Distr. LIMITED IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Transcription

1 UNITED NATIONS ST Secretariat Distr. LIMITED ST/SG/AC.6/1997/L.10 7 May 1997 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH GROUP OF EXPERTS ON THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE Thirteenth meeting 27 May-4 June 1997 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE Report prepared by the Secretariat CONTENTS Paragraphs Page I. MANDATE II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLEARINGHOUSE III. BENEFICIARIES IV. NETWORKS V. RESOURCES VI. CONCLUSION (E) * *

2 Page 2 I. MANDATE 1. Since the establishment of the programme in public administration, the United Nations in some capacity has continuously performed the role of clearinghouse for information and research in the field of public administration. The history of the United Nations mandates in public administration and development demonstrates that the core themes of the United Nations efforts in public administration have been and should continue to be assisting Member States in two areas: (a) generating and disseminating information and experience; and (b) customizing, on request, the best and most appropriate systems and practices. By functioning as a clearinghouse for information and research in public administration, the United Nations has capably fulfilled these broad mandates. 2. The purpose of the programme in public administration is to assist Governments in improving public management and finance systems by generating and disseminating information and customizing the best and most appropriate practices. In its resolution 50/225, the General Assembly reaffirmed the programme's mandate and endorsed the Secretary-General's recommendation (see A/50/847-E/1996/7, para. 142) that the revitalization of the clearinghouse function be given highest priority. As paragraph 13 of resolution 50/225 acknowledged, the United Nations should focus its activities in critical areas of public administration and carry out these activities through "facilitating access to information in public administration", in short, to serve as the pre-eminent clearinghouse and information interchange on all relevant public sector and public finance issues. 3. The resumed fiftieth session of the General Assembly on public administration and development provided both the forum and the instrument for the revitalization of the clearinghouse function. During the debate at the session, representatives of the Member States clearly stressed the importance of such a function by emphasizing that such a service would provide a global platform for the exchange of national experiences and a global repository of innovative information in all sectors of public administration. They called for strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to deliver information and expertise in the field of public administration and finance. Many stressed the importance of the United Nations as a coordinator and facilitator for the exchange of information, experiences, and best practices in public administration. According to the representative of one Member State, the spirit of the United Nations is at its best when acting as an international forum for the exchange of experiences. Citing the United Nations tradition as a global repository of innovative information on public sector issues, the representatives stressed that in order to carry out its mandate effectively the clearinghouse role should be not only revitalized, but augmented to reflect the increased demand for information and to take advantage of the current technology to fulfil its obligation to the Member States. 4. In line with the current trends and advances in the area of information technology, the Assembly in paragraph 13 of its resolution 50/225 acknowledged the need for the United Nations to carry out its essential activities through "pooling and facilitating access to information in public administration,

3 Page 3 promoting training and research in public administration and finance at all levels, advocacy and exchange of experiences, advisory services, technical assistance...". The Secretary-General, in his report on public administration and development (A/50/847-E/1996/7, para. 142) recommended that the United Nations should "enhance its role as the central depository for materials, reports and non-print media on public administration and development worldwide, including active research into best practices". He further recommended, "the United Nations programme, utilizing the latest technology, should become the clearinghouse for all materials on the subject, with a user-friendly interface for suppliers and users of information, linkages with relevant networks, and a strong service orientation to function as a catalyst for a network of international, regional and national institutions and organizations involved in these issues" (ibid.). 5. This latest technology includes global electronic interchange like the World Wide Web and the Internet. Since 1995, for example, government web sites alone have grown five fold and according to a recent United Nations report on strengthening the United Nations system (A/51/873), from October 1996 to February 1997 interest in the United Nations Home Page nearly quadrupled to over 11 million site visits or "hits" per week. However, the United Nations is well acquainted with both ends of the information technology spectrum. While the organization continues to benefit from the advances made in information technology, this transitional period has not been without its challenges. II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLEARINGHOUSE 6. The clearinghouse's primary obligation will be to continue to serve as an information interchange that facilitates the dissemination of expertise, research and development, and enhances the advancement of cutting-edge issues, trends and ideas in all areas of public sector management and finance. The clearinghouse will continue to undertake these activities in the spirit of United Nations cooperation, to preserve the essence of Assembly resolution 50/225, and to enhance the outreach of the programme in public administration and development. 7. Managed by the Division for Governance, Public Administration and Finance (Department for Development Support and Management Services, United Nations Secretariat) with its existing resources and expertise, the clearinghouse would extend the programme's capability for advancing the best practices and innovative methods in public sector management and finance. The clearinghouse will continue to disseminate information and to identify emerging trends, to strengthen the fundamental relationship between public administration and development, to maintain an ongoing commitment to excellence, and to adhere to the principles of openness, transparency and universality. Responsibilities 8. Through the resources of the Division for Governance, Public Administration and Finance, the clearinghouse's primary responsibility will be to serve as an information interchange on all relevant public sector issues. This would mean not only to provide information upon request but to gather information through

