Public Sector Productivity Initiatives in the Philippines

Public sector productivity is a crucial component in increasing national competitiveness. It is the responsibility of the governments to improve its own productivity, and at the same time, enable both public and private sector organizations to improve theirs. As the country’s national productivity organization, the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) is at the forefront of the public sector productivity movement. Since the 1970s, it has been undertaking initiatives aimed to improve the productivity of government departments and agencies, as well as of government-owned and controlled corporations. These are targeted toward service quality, performance management, e-government, and innovation leadership.   Service Quality Service quality focuses on achieving service excellence by continuous and incremental improvement in the quality of public services. Upon the recommendation of DAP, the government has Institutionalized the Government Quality Management Systems based on ISO 9000 standards to improve public sector governance. Together with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget and Management and Office of the President, DAP developed the Guidance Document on Government Quality Management Systems Standards (GQMSS) based on ISO standards. The GQMSS has been officially adopted as Philippine National Standards.

With the Anti-Red Tape Act in place, the government has established Citizen’s Charters to improve the delivery of frontline services and reduce the bureaucratic red tape. DAP is mandated to assist the government departments and agencies in establishing their Citizen’s Charters. Complementing the Citizen’s Charters are periodic report card surveys among transacting public to evaluate the quality of service they received. DAP also proposed the establishment of the Philippine Quality Award for Performance Excellence recognizing the exemplary organizational performance of both private and public organizations in the country. DAP administers the PQA for the public sector.   Performance Management Performance management is a mechanism through which agencies can systematically improve their performance by aligning individual, team and agency objectives. DAP assists departments and agencies in strategic management and undertakes objective assessment of performance of agencies. In 2011, upon the recommendation of the Academy, a Results-Based Performance Management System, a unified system for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting the performance of national government agencies, was established. The RBPMS serves as the basis for determining entitlement for incentives of agencies and employees.

DAP has also developed a methodology to assess integrity systems in public sector organizations which was implemented in national government agencies. The results are utilized by departments and agencies to craft integrity programs to strengthen the accountability and transparency. Through the APO Research Project, the DAP participated in pilot-testing of the Atkinson’s methodology in measuring public sector productivity specifically in tax collection service.   E-Government E-government involves the effective use of information and communication technologies in the operations of public-sector organizations to improve overall productivity.  Various agencies have aggressively pursued digitization of many government functions, complementing efforts to maximize ICT application in the delivery of government-to-business (G2B) and government-to-citizens (G2C) services. In line with the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative, the Philippine government has aggressively pursued digitization of many government functions, complementing efforts to maximize ICT application in the delivery of government-to-business (G2B) and government-to-citizens (G2C) services. A number of e-government systems were developed using public-private partnership.   Innovation Leadership Innovation leadership focuses on the creation of more efficient and effective policies and services by influencing others in the accomplishment of public task. The DAP has launched the Public Management Development Program which provides comprehensive and multi-modal learning opportunities for high-level public servants.  PMDP offers courses tailored for senior executives and middle managers.

At the local level, local government units’ innovations and excellence in service delivery are being recognized by Galing Pook Award (outstanding localities award).   Because of its rich experience in raising public sector productivity, DAP could share how it develops and implements these programs to interested APO member countries. To date, it has hosted the Thailand Productivity Institute, Mongolian Productivity Organization, and Bangladesh Cabinet Division, Fiji National Training and Productivity Centre through the Bilateral Cooperation Between NPOs. It has also conducted Performance Based-Monitoring and Incentive System for Bhutan, Training Program on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Financial modeling for Bangladesh, and Technical Expert Services on Regulatory Reform and Regulatory Impact Assessment from Korea.