1. Getting the Core Government Functions Right Annie Demirjian Bratislava Regional Centre

2. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 2 Trends in Core Government Functions Challenges in post-financial crisis Post-2015 global consultations on MDGs or Sustainable Development Goals Lack of comparative studies on best practices in “Core Government Functions’: examples Australia, UK, Canada, Eastern Europe, Arab Countries. UN/UNDP focusing on support to “Core Government Functions’ & implications to sustainable development in 2000 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 2

3. Trends Core Government Functions EU approach to accession countries & European Neighborhood Policy (ENP): includes W Balkans, Turkey, Middle Eastern countries. EU - public administration reform – first chapter of the negotiations, includes core functions – very broad. The important role Civil Service hub (CS Councils) plays to support ‘the machinery of government’. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 3

4. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 42015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 4 Six pillars of core government functions: UNDP approach – based on international norms: WB, EU, OECD, regional banks, others. - political leadership – understanding complexities - capacity of the executive/legislative & central agencies (CS, OAG, Statistical Bureaus) - citizens voice & participation - role of civil service, CS councils & CS Reform - role of local authorities, municipalities, mahalliets - transparency & accountability

5. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 52015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 5 Complexities of Core Government Functions Other priorities: PFM, security, judiciary, trade, jobs youth employment, private sector development, among others. Recognition that Core Gov’t Functions are complex & difficult aspect of state-building in emerging economies. Core institutions/central agencies: executive, parliament, judiciary, treasury, CS council, auditor general, statistical bureau, among others, are drivers to help address the broader economic, social, environmental and other challenges.

6. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 6 Global experiences Canadian/Australian experience: - get mandate, responsibilities, accountabilities right - make structures simple but robust - ministerial portfolios are clear – line of reporting - strategic policy co-ordination is centralized but each minister remains responsible for their sector - structure, policies are ‘citizen-centred’ - mechanisms to address conflict of interest 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 6

7. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 7 Global experiences… - ministries/structures reflect national priorities – and are changeable - structure provide maximum decentralization of service delivery responsibilities to local actors – set within appropriate accountability framework. W. Balkans, CIS region (EU approach) - there was political leadership but lacked capacity in the early stages - capacity of central agencies limited & CS reforms were not aligned with national priorities.

8. Global experiences - limited public consultation - local authorities were not as engaged in national priority setting - judicial, legal reforms not robust & systems had no teeth - accountability, transparency and reporting mechanisms were not robust – but this is changing Arab spring countries – Iraq, Libya - limited understanding of ‘machinery of government’ - Iraq had the CS institutions. Libya very weak - modern organizational trends such as CS reform, citizens’ participation limited. Strong local actors 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 8

9. Key messages Important to get the core government functions right - within the context of today’s global trends. New trends in post-financial crisis, post-2015 consultations indicate: engagement of local actors, citizen’s participation, role of the private sector, transparency & accountability ought to be part of the core government functions. Capacity of core government functions must be in place to help address other challenges: employment, environment, climate change, security, private sector development etc. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 9

10. Opportunities for Regional Civil Service Hub The CS hub in Kazakhstan and the CS councils can play a crucial role to support the executive and central agencies in delivering their core mandate: through policy co-ordinations, establishing the right organizational structures, develop conflict of interest guidelines, service delivery frameworks in a decentralized system, ministerial accountability frameworks, promote broader public consultations and dialogue mechanisms, among others. Drive the 6 pillars 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 10

11. Key messages. Getting the core government functions right is fundamental to get other priorities, a prerequisite: jobs & youth employment, private sector development, security and other priorities right and central agencies such as the CS Hub can play a key role. 2015/9/12 Bratislava Regional Center 11