THE ADOPTION OF A GOVERNMENT DELIVERY CULTURE/SYSTEM
GOVERNMENT DELIVERY CULTURE/SYSTEM
“We need to evolve from having
a delivery unit to being a delivering government at all levels.”
- HE
Uhuru Kenyatta, President
of the Republic of Kenya
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This short paper was prepared for both public and private organisations that handle many and large projects.
For public organisations will include all MDAs, the executive, legislature even the central bank of Nigeria of the need to
adopt a delivery culture,
approach or system
to their policies and projects.
It is a challenging time to be
running the Nigerian government and economy, which is grappling with a sluggish economy, dwindling revenues, mismanagement
etc. All leading to a growing sense of inequality and a palpable sense of
disenfranchisement among citizens.
This document provides an alternative solution, an innovation that is
proving to be especially popular
internationally and even locally, in assisting to deliver
results for governments, named the government delivery approach/system. The
word delivery culture, delivery approach and system to mean the same thing and
used inter- changeably.
The paper provides a brief snapshot
of the Nigerian economy and a short history of (DUs)
delivery units or systems, their
implementation around the world
and the value these delivery systems
provide to stakeholders in translating their policies / reforms to
reality. It touches on how these delivery systems can make a difference for
governments and the citizens in general. Lastly, the paper summarises considerations to approaching and implementing delivery
systems.
That said,
this innovation has become a multi-million pound
industry in its own right, with national
governments and international
aid organisations handing out contracts to consultancies to assist with the
creation, implementation and operations of delivery systems.
In Nigeria, it is often believed that government initiatives fall short
of their desired outcomes in not only failing to achieve them but at double or
triple the cost and time. Losing uncalculated sums, running into billions of
dollars annually as a result of these difficulties.
Therefore, it is crucial that government institutions seek to close
these gaps as a means of expanding the economy of the country and motivating
more investors to collaborate with all tiers of government to expand business
and job prospects.
This is why, when
the Federal Government announced in 2019 that it was creating a
"Presidential Delivery Unit" to coordinate the tracking and
monitoring of Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved policies, programs, and
projects, in line with the priority areas of Government and to ensure that set
targets are achieved effectively, efficiently, and in a timely manner, it was
all over the news in Nigeria. The Presidential Delivery Unit's mandate included
tracking delivery, removing obstacles to achieving goals, and ensuring that the
Federal Government met its objectives.
The unit was
expected to be non-bureaucratic and to work with pace and urgency and the team
is expected to work closely with the Directors and Relationship Officers of
MDAs to drive implementation of government policies, programs and projects.
Even as of
September 2022, it was widely reported in the traditional media, with the
(SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha stating that "The federal government has launched
the Presidential Delivery Tracker and the website developed by the Central
Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU) to track, review, and periodically report to
the President on performance of ministries in the delivery of the ministerial
mandates toward the achievement of its nine priorities.
It is pointless
to state that the app and website are difficult to locate as of today,
Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
Bearing in mind,
that one of the main pillars of any delivery unit is communication, so, assuming
the in-effectiveness of the PDU is not
beyond the realm of possibility or if the unit was properly implemented in the
first instance.
In some ways, public policy is the easier part of development, as much is known, about what ideally is to be achieved or delivered within the different economic sectors, such as the current administrations focus on priority development areas, to aid recovery or boost the economy.
The ‘What’, ‘Why’, ‘When’ and ‘how’ these policies will be transformed to practice, within agreed constraints of time, cost and budget is mostly
less clear. This is where a delivery approach becomes pivotal.
1.
The What with emphasis on the
goals and objectives of the policy or project to be implemented.
2.
The Why with focus on the value
proposition of the policy or project
3.
The When with focus on timings,
cost, risk management etc
4.
The How with focus on the
implementation and communication management
To aid the success of the current government and its priority areas of development, there is urgent need for the COS to champion its own Presidential delivery unit, in its:
- Adoption (Buy-in)
- Implementation
- Empowerment
- Communication etc, of a proper and functioning delivery system within the government and close to his office and that of the presidency.
