1.BACKGROUND

Over the past decades Governments in different parts of the world have been trying to institute a variety of measures in order to reform and vitalize the public sector. These measures include re-defining the role and sharpening the focus of government with a view to enhancing the service delivery capacities of public agencies by incorporating private business approaches and techniques, applying modern ICT in public management processes, and investing in human and institutional capacity building.

Improving the delivery of public services is critical to the achievement of national and international development agenda including the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 development agenda. Therefore now and beyond this MDG target year, countries must improve delivery of public services in order to see tangible progress and improvements in development.

The process of public administration reform in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS is strongly impacted by increased political instability and unfolding financial crises that curtail much needed resources to succeed in implementing institution building, structural adjustments, introduction of new approaches and new practices, as well as training of public servants. Therefore, to achieve a transformational change that is called for to meet new demands and challenges in the post-2015 period, and to continue with the implementation of public administration reform in pursuit of sustainable development objectives, an awareness of the increasing importance of collaborative governance (synergy between government, the private sector, civil society and citizens at the core) and facilitative leadership, both political and administrative, becomes of particular importance.

Both in theory and practice, collaborative governance has emerged in recent decades not as a panacea but as a new form of governance, which better than others responds to citizens’ needs, because the old hierarchical bureaucratic structures often fail to address the public and private sector needs in the delivery of public services.

In response to these needs, and in view of the volatility of the global financial markets, budgetary constraints at all the levels of governments and the need to compete, government are faced with the changing roles of each sector. Never before have we seen the growing importance of the private sector in different social environments. Social responsibility is now an intangible asset, delivering value to the bottom line of the private sector. Recognition and the expansion of the roles of NGO’s/CSO’s/NFP’s create mission-driven initiatives in addressing socio- economic challenges around the world.

However, in practicing collaborative governance approaches (including externalization and insourcing of public goods and services), governments have to be strategic and exercise caution in order not to overly devolve power and control from a central authority to many organizations and groups at the grassroots and the periphery. Keeping the balance is of the utmost importance in order for the results of power sharing to lead to cooperation, better coordination and partnerships on a higher supranational level. It will allow the more effective utilization of the strengths of each country, as well as regional, private and/or non-governmental organizations in overcoming common challenges in efficient, innovative, productive, and cost-effective ways.

Seizing the opportunity of the 23^rd Annual Conference of NISPAcee with the main theme of "Insourcing and/or outsourcing: How do they contribute to public administration reform?” DPADM/UNDESA and GAIN/UNDP once again came together to organise a capacity-development Seminar for the developing countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS Region entitled: Collaborative Governance for Improved Public Service Delivery : Capacity Building for Developing Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS.

Therefore, the Seminar, which targets public policy makers and other stakeholders, will specifically explore, in congruence with the main theme of the NISPAcee Conference, how collaborative governance, including insourcing and outsourcing in the public sector, can be utilized in order to improve reliable and equitable delivery of public services, which are essential attributes of building citizens’ trust in government and ensuring equitable and sustainable development of state. The topic will be discussed from the prism of how to forge effective partnerships between public, private sectors and civil society for delivery of effective, efficient and equitable public services and how transparency, accountability and citizen engagement may minimize corruption risks.

The UN General Assembly resolution entitled "The Future We Want” (A/RES/66/288), encourages "existing and new partnerships, including public-private partnerships, to mobilize public financing complemented by the private sector, taking into account the interests of local and indigenous communities…” that will help address high level of unemployment, eradicate poverty and increase standards of leaving on the path to sustainable development. Since the core objective of every government is to enhance public well-being, quest should be for a collaborative arrangement - between the government, the private sector and the civil society - that on the one hand assists in stimulating economic growth and on the other ensures the equity and sustainability in service delivery and in development outcomes.

The Seminar will provide participants with the opportunity to: a) enhance knowledge about the principles of collaborative governance; b) get familiar with emerging issues in insourcing and outsourcing and how collaborative governance approach may contribute to the achievement of development objectives in transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe and CIS; c) explore advantages and disadvantages of contracting public services (outsourcing) versus full services and, therefore, become aware of pertinent challenges and associated corruption risks; and d) network with government officials, experts, the private sector and civil society representatives, as well as scholars and practitioners assembled on the occasion of the 23^rdAnnual Conference of NISPAcee.

 

2.CONTEXT

In recent times, the transition economies of Eastern and Central European and the CIS have undergone series of structural transformations that included economic liberalization, removal of trade barriers, divestment and/or restructuring of many state-owned enterprises that have also accompanied reform of political system from authoritarian to introduction of democratic governance. The transition processes have been characterized by the changing of old and creating of new institutions, particularly private enterprises; changes in the role of the state, thus altering significantly the structures and operational modalities of governmental institutions and paving the way for increased partnerships between various sectors for improved delivery of public services. However, to forge effective partnerships there is a need to strike a balance and find right private/public mix in public management and find effective arrangements to address the lack of citizen engagement in public governance.

 

3.PURPOSE

The overall objective of the Seminar is to contribute to the development of the capacity of countries with economies in transition to improve effectiveness, transparency, efficiency, openness and accessibility in the efficient delivery of public services using approaches of collaborative governance and applying a balanced mix of in/outsourcing methods.

The Seminar, which targets public practitioners and policy makers, will endeavour to raise awareness of the need for much higher levels of cooperation between various stakeholders (various levels of government and private and civic organisations) and strengthen capacity of developing countries with economies in transition to apply the principles of collaborative governance and to better address the challenges related to externalization of public services.

