Times of crisis have emphasized the importance of the role of the public sector. Public sector employment and compensation are two fundamental government production functions that determine overall public sector productivity and service. With the government employing the majority of the workforce in most economies, it shapes the country’s fiscal sustainability, productivity, and labor market policies and standards.  

Quality data are most useful to evaluate the performance of the public sector and formulate evidence-based reforms.  On September 30, 2021, the World Bank launched the Worldwide Bureaucracy Indicators (WWBI) that covers 53 million high-quality microdata, 192 indicators, across 202 countries on demographic, size, compensation, and wage bill of the public sector to aid policy-making. Senior Public Sector Specialist of the World Bank, Mr. Zahid Hasnain, described the WWBI, its findings and potential applications. One of the WWBI findings across the globe determining that the public sector is the largest employer for most countries, especially for essential workers. He also shared how public sector workers have an average wage premium of 7.3% more than similar formal private-sector workers, however, this varies across gender, educational attainment, occupation, and industry. The public sector employs more women than the private sector with a concentration in select industries such as healthcare, education, and public administration. Women are also generally provided a higher wage premium in the public sector. This reflects a more gender-inclusive environment for women in the government although there is still a long way to go.

During the launch, Mari E. Pangetsu, World Bank Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships, expressed her excitement over the first unique cross-national dataset developed by World Bank Bureaucracy Lab to better understand the footprint of the public sector workforce. 

Senior Vice President Magdalena L. Mendoza of the Development Academy of the Philippines applauded the WWBI for providing an impressive wealth of analytics to better understand public sector employment and compensation. This database of indicators enables productivity assessment using the WWBI proxy indicators to create data-driven policies and reforms in the civil service. She expounded how information on the demographic, psychographic, and behavioral attributes of public servants can enable the government to understand internal and external motivations for work discipline so that it develops a more effective incentives system and more responsive civil service reforms to improve performance and maximize productivity. According to SVP Mendoza, the Philippine civil service has gone through reforms such as rationalization, salary standardization, result-based performance management, performance-based incentives, and the dataset may be useful to evaluate if these reforms have resulted in productivity gains.  

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Other members of the panel shared their ideas on the potential of the WWBI in its application, growth, and expansion relative to pursuing public sector productivity. Tim Besley, W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at London School of Economics, raised the value of looking into the bureaucracy as a whole system and not just through pockets of excellence whereby integrating different components of civil service can make waves of influence through global best practices. He also suggested collecting granular personnel data over career lifetimes to identify determinants in career progression, but a fundamental step needed today is to first work on proper codification and standardization of data to support analysis.

Ghana Head of Civil Service, Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, relayed how they put up systems in place to improve monitoring of human resource data analytics to develop more data-informed reforms in the public administration. Adil Zainulbhai, Chair of the Capacity Building Commission and the Chairman of the Quality Council of India, described how they have developed an Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) Platform to provide access to learning materials from over 700 training institutions to all levels of civil servants. He continued to share their pursuit for more innovative ways in delivering these capability-building solutions amidst the heterogeneity of its 30 million public servants. He brings light to using data on what level of capability people are in, what they need to learn, what are they interested in, and letting the ecosystem work together to achieve the goal.

SVP Mendoza raised the value of the WWBI in relation to the work of DAP as the Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity and look forward to collaborating with the Bureaucracy Lab. In closing, Indermit S. Gill, Vice President of World Bank Equitable Growth and Finance Institutions, expressed gratitude to the Bureaucracy Lab team that has worked hard in the extensive process of data collection and its emphasis on delivering it through a transparent process. He thanked all speakers, panel members, and the audience for their active participation in the launch and looks forward to putting these datasets into the application for more innovative and responsive civil service reforms.

Innovative thinking was the theme for the month’s Public Sector Productivity Webisodes organized by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP). The free webinar series entitled, Innovative Thinking for Enhancing Public Sector Productivity, was held on 15-17 September 2021. It featured innovation champions, Adrian Ramirez, Leanne Lozanes, Anita S. Gubalane, and Paul Vincent Avecilla.