It will reduce the pressure faced by governments in implementing, not only political promises but moreso, the governments focus, on areas of security, economy, jobs, agriculture, infrastructure, monetary policy and fuel subsidy, to deliver tangible benefits to citizens, ensuring priorities of key initiatives are achieved, fit for purpose, variance communicated, tracked and risk mitigation strategies in place for delivery challenges are all in full purview of the President and COS.
We know this is not a new phenomenon as this has been best practice within the private sector for a while but its adoption in the public sector, which traditionally has been seen as a passive vehicle for executing social policy mandated by legislation, was and is still lagging within some governments.
BRIEF DELIVERY UNITS HISTORY
A delivery system, is an approach to managing policy/reform initiatives,
originating in the UK under Tony Blair’s Government in 2001, it has had significant impact
in a number of countries, who have adopted its use, around the globe
Delivery systems consist of teams that work to embed an evidence-based culture in organisations and government. They gather, monitor and analyse a constant stream of performance data, they investigate and intervene quickly if desired results do not appear to be materialising on the ground.
For example, in the UK, Boris Johnson resurrected the Prime Minister’s Delivery
Unit (PMDU), following Sir Michael Barber’s review into how the
government can be more “focused, effective and efficient” at delivering its priorities. The review itself
followed Johnson’s concerns
that his – and his government’s – energy had been absorbed by the
pandemic and Brexit at the expense of his wider agenda {3}.
Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, adopted the
delivery unit model in early 2016 as part of an effort to restore public trust in government
institutions. The past two years alone have seen more than a dozen other governments – including Costa Rica, Ghana, Kenya, New South Wales (Australia), Pakistan,
Peru, Saudi Arabia and Serbia – create such units {5}.
Some countries are at the early stages of establishing such delivery
mechanisms, while other countries have been applying these principles for almost
a decade. Most countries in Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean, already have
well-established delivery systems at the center of government to drive
performance improvements, ensure government successes and public value
management (PVM).
In Africa which is somewhat lagging, President of Kenya Uhuru
Kenyatta urged African governments to put their citizens at the centre of
delivering service during ADX 2020. In his opening remark, Mr Kenyatta noted
that on a continent of around 1.3 billion Africans with a median age of around
20 years, there is a very tangible underlying sense of urgency when it comes to
expectations of government. “Our people know and understand what development ought
to look like and what benefits it should bring to their social-economic wellbeing.
Therefore, any failure to quickly address the missing middle within the
development paradigm could create a deficiency of trust between the electorate
and those in positions of leadership,” Kenyatta said {2}.
In January 2019, the African delivery unit’s network, a unique platform for government delivery units across the continent, was launched in the Senegalese capital Dakar. Its purpose is to provide a unique platform for peer learning and sharing of best practices and expertise in the field and respond to rising public expectations for faster results, tangible benefits, effective accountability in the use of resources and greater value for money {5}.
Sierra Leone’s President, for instance, set up a new delivery unit in 2015 to help revive the national economy in the wake of the Ebola epidemic and a collapse in commodity prices.
In Nigeria, the Federal government announced in 2019, that it was establishing a “Delivery Unit” to coordinate the tracking and monitoring of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved policies, programmes and projects, in line with the priority areas of Government.
Lagos state itself has adopted and implemented some sort of a delivery unit {8}. We believe this was implemented under the past administration of Governor Ambode.
Ogun state was currently in
the process of adopting a delivery system and we have consulted with them at the initiation stages for implementing this delivery culture/system, but the elections and other factors have put this project on-hold.
World Location of Some Government Delivery Systems (National and Regional levels)
 |
Fig 3: Appx view of countries with delivery systems in place
VALUE OF DELIVERY SYSTEMS
Governments, due to their role as keeper(s)
of our common economy, differ in their nature to private organisations with financial motivation and investors seeking returns, but governments now have to run initiatives and programs as
efficiently as, or even better than the private sector.
