations with a platform to exchange ideas, practices and strategies to advance the United Nations development agenda. From 2002 to 2007, UNDESA/DPADM organized the Global Forum on Reinventing Government bringing together world leaders and government officials from a large number of countries to address government reinvention. Through Resolution A/RES/57/277, the General Assembly asked the United Nations Secretariat to provide support to the Global Forum on Reinventing Government. In view of the significance of the Global Forum for ministers, senior government officials, civil society organizations, and the private sector, the Secretary-General of the United Nations endorsed continued support, if requested, for the Global Forum in his 2002 report to the General Assembly. UNDESA/DPADM has also organized every year the United Nations Public Service Day and Awards Ceremony, a global event where innovators from the entire world meet to present and discuss their initiatives to improve the quality of life of citizens. Since 2003, UNDESA collects, shares, and disseminates innovative practices in public governance through the United Nations Public Service Awards Programme (UNPSA), which is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. The UNPSA rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the UNPSA promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service. It encourages exemplary public service and recognizes that democracy and successful governance are built on a competent civil service. In brief, the Awards aim at discovering innovations in governance; reward excellence in the public sector; motivate public servants to further promote innovation; enhance professionalism in the public service; raise the image of public service; enhance trust in government; and collect and disseminate successful practices for possible replication. The Awards are handed out every year on 23 June, designated by the General Assembly, in its resolution 57/277, as United Nations Public Service Day. Its purpose is to celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community at the local, national and global levels, with prizes to be awarded to public sector organizations for contributions made to the cause of enhancing the role, prestige and visibility of public service. The United Nations Public Service Forum is a capacity-building forum where thinkers, leaders and innovators meet to discuss critical issues of public concern and to map out strategies and tools for the future. The 2010 United Nations Public Service Forum took place in Barcelona, Spain, from 21 to 23 June, and brought together over 400 participants, including high-level United Nations officials, ministers, and senior government officials, mayors, and innovators, regional and national organizations from over 77 countries and focused on the Role of Public Service in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Barcelona Declaration has been instrumental in sharing the recommendations made during the Forum with the world at large and 3

4 is available on the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN). In 2011, the United Nations Public Service Forum was held from 20 to 23 June in Africa in the United Republic of Tanzania, and it was attended by over 500 participants representing over 80 Member States. United Nations Public Service Day coincides with Africa Public Service Day, which is an annual event whose objective is to enable civil/public servants to reflect on the function of the civil/public service, its mission and objectives, programmes and projects, and successes and challenges. It is also intended to give recognition to and make known the importance of the civil/public service, its positive contribution and benefits to public servants, population, civil society, private sector and government. Moreover, the event aims to motivate and encourage public servants to continue the good work done and to come up with new initiatives and innovations, obtain feedback from the citizenry on services rendered and prepare the public service and administration for a better future by proposing change for the social well being of the population CONTEXT The role of effective, capable, responsive and citizen-centric governments has never been more important than it is today to the well-being and prosperity of our societies. On the one hand, governments are faced with an increase in citizens demands for (a) effective, equitable and citizen-centric services (including security, education, health, justice, shelter, sanitation, etc.); (b) greater levels of transparency and accountability of what government does, especially in times of scarce resources, and (c) increased participation in public decision-making processes. On the other hand, governments are faced with a rising set of domestic and international challenges. At the domestic level, countries must tackle multiple crisis, including the financial crisis; natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides); food and water shortages, climate change, expansive waves of international migration with over 200 million people living outside of their country of birth, and, in some cases, even with intra-state conflict. At the international level, governments must deal effectively with globalization processes, and issues related to international peace and security. As recent upheavals across the Arab region, Europe, the United States and other countries of the world have shown, trust in government has been diminishing in many parts of the globe. The inability of governments to deliver quality services equitably, as well as to promote more employment opportunities and better living conditions for all has resulted in widespread discontent for the current forms of public governance. Citizens are demanding to be more actively involved in public affairs and to be engaged in many other ways than just at election day, every four or five years. This means greater participation in key spheres of policy-making decisions, including how taxes should be spent and on what, and better and more effective services. Increasingly, governments need to engage and empower citizens to co-produce public value, which, in turn, requires innovative institutions, mechanisms and processes, as well as capable human resources in the public sector, with the right mix of skills and capacities. 1 The event is now an entrenched strategic event on the African Union calendar. Emanating from the declaration of the first Pan-African Conference of Ministers of Public (and Civil) Service held in Tangier, Morocco in 1994 the ministers agreed that the 23 rd of June every year should be celebrated as Africa Public Service Day to recognize the value and virtue of service to the community. The Extended Ministerial Bureau Meeting of the 5th Pan-African Conference of the Ministers of Public/Civil Service in Africa Public Service Day Celebrations in Windhoek, Namibia on 24 th October 2007 resolved that the Continental Africa Public Service Day Celebrations be held on a biennial basis. 4