Co-Creation Innovation Process in DAP practice

Day 1 was an introductory course on innovative thinking. Adrian Ramirez, project manager of the Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity Innovation Laboratory Program, together with Leanne Lozanes, associate project officer with the Productivity and Development Center in DAP, facilitated the interactive talk attended by over two thousand participants from various government and private agencies.

The speakers discussed fundamental concepts on innovation and ideation tools and techniques such as Revolution, Opposite thinking, Crazy 4s, and Crazy 8s, SCAMPER Technique, and Related World. They also presented the co-creation innovation process that the DAP advocates in implementing innovative projects for the public sector.

Ramirez noted the central role of empathy in the co-creation innovation process. He shared, “we try to involve the stakeholder or the end-user every step of the way. Empathy is our tool to make sure that we include them every step of the way, and I think that is the heart and soul of the co-creation innovation process.”

Constant change calls for continuous intentional efforts to innovate and to improve present standards and practices in the government. As Ramirez explained, the needs of today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world are indeed becoming more and more complex each day, and innovation is key to addressing them. 

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To conclude the episode, Lozanes shared a short quote from Steve Jobs, one of the most successful innovators of all time: “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat.” She added, “just like what we’ve experienced in the past months with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even [though] we experienced a lot of changes because of the pandemic, our government did not stop in delivering the services. We saw it as an opportunity to really improve the delivery of our services, change our approaches in the way we do things in the government, and, basically, revolutionize the way we approach things.”

DepEd Antique Innovation Project

On Day 2 of the webinar, the education program supervisor in Science in the Division of Antique and the Division Focal Person for Special Education, Anita S. Gubalane presented about Count on US, ANITA (United Stakeholders, Activate the Nurturing Intensive Teaching amidst Adversity), a project implemented by DepEd Antique in cooperation with the DAP Center for Governance.

According to Gubalane, the project was implemented to address problems in literacy and numeracy among Grade 3 learners in Antique. It aims to maximize learning support systems for non-readers and non-numerates in the new normal. She explained, “Project COUNT on US, ANITA depicts the true bayanihan spirit wherein our stakeholders collaborate and work together for our beneficiaries.”

In the test conducted by the Schools Division of Antique, it was found that many of the Grade 3 learners enrolled in the school year 2020 to 2021, especially from the vulnerable sectors, struggle with understanding self-learning modules due to factors such as the absence of face-to-face instruction, the inability of parents to provide learning support, and lack of access to technology. These identified factors served as the basis for the measures they carried out in the intervention, which include intensive remote teaching, the organization of a mentoring hub for parents, learners, and teachers, capacity building for teachers, a conference for the parents on their role in their children’s education, and the development of learning packages.

Gubalane proudly shared that through Count on US, ANITA, about 45 percent of the third-grade non-readers increased their reading level from non-reading to instructional level, while 56 percent increased in numeracy level. Another feat that she brought up was the replication of the literacy and numeracy project in other districts in Antique such as San Jose and Hamtic North.

OF-CORS

Digitization of government services is now becoming the new normal. Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) was one of the many government offices that recently started to offer online services to make transactions easier, safer, and contactless.

The Day 3 webinar topic, entitled Digitalization of Government Services in the New Normal: Overseas Filipinos CFO Online Registration (OF-CORS), was facilitated by Paul Vincent Avecilla, senior emigrant services officer at the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO).

Avecilla shared how this innovation in CFO has revolutionized their service quality for their clients. With online systems and quality management systems in place now, transactions have become way more efficient compared to before wherein they entail tedious, time-consuming steps and many documentary requirements.

Salient features of OF-CORS include online registration, online verification, online payment, online PDOS, online feedback, and a digital certificate system.

Click here to read more about OF-CORS.