Now governments are under pressure to deliver tangible results in public services while ensuring that citizen’s tax is spent wisely and effectively. Nearly all governments—and individual public agencies—have set ambitious reform goals and developed strategic plans to achieve those goals.
However, some or a lot of these plans fall by the wayside and reform goals remain unmet, for a variety of reasons. Political pressure can cause priorities and resources to shift, success can be difficult to measure, consequences for failed delivery are less obvious than in the private sector, and stakeholder motivation is not always transparent. It is challenging for public-sector organizations is to find ways to define and execute their highest- priority objectives so that they have the greatest possible impact.
Enabling a delivery
culture, is a way of operating that focuses on solutions and results through the
framework of the four Ps of government delivery – prioritisation, policy,
planning and performance management.
 |
Fig 4: Philosophy of governance
With the enormous financial investment that governments have on
initiatives and projects, it is clear that a good delivery system can focus a whole administration on delivering real results for citizens and allowing leaders to keep
the promises made to its citizens. The delivery units embedded in the system assists with technical
approaches to untangling the barriers to getting results. They help instil a
culture of data-led decision making. And support government to overcome barriers
that delay progress, connect people and resources, and mitigate risks. .
Delivery systems of any government or organisation would at the least ensure:
- Tracking progress of initiatives/project/programs against a select number of top priorities through collecting, analysing and routinely reporting on a constant stream of performance data
- Investigating and intervening to solve problems where progress appears to be slipping off track (e.g. by conducting in-depth investigations, convening stakeholders or providing technical assistance)
- Scrutinising policy proposals to see whether implementation plans are feasible
- Addressing delivery capability gaps in the public sector workforce, through activities such as training and co- designing implementation plans.
- Allows for the transformation from a traditional administrative culture which focuses on a hierarchical approach to decision-making with each step documented and emphasis placed upon, who has the authority to make what decision often lacks clear vision on the impact that the decision(s) should have on lives and livelihoods of beneficiaries or citizens.
- Enabling government to pay greater attention to implementation gaps between government policies and what is actually achieved. This has prompted a greater focus on the specific obstacles to delivery, and how they can be overcome. In many cases it has included moving beyond increasing access to services towards a greater emphasis on quality.
- Provides a tried and tested way to translate political rhetoric and promises into tangible benefits that citizens can appreciate. As above, the emphasis moves away from authoritative decision-making within each authority’s sphere towards a way of thinking that puts results first. Translating decisions into impactful action is a key component of delivery culture.
- A delivery culture provides a clear system or data mechanisms that report directly to the executive on priority issues in an integrated, cross-sectorial way and ensures priorities are underpinned by clear measures of success and drives policy makers to seek for innovative solutions.
- Implementing organizational processes & methodologies for initiatives, project, program & portfolio management and Leading organizational change by promoting a quality & delivery culture
- Ensuring compliance policies and processes, reporting, tracking performance, conducting post-mortems, capturing, communicating and incorporating delivery lessons
- Providing support mechanisms for cross-functional teams and capacity management.
Structure
Most successful delivery systems and structure ensures they report directly to the chief executive, the president or Prime Minister, Governor or equivalent head of the organisation.
He/she is usually the sponsor, for the top-down approach and also the driver of the impending change management strategies. They are usually the sponsors of the delivery system.
They delivery units amongst other duties, serve as the governors evaluating, monitoring, correcting, reporting office. From these units, the chief executive gets real time information on his priority projects/reforms.
Some Other Considerations
This section provides a generic bird’s eye view, of some factors to take into consideration in the set-up of a delivery system. Note, is the need for us to engage with stakeholder(s) firstly, to audit what is on ground, better understand the terrain, culture, objectives and any all necessary requirements, before the commencement of any set-up or re-organisation of existing thereby increasing chances for success.