5 There seem to be three main reasons why citizen engagement is instrumental for effective governance and inclusive development, i.e., a) economic, b) political and c) social. In terms of economic rationale, it is well known that governments must do more with less and, therefore, enlisting the support of citizens in the design, delivery and/or monitoring of services is one way to overcome the limited resources governments face today (for example, if people report that a street light needs to be fixed or there is a hole in the street by taking a picture and ing it by phone to the government through a mobile application, governments do not need to spend money to send out inspectors). Moreover, if citizens are involved in decisions that affect their lives, as for example whether to build a bridge or a hospital in a particular village, public resources can be utilized more efficiently because they target the needs of the affected population. In terms of political rationale, citizens are demanding for deepened democracy, which has an intrinsic value, as all people aspire to shape, in a meaningful way, the decisions that affect their lives, and is instrumental to making governance more effective. The reasons for this increased demand for participation stem from a number of factors. First, while demands and challenges have greatly changed over the past decades, government institutions and their functioning are still shaped, in great part, by early XX century models of representative democracy. In other words, there seems to be a crisis of representative democracy institutions and practices as they were conceived in the past since they no longer respond to the needs of an active citizenry, new challenges, globalized and connected world. Second, the organization and deployment of human resources in the public sector is still largely based on a traditional model of public administration whereas the changing role of the State, coupled with new international challenges and the introduction of technology as a tool to transform government, have resulted in the need for new skills, attitudes and behaviors among public officials at all levels, especially as relates to their relationship with citizens. It is not surprising then that the core competencies for the public sector of the 21 st century differ in many ways from the past, especially as the demands placed on public servants, in terms of skills, knowledge and capacities, are rapidly evolving and becoming more complex. Third, citizens are much more demanding of their governments and are asking that government be reformed in order to enhance public participation, to expand political opportunities, and to improve its operations, as well as the quality of services provided. Globalization, greater interconnectedness of people living in different corners of the globe facilitated by ICT, as well as heightened advocacy of global and local NGOs, have contributed to enhancing citizens awareness of their rights resulting in an increase of demands being placed on governments. As shown by the many popular demonstrations around the world, there is a rising appreciation that citizens wish to actively take part in decisions that affect their own lives. Citizens are also demanding that governments are more effective in the way they operate and deliver services, and that they are more open and disclose information about what they do. Open data government requires that government shares online relevant information which is re-usable by third parties and, which, in turn, allows citizens to make more informed decisions, monitor how public funds are being spent and actively participate in public governance. The issue of transparency, accountability and how to prevent and combat corruption are very much at the forefront of many governments reform agendas. Finally, in terms of social rationale, it is increasingly evident that even if governments had all the resources at their disposal to provide quality services, they do not always possess the necessary knowledge to identify citizens needs, particularly those of the poor and marginalized groups. Services can be delivered in a more equitable way if citizens take part in the design and delivery of services because they are most aware of what they need, i.e., whether a hospital, road or bridge. It is well known that the most effective poverty eradication strategies stem from an accurate analysis of the population's needs and from collective ownership of the proposed solution, and this can only be done with the affected citizens. In fact, a number of innovative practices from 5