It is expected that the participants will learn about relevant policies, different methods and approaches related to collaborative governance, externalisation/internalisation of service delivery and, upon return to their countries, will be able to promote cross-sectorial cooperation and propose strategies for the improvement in decentralising service delivery between levels of government and outsourcing the same to private and civic sectors, while being cautious of the related corruption risks.

 

4.THEMES FOR DISCUSSION

By drawing on its experience in public sector reform and citizen engagement capacity building, DPADM/DESA will contribute to NISPAcee’s 23rd Annual Conference by focusing on:

(i) How to apply principles of collaborative governance for improved transparency and efficiency in the delivery of public services?

(ii) What is the best fit – insourcing/outsourcing/partnerships - between the public sector, the private sector and the NGOs that is relevant to guaranteeing sustained economic growth, equitable distribution of development benefits and service delivery and environmental sustainability?

(iii) What policies, methods and tools are to be used to determine who should do what and how, in order to promote collaborative governance as well as much needed institutional frameworks and arrangements for partnerships to support insourcing/outsourcing of public services.

(iv) How should the participatory arrangements be organized and capacity built of the public administration to ensure that there are broad based and cross-sectorial citizen engagement in policy making, economic management and service delivery?

(v) How to prevent/curtail corruption risks that may be associated with the outsourcing of services in the public sector? And most importantly

(vi) How can all the three (government, civil society and private sector) collaborate and create synergy to ensure integration and harmony for long-term development through application of collaborative governance approaches, including insourcing and outsourcing modalities.

 

5.ORGANIZATION

The Seminar will be conducted through short substantive presentations in plenary, discussions in plenary, small working group discussions, small planning sessions and report back sessions in plenary. The UN funded participants will have the opportunity to benefit from a selected number of sessions of the umbrella Conference. The report of the meeting will contain the recommendations emerging from the Seminar and propose a plan for the future activities that will promote collaborative governance and support the utilization of various insourcing/outsourcing techniques in the public sector for better delivery of public services.

5.1 Participants

The target group of the Seminar is government officials drawn from line ministries, agencies, regional and municipal governments who are well-positioned to make decisions and support policies related to the delivery of public services. The countries to be invited to participate comprise 16 republics of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. The Seminar will be open to public servants, representatives of academia and representatives of civil society groups attending the 23^rd NISPAcee Annual Conference. The composition of the Seminar should strive for gender balance. Including both experts and practitioners into the Seminar will enhance the likelihood of acceptance and implementation of the recommendations stemming from its deliberations.

It is expected to have about 35-40 participants, of which some 15 participants will be funded by DPADM/DESA

5.2 Official languages

The Seminar will be conducted in English.

5.3 Dates and venue

The Seminar will be held from 20 to 23 May 2015, on the premises of the Caucasus University, Tbilisi, Georgia (http://www.nispa.sk/page.php?sid=1149)

5.4 Inputs by co-sponsors

a)The Seminar will be organized by the Division of Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) of UNDESA in collaboration with UNDP Global Anti-Corruption Initiative (GAIN) and the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPAcee).

b) NISPAcee will contribute to the substantive scope of the Seminar by bringing in the relevant experiences from developing countries in the target region.

c) NISPAcee, as a host of the event, will provide, along with the hospitality events, the needed conference services and secretarial assistance for the duration of the Seminar, as well as the requisite logistics support, as may become necessary.

d)DPADM/UNDESA will, in addition to sponsoring the participation of 15 public servants from selected countries with economies in transition, identify and bring on board a consultant (on collaborative governance) for the Seminar, solicit the participation of experts from developing countries, and make available its in-house expertise to contribute to the work of the Seminar by sharing its experience and successes related to implementation of its technical cooperation activities in promoting successful practices for the betterment of public administrations in the developing countries.

e)GAIN/UNDP will contribute substantively to the Seminar by bringing its success stories and lessons learned from initiatives focusing on promoting transparency and accountability in service delivery and preventing corruption related to outsourcing in public sector. In addition, UNDP will also bring in up to four resource persons who will present best practices on integration of transparency and accountability aspects into collaborative governance, and issues of insourcing and outsourcing in the public sector.

 

6. FORMAT of the seminar

The Seminar will be organised one day prior to the inception of the 23^rd Annual NISPAcee Conference and continue during the three days of the Conference. Participants will take part both in plenary sessions and deliberations in working groups and will benefit also from being exposed to selected plenary sessions of the umbrella Conference. The approach will be participative starting with brief introductory presentations leading to group work and discussions. This will provide opportunity to participants to explore and discuss the challenges the countries with economies in transition are likely to face in equitable and efficient service delivery, the strategies that may be put in place to address such challenges, the capacities that are required from all actors, and how such capacities can be developed. The proceedings of the Seminar as well as its conclusions and recommendations will be summarised in the ensuing report and will be disseminated through the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN).

 

7. CONTACTS

Garegin Manukyan, Senior Governance & Public Administration Officer 1-212-963-54101-212-963-5410, manukyan@un.org

Simen Gudevold, Associate Governance and Public Administration Officer 1-212-963-48511-212-963-4851, guedevold@un.org

Tiblet Kelemwork, Technical Cooperation Assistant 1-212-963-19451-212-963-1945,

kelemwork@un.org