Other factors for stakeholders to consider for a successful delivery unit set-up are:
- Ensure solid and visible
support from the top – and bottom: Experience has taught us that leadership
commitment is a key determinant of success and effectiveness, over and above
institutional structures. Consistent support
from the top helps remove obstacles to the delivery work,
especially at early stages when the delivery unit does not have a solid
Fig 5 Delivery Challenge - brand of its own. Broad-based support within government is critical.
- Dedicated regular time in the leader’s schedule for leading delivery routines.
- See the forest, trees and leaves: Governments often assume that polices developed at the top of the chain hierarchy will automatically get implemented and have an impact. Delivery proposes a fundamentally different approach, which emphasizes implementation and learning from experience. it is key that someone else asides of the owner or department maintains a pulse on what is going on in the frontlines of service delivery, as this is where results happen
- Change management: Always connect to purpose, making progress with difficult problems invariably involves overcoming resistance from those who benefit from the dysfunctions of status quo, and complacency from those who don’t care about change. Persisting through these challenges requires solid technical and emotional skills. Surviving constant turbulence calls for unwavering connection to purpose. In addition to new technical tools, the delivery discipline promotes cultural changes towards greater focus, urgency, consistency, collaboration and ambition. Translating these principles and values into day-to-day behaviour requires one to be constantly aware of and committed to the fundamental moral purpose of improving citizens’ lives.
- As mention above, physical location close to a political sponsor (President, COS, Governor and Speaker etc).
- Adopt the right organisational structure and leadership model.
- Ensure cross-government ownership of the delivery unit’s results agenda.
- Routines in place to review effectiveness and refresh operations.
- Focus on function over form
- Move beyond monitoring towards problem-solving
- Embed delivery professionals across government
- Take an adaptive and phased approach and accelerate change with appropriate technology.
List above is not exhaustive but provides the reader with a “heads-up” on some important points to consider, ahead of any delivery set-up.
Implementation Approach
Below is our high level approach, which remains open to change as more knowledge and scope is acquired, but this should provide at a minimal, the steps required in assisting with the set-up
and operations of the Presidential delivery
unit
1. Invite T&T consultants skilled at deploying delivery units to:
a.
Engage with Key stakeholder and Sponsor(s).
b.
Review
above and conduct assessment of scope
c.
Review
of above and in parallel conduct an audit of “as-is” and define “to-be”.
d.
Conduct Workshops with other heads of ministries and key stake-holders.
e. High-level design and documentation &
Sign 0ff.
f.
Implementation &
Recruiting.
g.
Commence operations & Test
trials.
h. Live operations and Support
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, creating
a “delivery approach”
framework (creating a “fit for purpose” delivery
culture) which translates
presidential policies and program ideas into tangible outputs is a moral
imperative for governments.
In countries where
capacity and capability are more developed, a less prescriptive delivery approach may be taken, but the need for less developed
environments to adopt delivery culture ever more glaring.
Shortfalls in service
delivery, has caused
incalculable losses to government, individuals, communities and ultimately the nation. This is even with different creative approaches undertaken by some governments to tackle this gap
and
increase government’s ability
to deliver value to citizens.
Therefore, government delivery
approaches, addresses the gaps in institutional capacity, enable
effective service delivery, reduce losses and strengthened or improve existing systems.
In addition, the delivery approach/system would support the Government in adopting monitoring and evaluation
best-fit practices on initiatives, policies/projects and provides increase
consistency & accuracy in processes and procedures. With collated data used
to make accurate decisions, allowing minimal disruptions, overcome constraints,
identify and mitigate risks.
The saying
that government(s) that:
- Put citizens at the center: It is easy to forget that governments exist to serve citizens. Politicians and parties constantly fight for power and legitimacy, and often do so at the expense of functionality. Hence the need to ensure that activities are driven by their anticipated impact in citizens’ lives. Its effectiveness largely depends on how well it brings to bear citizens’ needs and preferences.
- Creates a legacy for a safe, buoyant economy and sustainable environment.
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