6 around the world have shown that when citizens are part of the solution to the governance problems they face, rather than mere recipients of ready-made solutions which do not fit their needs, there are better results in terms of increased quality of life and inclusive development. The most sustainable and appropriate solutions to governance problems are found with the people not without them, and citizens are increasingly viewing themselves as active agents of change. The multiple demands and challenges that national governments face today call for effective governance, which requires an open, transparent, equitable, sustainable, connected and inclusive public administration that is capable of designing and implementing innovative strategies, practices and tools to transform challenges into opportunities for socio-economic development. The core issue of public governance today is that governments cannot govern alone nor is it desirable that they do so. Engaging citizens and partnering with civil society and private sector is being increasingly recognized as a pillar for inclusive, equitable and effective development. Engaging citizens to take a more active role in development and in decisions that affect their lives poses, however, a set of challenges to governments in terms of: a) new institutional frameworks, mechanisms and processes for increased citizen engagement in public policy decision-making and service delivery, particularly with reference to vulnerable groups including women and the youth; b) new mechanisms for increased citizen oversight and monitoring of government operations, so as to enhance transparency and accountability; c) new public sector processes and organizational structures favouring integration among ministries and departments to facilitate citizens interaction with government and better use of ICT as a transformational tool; and d) new mechanisms to transform the way civil servants are recruited, trained and perform. In terms of overall institutional frameworks, experience has shown that both central and local governments have an important role to play in promoting greater participation and citizens engagement. Central governments can provide useful platforms for participation on issues of national concern, including online discussion forums, blogs, etc. Local governments, which are closest to citizens, can also provide, if the appropriate conditions are in place, a good platform to engage and empower citizens in local governance matters. It is important to note that governments need to put in place multiple channels at all levels central and local- for citizens to interact with government and to effectively participate in public policy decision-making processes, as well as in the design and implementation of service delivery. This is critical because governments need to target different audiences, including youth, elderly, disabled, marginalized groups, which have different needs and capacities in terms of participation. With reference to innovative practices and new institutional frameworks, governments are increasingly using ICTs through e/m-government to engage citizens (applications for mobile phones; social media, including Facebook, twitter, blogs, online forums, etc.). However, while m- government is opening up new channels to engage citizens, it is also important not to overlook other means and institutional mechanisms for citizens engagement. In terms of mechanisms to increase accountability and transparency, it is important to analyze how best to engage citizens to curb corruption for better development management. With respect to governments internal restructuring, and with particular reference to the transformational role technology is playing, it is increasingly being recognized that to be more effective and serve citizens better, government ministries, departments and offices need to work in synergy abandoning the silos mentality by promoting a whole-of-government approach, which is made possible thanks to the use of new technologies, as well as internal restructuring both in terms of organizational set up and human resources. In terms of human resources transformation, public officials must change their mindsets and become more open, reactive, and responsive towards citizens. They must also be able to deal with the fact that they do not work in silos any longer (whole of government 6

7 approach); that citizens expect much more from them (we live in a 24/7 knowledge society) and demand to participate in a meaningful way. As a response to the above mentioned challenges, a number of governments around the world are introducing innovative solutions in their organizational structure, practices, capacities, and how they mobilize, deploy and utilize the human, material, information, technological and financial resources to engage citizens and promote effective governance. In line with the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations is dedicated to promoting the exchange of experiences, ideas and innovative practices concerning innovations in governance and public administration in order to contribute to social and economic development. The General Assembly itself has reiterated, in resolution 57/277 that particular emphasis should be given to the exchange of experience related to the role of public administration in the implementation of internationally agreed goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration. In resolution 50/225, it also underlined the importance of enhancing international cooperation in the field of public administration, including South-South and interregional cooperation. Sharing information and transferring knowledge about innovative practices in public administration is one of the most critical capacity development tools as it provides governments with a plethora of concrete solutions to complex governance challenges from which to choose. Sharing knowledge about innovative practices among national and local governments is a powerful tool in promoting positive change as it provides a fertile environment for the replication and adaptation of successful practices. The UN Public Service Forum is, therefore, very timely and of the utmost relevance as it will provide a global platform to discuss these emerging issues and share innovative practices and solutions from across the world in order to build the capacity of governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, to engage citizens and promote effective governance. 4. OBJECTIVES The ultimate goal of the 2012 United Nations Public Service Forum, which will focus on Innovation in Citizens Engagement for Effective Governance is to build a shared understanding among all governance actors of what policies and strategies, practices and tools Member States can adopt to build public sector capacity to engage citizens to promote effective governance, i.e. a more transparent, accountable, connected, sustainable, participatory and citizen-centric public administration that works in partnership with civil society and the private sector, with a view to fostering greater social and economic development. The Forum will be articulated in plenary sessions and parallel workshops. The first day will be devoted to plenary sessions and the introduction of the thematic areas of the workshops. The second and third days will be devoted to the workshops, which aim at exploring the challenges and trends, innovative practices, as well as capacity development tools and methodologies of how to promote citizens engagement and effective governance in six inter-related critical areas: a) Institutions and Leadership Capacities to Engage Citizens in Service Delivery ; b) Engaging Citizens in the Fight Against Corruption ; c) "E-Governance for Enhanced Connectivity and Effective Service Delivery: Turning Policy into Reality"; d) The Dividends of Women in the Frontline of Service Delivery; and, e) an Expert Group Meeting on Preventing Corruption in Public Administration. 7