4 Page 4 electronic and non-electronic means for dissemination. In circumstances where the request is beyond the scope of the clearinghouse's range of functions, it will act as a referral service. Centrally maintained and managed by the Division, it would, by taking advantage of current and future information technology, have universality. By its online presence, it would advance the concept of the virtual library. The virtual library has unlimited potential with respect to size, content, and value of data. It would be shaped by the needs of the Member States, other organizations, and the United Nations. 9. Specifically, the clearinghouse will have the following functions: (a) To make available both electronically and by hard copy all United Nations documentation of the programme in public administration and finance. This would include United Nations reports, current departmental publications, country administrative profiles, project histories and analyses, and conferences, seminars and meeting outputs; (b) To provide user-friendly access to outside information such as databases, research on best practices and cutting-edge issues, linkage to other organizations working in the field of public administration like the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the European Union, Member State government home pages and academia; (c) To conduct periodic online "conferences, meetings or forums". Such events, like the forthcoming online conference on "Weakened systems of public financial management: solutions for enhancing transparency and accountability" would utilize the online technology to link electronically a selected number of experts, professionals and academics for consideration of a specific issue at a fraction of the cost of staging a full conference. The results of the proceedings could be forwarded electronically to each participant and also be available on the Web; (d) To provide advisory services. The current electronic information technology adds a new dimension to the traditional role of providing advisory services. For example, joint projects are greatly facilitated by electronic linkage, as is the case with the current Administration and Cost of Elections Project, which the Department is executing jointly with the International Foundation for Elections Systems and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Also included are (a) databases that contain rosters of experts in the field of public administration, current literature, publications and journals, frequently asked questions, and (b) online technical support, including the services of the technical advisers, online technical backstopping and bulletin or message boards to provide easily accessible online answers to questions and solutions to problems; (e) To provide capacity-developing and logistical support for developing country access to the clearinghouse in the form of: (i) Technical development and support projects: through the clearinghouse, development of projects that would augment the information technology capacity in countries where it is needed in order to link up with the United Nations. Management information

5 Page 5 system projects can also be developed. This can be conducted on several levels of projects ranging from full development of such a capacity to technical support both in the field and via the World Wide Web; (ii) Technical capacity development projects. An information specialist from the Department could be dispatched where needed to assist in the development of clearinghouse-type information centres; (iii) Technical support projects. An information specialist or consultants can be utilized to introduce the Department's information centre and to train personnel in its use; (iv) In-house support will be available through the features of the website. 10. An additional function of the clearinghouse would be to serve as a virtual laboratory that would develop, experiment with and advance new ideas in the field of public sector management, which would lead the way and set the pace for best and innovative practices into the twenty-first century. The public sector lab should have the capacity to "test" or prototype new and innovative initiatives; it should explore and experiment with new and radical ways of doing business and offer these ideas and lessons to Governments. A virtual environment would be created where there is a freedom to experiment and to showcase innovative results. (A programme could be developed jointly with Member States.) The results of these findings would be distributed. III. BENEFICIARIES 11. Access to the clearinghouse would be available to those who have the electronic capacity. However, the information will not be restricted to electronic delivery alone. New hardcopy outputs will also be developed, while existing outputs would be more easily and readily disseminated. 12. Specifically those most intended to benefit will include Member States, Governments and government agencies, public sector professionals, the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and individuals. 13. The obvious benefit to the Member States, in particular, is that the clearinghouse will provide a new, efficient and cost-effective method not only of accessing the most comprehensive and cutting-edge information on public sector issues, but of having available to them a new approach to technical assistance in the form of the on-line diagnostic tool. They would have, literally at their fingertips, the global link to essential and extensive databases. This would provide to the Member States a more efficient use of staff and a cost-effective allocation of resources. 14. Over time, several additional benefits will emerge from a complete clearinghouse. Some current benefits include access to the most advanced and cutting-edge issues in the areas of governance, public administration, and

6 Page 6 finance; extensive outreach capacity by the regular and constant dissemination of information, expertise and services; and ongoing synergies with other networks, sources and public sector entities. IV. NETWORKS 15. An effective clearinghouse serves not only as a depository for information but as a focal point for its constituents. The transaction of information is greatly facilitated when there exists a central entity. Traditional libraries are the obvious illustration, while "servers" on the World Wide Web, like Netscape, are the electronic example. With the current information technology, the infrastructure to support a powerful electronic information network is already in place. This network would link with the United Nations clearinghouse, interregional, regional, and national organizations, members of the United Nations system, and others. Such a network would only strengthen the existing relationships with these organizations. One of the aspects of the programme should be to assist in or provide support to these organizations in joining the network. Such an enhanced network capacity could benefit the Member States through the efficient and effective use of existing United Nations resources and of the resources of the interregional, regional and national organizations already affiliated with the United Nations. V. RESOURCES 16. The Secretariat has been developing the clearinghouse through existing regular budget resources. A completely expanded clearinghouse providing the full complement of services envisioned in this blueprint, utilizing new information technology and supporting the programme in public administration and the Member States within the context of Assembly resolution 50/225, will need to explore means of supplementing existing resources. Among the options presented are: (a) voluntary contributions by interested Member States through the establishment of a trust fund for clearinghouse activities; (b) development of self-supporting funding schemes for the provision of information services for those requests by those of non-member status; and (c) contributions in-kind through the private sector. VI. CONCLUSION 17. The United Nations began its second half century just as the revolution in information technology escalated to unprecedented levels. Information is now collected and disseminated nearly as fast as the speed of light itself. The advances in information technology, particularly the progress made in the areas of microelectronics and digitization of information, have changed the way civil society now functions. An increasing number of countries are reforming their public administrative systems and adopting approaches which encourage sound governance in order to better provide for their civil societies. These initiatives make the need for a comprehensive and fully responsive clearinghouse essential.

7 Page The supporting position of the Member States on the issue of the clearinghouse was articulated during the resumed fiftieth session of the Assembly on public administration and development and reinforced by resolution 50/225. This followed the recommendations of the Twelfth Meeting of Experts on the Programme in Public Administration and Finance (A/50/525-E/1995/122), which recommended that the United Nations augment the capacities of its clearinghouse function in a continuing effort to improve performance in the public sector. As demonstrated by this document, progress has already been made. The confirmation of the Thirteenth Meeting of Experts would be of great benefit