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The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), as the Asian Productivity Organization Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity, organized a free webinar series on knowledge management (KM) principles and processes in the public sector on August 11, 12, and 13. The series is part of the second season of Public Sector Productivity Webisodes, an initiative to raise awareness on relevant productivity and innovation topics and help mobilize public sector organizations.

Jon Del Rosario, supervising fellow and professor of Knowledge Management and Quality Management of DAP Graduate School of Public and Development Management, facilitated the first two installments, which provided a general overview of knowledge management and its application in the public sector. For the last episode of the series, Dr. Enrique Tayag, director of the Department of Health’s Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service, shared his office’s knowledge management experiences during the new normal.

Knowledge Management in the Public Sector

Del Rosario defined knowledge management as the management of the environment and the organizational and individual processes that assure that the application or use of knowledge produces the results that provide value for stakeholders. On the organizational aspect, this involves the acquisition or creation, storage, access and retention, transfer, application, and continual improvement of knowledge. Individual processes in KM, on the other hand, entail knowledge reflection and internalization, externalization and integration, and sharing and validation or revision.

The first day of the series, entitled Introduction to Knowledge Management in the Public Sector, mainly revolved around the basic concepts related to knowledge management. Del Rosario explained that the practice of knowledge management centers on ensuring that knowledge is used or applied, shared, and retained by those who work for and interact with the organization.

The speaker also stressed the importance of knowledge management in every organization. He noted that most, if not all, work in organizations is enabled by knowledge. Such knowledge when applied always leads to value creation to the organization, and it is through knowledge management that its retention becomes possible.

“The use  of [knowledge] is very fleeting if you don’t document it. It has to be captured with the use of [knowledge management]… When people leave the organization, they also bring their knowledge [with them],” Del Rosario added.

On Day 2 of the webinar, entitled The Practice of Knowledge Management in the Public Sector, the speaker delved into domains of practice of knowledge management. Del Rosario also shared his proposed model of integrated organizational-personal knowledge management process. In the model, he illustrated the process of knowledge management beginning at the identification of stakeholder needs and expectations, which determines knowledge and knowledge needs, and resulting in the satisfaction of such needs. In between these stages are the actual knowledge management processes, tools, learning, and interventions and performance and change in terms or decisions, actions, and practices. He also touched on an example of knowledge management in the DAP Public Sector Productivity Innovation Laboratory, which applies the co-creation innovation model in its innovation processes to ensure that key stakeholders are involved every step of the way.

DOH Knowledge Management in the New Normal

In his presentation, entitled The Pandemic Reboot of Knowledge Management in the Public Health Sector, Dr. Tayag presented the knowledge management framework of DOH, called KM4 Health, which involves four (4) components: knowledge acquisition, knowledge production, knowledge innovation, and knowledge utilization.

The transition to the new normal created by the COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges on many processes and aspects of the department, including their knowledge management practices. Dr. Tayag shared a few of the knowledge management discrepancies that DOH has encountered in each of the KM4Health components, as well as the corresponding countermeasures that it has implemented to address them.

In the aspect of knowledge acquisition, the DOH created an e-Learning platform on their website to address training needs since in-person interactions have been restricted due to the pandemic. For the knowledge production component, the department has launched a COVID-19 Tracker on its website and DOH DataCollect App, which gathers data from hospitals on the availability of hospital beds, isolation rooms, ICU beds, mechanical ventilators, and other essential resources and supplies.

Disrupted medical services have also been a major problem with the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country. As a countermeasure, DOH implemented a telemedicine system for Covid-19 patients. The initiative falls under the knowledge innovation component.

Finally, as for the knowledge sharing component, DOH started a Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service (KMITS) Virtual Daily Huddle among the department members, where they talk about operational matters and pandemic response strategies. Aside from this, they also conduct various webinars to promote correct information on COVID-19 amid the spread of fake news especially online. Other knowledge management efforts of DOH include leading the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a conglomeration of various agencies and experts who view and analyze data and give recommendations for every activity on the management of emerging infectious disease, and the creation of technical working group on eHealthcare Services.