8 The parallel capacity development workshops and special meeting, which will have the same broad objectives, will provide participants an opportunity to: present and discuss challenges and trends in public governance in the specific thematic area; share successful experiences in strengthening public administration capacity in the specific thematic area through the presentation of the initiatives of the 2011 UNPSA winners; discuss what tools are available to strengthen public administration capacity in each of the four areas, with a particular focus not only on what policy options are available, but also on how to enable countries to build such capacity; Strengthen North-South and South-South cooperation to enhance public sector capacity building. On the last day of the Forum, the rapporteurs of each workshop will present to the plenary a set of conclusions and recommendations 5. EXPECTED RESULTS The event is expected to achieve the following goals: Increased knowledge of challenges and trends, best practices and tools in the six interrelated areas, which will be crystallized and further shared with other UN Member States through the United Nations Public Administration Country Studies (PACS) and a relevant publication. Increased awareness of concrete solutions to complex governance challenges and of the possibility to adapt good practices, through peer-to-peer learning; Enhanced opportunity to share knowledge about innovative capacity development tools and approaches to build national and local capacity, and to brainstorm on the development of manuals and guidelines on how to strengthen the capacity of public administration in the six areas of focus. Strengthened opportunity to network with government officials, experts, and practitioners from around the world during and beyond the event; Renewed commitment and inspiration to serve communities better and to work together with citizens to co-create a better future for all. 6. THEMES FOR DISCUSSION Government officials, representatives of the private sector and civil society will be invited to provide an overview of the strategies and trends in each focus area during the plenary sessions whereas selected experts and practitioners will present successful experiences from their own countries. Ample time will also be dedicated to discussing policy options and tools for public 8

9 administration capacity development. As mentioned earlier, the parallel capacity development workshops will focus on strengthening public administration capacity in: Institutions and Leadership Capacities to Engage Citizens in Service; Engaging Citizens in the Fight Against Corruption E-Governance for Enhanced Connectivity and Effective Service Delivery: Turning Policy into Reality" The Dividends of Women in the Frontline of Service Delivery Expert Group Meeting on Preventing Corruption in Public Administration Further details about each workshop are provided in the respective Aide-Memoires which are made available on the UNPAN at 7. ORGANIZATION 7.1. Participants Participants will include ministers and other senior policy-makers, practitioners, innovators in governance, representatives of international and regional organizations, the academia, non-profit organizations and the private sector Official languages The official language of the meeting will be English Electronic networking All the documents of the meeting will be posted on the on-line Global Network on Public Administration UNPAN - at: Format of the meeting The Forum will be articulated in plenary sessions and working groups articulated in capacity development workshops. It will be organized along four major components. 1) First day - Plenary session to discuss emerging issues and trends through engaging round table discussions, United Nations Public Service Awards Ceremony and Ministerial Round Table to be held at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations; 2) Second day and morning of the third day - Parallel capacity development Workshops/Special Meetings to analyze and allow for in-depth discussions about trends, innovative practices and lessons learned in key areas of innovation for citizens engagement and effective governance; 9

10 3) Afternoon of the third day - Presentation of each workshop s findings and of the Final Declaration (with inputs from all workshop coordinators). It is expected that the parallel capacity development workshops will be highly interactive and participatory as all participants will be given the opportunity to think analytically about the cases being presented and bring in their own experience and expertise of what helps countries strengthen capacities in public administration in the aforementioned areas of concentration. The event will end with a plenary session where the rapporteurs of each working group will present to the larger audience a set of recommendations on the way forward. Recommendations from each workshop will be presented and discussed on the last day of the Forum. They will then be incorporated into the Final Declaration of the United Nations Public Service Day. In addition, a short summary of the workshop discussions (7-10 pages) will be prepared by the workshop organizers and incorporated into the overall final report for the United Nations Public Service Forum. For overall information, contact: Adriana Alberti Coordinator, UN Public Service Awards programme Governance and Public Administration Officer Division for Public Administration and Development Management UNDESA alberti@un.org Tel Sirkka Nghilundilua UNPSA Administrator Division for Public Administration and Development Management UNDESA nghilundilua@un.org For Workshop information, contact: Workshop 1 John-Mary Kauzya Chief, Public Administration Capacity Branch DPADM kauzya@un.org Adriana Alberti Coordinator, UNPSA Programme Governance and Public Administration Officer PACB/DPADM alberti@un.org Sirkka Nghilundilua Associate Governance and Public Administration Officer PACB/DPADM nguilundilua@un.org Nadine Manket 10

11 Programme Assistant PACB/DPADM 11

12 Workshop 2 Elia Armstrong Acting Chief Development Management Branch DMB/DPADM armstrong2@un.org Angela Capati-Caruso Senior Public Administration Affairs Officer DMB/DPADM capati-caruso@un.org Patricia Penuen Programme Assistant DMB/DPADM penuen@un.org Workshop 3 Vincenzo Aquaro Chief egovernment Branch (egb) Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) aquaro@un.org Jonas Rabinovitch Adviser egb/dpadm rabinovitch@un.org Rosanne Greco Programme Assistant egb/dpadm grecor@un.org Workshop 3 Ana Lukatela Programme Specialist, Women s Political Participation Peace and Security Cluster UN Women ana.lukatela@unwomen.org Expert Group Meeting John-Mary Kauzya Chief, Public Administration Capacity Branch DPADM kauzya@un.org Garegin Manukyan Governance and Public Administration Officer PACB/DPADM manukyan@un.org 12