Dr. Tayag explained, “it is important that we change our strategy from knowledge exploitation to knowledge exploration. If we do things the way we [did] before to address our discrepancies, we will fail. We have to explore, or better, we [must] think collectively and change the way things are but not how we thought it to be.”

“Our people, through their taxes, provide the lifeblood of the government. They are the reason for the government’s very existence.”

– President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on the National Budget for FY 2017

  On July 20, 2012, Executive Order No. 80 directed the adoption of the Performance Based-Incentive System (PBIS), a nation-wide, integrated incentive system emphasizing individual performance and contributions to the accomplishments of agency targets, computed based on percentage of individual salary in the form of either Performance Based Bonus (PBB) or the Productivity Enhancement Incentives (PEI). Formalized through Administrative Order No. 25 s. 2011, the defining nature of the PBIS is its goal of building foundations of a performance culture and a habit of excellence, and to recognize and reward delivery units based on performance results. The system aims to restore confidence of the Filipino people in the capacity of public servants to make people’s lives better, safer and healthier.

PBB Orientation with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
Entitlement to performance-based bonuses is determined through the Results-Based Performance Monitoring System (RBPMS), a unified system to integrate the efforts of the government agencies relative to the five key result areas set by the President.  The bonuses and incentives are sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) after accomplishment of the PBIS eligibility criteria and submission of accomplishment reports to the task force. The rankings are done by unit heads, with objective templates to be filled out and collated for evaluation. The implementation of the PBIS is handled by the AO 25 Inter-Agency Task Force chaired by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and co-chaired by the Office of the Executive Secretary. Members of the task force include the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance (DOF) and partner agencies responsible for implementation, with OP and DBM as lead. Monitoring of agency compliance and performance scorecards are made available online. Since its implementation in 2012, the PBIS has been subjected to several phases of development, with performance indicators and targets reflected in the Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF) Book of Outputs. Through the PBIS and RBPMS, the government sought to strengthen performance management through the harmonization of existing performance monitoring, establishment of appraisal and reporting systems, veering away from across-the-board bonuses and linking incentives with results that matter to citizens. Within five years, the number of participant agencies increased from 184 out of 191 agencies in 2012 to 273 out of 307 agencies in 2017. This includes government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), state-owned universities and colleges (SUCs), and other executive offices (OEOs). PBBs are granted on the condition that physical targets, conditions for good governance, and performance management conditions are met. Physical targets include priority program targets, major financial outputs, support to operations and general administrative support services; conditions for good governance which include the establishment of a transparency seal, posting of bid notices and awards on the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), liquidation of all cash advances of officials and employees, and the establishment of a Citizen’s Charter or its equivalent. The third condition, performance management, involves the cascading of targets, System of Rating and Ranking (SRR) and communication and change management. The eligibility of an agency to be entitled to the PBB system includes considerations such as the Major Final Outputs (MFO) Targets under the Performance Informed Budget (PIB) of the GAA, Targets for Support to Operations (STO) and the General Administration and Support (GASS) Targets which include the Budget Utilization Rate (BUR), compliance to the Public Financial Management (PFM) reporting requirements of the COA, and ISO-aligned documentation of at least one core process. In the future, the government hopes to further refine the PBIS by introducing tighter requirements on performance incentives, conduct review and validation processes, increase collaboration between agencies, streamline government transactions and most important of all, to build the capacity of public servants. All these share the goal of reforming culture and mindsets on government work and delivering meaningful results to citizens.

BACKGROUND

The Government Best Practice Recognition (GBPR) is an initiative of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) to promote and showcase outstanding and innovative practices demonstrated by the public sector organizations. It is one of the Academy’s strategy responses to the rising call for public sector organizations to further enhance the quality of service delivery.

The GBPR annually recognizes successful and validated practices demonstrated by public sector organizations. Government institutions at all levels of governance and all fields of practices are invited every year to submit their institutions’ best practice.

As one of the components of the Academy’s Business Excellence Program, which also include the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) and the Government Excellence Class (GEC), the GBPR supplements and complements the Academy’s efforts to improve organizational productivity and performance in the public sector by recognizing innovative best practices of government institutions and organizations.

The Academy has developed a set of criteria for evaluating remarkable government practices. Entries from government organizations are assessed based on these criteria to select the government institutions that will participate in the presentation and have the chance to be recognized for the year.

OBJECTIVES

The GBPR seeks to recognize successful and validated practices demonstrated by all public sector organizations. It provides a platform to showcase and promote best practices as a way to foster knowledge sharing and to contribute in sustaining performance results in the entire bureaucracy. Ultimately, this collaborative learning mechanism envisions improving the quality of service and competitiveness of government institutions.

The GBPR serves as a harmonizing strategy to attain the objective of the APO’s designation to the Philippines, with DAP as the implementing arm, as the Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity (PSP), “to advance the public sector productivity movement” among APO member countries.

The GBPR complements the Public Sector Innovation Laboratory under the Government Quality Management Program (GQMP). Through the GBPR, public sector organizations will be able to capture innovative and transformative ideas, approaches and solutions which have been proven effective and helpful by other government agencies in improving the quality and impact of their respective services to the public.

Working closely with the Academy’s Center of Excellence for Public Sector Productivity (COE-PSP), the GBPR fosters innovation and futures thinking in the public sector and widens access to quality by integrating the COE-PSP’s knowledge management. GBPR is a direct resource of COE-PSP Knowledge Bank for content.

Eligibility and Entrant Qualifications

  1. The competition is open to ALL public sector organizations:
    • National Government Agencies (NGAs) and their regional and provincial offices and attached agencies,
    • Interagency bodies including national councils, consortia, and task forces;
    • Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs),
    • Local Government Units (LGUs) – including provincial, municipal, city and barangay offices, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), LGU-led civic organizations such as Senior Citizens and Barangay Women’s groups, special committees such as municipal health committees, and similar bodies;
    • State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) and research institutions and laboratories, and,
    • Other government agencies.
  2. Each participating agency may submit a maximum of three (3) entries.
  3. The applicant needs to fill-out the Government Best Practice Recognition 2019 Entry Form and describe their best practice related to a managerial practice, a process, a system or an initiative within the organization (please refer to the detailed questions on the Entry Form).
  4. By joining this activity, it is understood that applicants signify their willingness to make the necessary travel arrangements in time for the scheduled presentation to the judges of the best practice entries.
  5. Winners are not allowed to join the competition again for the same or similar best practice for a period of 3 years.
  6. Please sign the attached Certification and Authorization of Release of Information.

NOTE: Avoid submitting an entire program or an end-product/service as best practice entry. As much as possible, focus only on a single aspect that has made that program or service delivery successful, for example, Leadership Commitment Scheme, Stakeholder Communication and Building of Relationship, Staff Meeting Policy, Using a Work Environment Survey Tool, and Core Values Reinforcement System, etc.

Round 1: Submission of Entries

  1. The entry form must not contain graphs or pictures, only TEXT. Graphs and pictures can be submitted as attachments to the Entry Form.
  2. Relevant documents that could show related results attributable to the implementation of the best practice entry must also be submitted together with the entry form. These may include but are not limited to the documentary requirements being submitted to oversight agencies (e.g. DBM, DILG, CHED, GCG, COA), as applicable.
  3. Submission of entries starts on July 15, 2019 and ends on August 30, 2019. Applicants may send entries to govbestpractices@dap.edu.ph and/or acostar@dap.edu.ph with Subject: GBPR2019_Name of Organization and Unit/Division/Department.
  4. You may download the Entry Form by clicking this link: DAP – GBPR 2019 entry form
  5. Submitted entries received after the deadline will no longer be accepted, unless extension of submission will be announced.
  6. Submitted entries will be subjected to initial screening and evaluation on September 2019.

Round 2: Presentation to the Panel of Judges

  1. Representatives of selected entries will be invited to deliver a video or a PowerPoint Presentation (minimum of 5 minutes and maximum of 8 minutes) to a panel of judges to any of the following schedule of regional legs of the Best Practice Forum for the Public Sector:
    • October 2019 for Visayas entries
    • 1st week of November for Mindanao entries
    • Last week of November for Luzon 2019 entries
  2. Entries will be screened by a panel to be formed by the Academy.
  3. Instructions on the presentation format will be provided separately, upon qualifying for the next round.
  4. At most two representatives (presenter and assistant staff) from each participating organization are allowed to attend the presentation to the judges.

Entry Fee

  1. There is no entry fee requirement.
  2. Submission of entries is completely free of charge.

Awarding and Prizes

  1. A Certificate of Participation will be issued to all participating organizations.
  2. Best Practice trophies will be awarded to the winners during the awarding ceremony.
  3. The awarding will be done at the end of the the Luzon leg of Best Practice Forum for the Public Sector on the last week of November 2019.
  4. Decisions of the panel of judges are final.

Summary of dates to remember

  • Submission of entries starts on July 15, 2019 and ends on August 30, 2019
  • Presentation to the Panel of Judges:
    • October 2019 in Visayas
    • 1st week of November in Mindanao
    • last week of November in Luzon

For the full details and information of the Government Best Practice Recognition 2019, you may refer to the pdf document below.

  1. Government Best Practice Recognition 2019 Mechanics
  2. DAP – GBPR 2019 entry form  

For clarifications, please get in touch with Mr. Richmond Q. Acosta, Project Manager, at (02) 631-0921 local 135/ (02) 631-2156 / 09065611861 or email at acostar@dap.edu.ph / govbestpractices@dap.edu.ph.

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.

The 5th GQMC Recognition Ceremony for Government Organizations with ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certifications.
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.
The AO25 Secretariat assists public sector agencies in complying with the requirements of the Philippine Results-Based Performance Management System.
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.
Public sector middle managers during the Public Management Development Program graduation ceremony.
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.
DAP hosting delegates from the Fiji National Training and Productivity Centre during a bilateral cooperation program.

The Philippines as APO Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity

The Asian Productivity Organization, an international governmental organization which aims to drive the productivity movement in Asia and the Pacific, has been implementing the Center of Excellence program which designates national productivity organizations in specialized fields in recognition of their initiatives and expertise.  A COE’s role is to share its knowledge and best practices to other NPOs through trainings, workshops, and study missions. There are currently four COEs designated by APO – Business Excellence (Singapore), Green Productivity (Taiwan), Public Sector Productivity (Philippines), and Information Technology in Industry 4.0 (India).

What is the COE-PSP?

In 2015, APO recognized the initiatives of the Philippines in raising the productivity of its government departments and agencies and designated the country as the COE in Public Sector Productivity. As the COE, the Philippines leads the public sector productivity movement in the region. The Development Academy of the Philippines as the country’s NPO works to address common and critical issues on public sector productivity, foster cutting-edge research, facilitate training and knowledge-sharing, and support outreach to raise productivity levels. Currently, the COE-PSP operates under four components: Knowledge Bank, Innovation Laboratory, Capability Development, and Research.

Knowledge Bank develops an online library of pertinent data, information, materials and references on public sector productivity including a database on experts and knowledge products. It accumulates, codifies and publicly disseminates PSP knowledge products derived from APO projects, experiences of NPOs and relevant studies on public sector productivity.

Capability Development offers a range of face-to-face or online training and other learning solutions to develop new capabilities and hone competencies on productivity methods, tools and techniques as applied in the public sector to develop a critical mass of P&Q professionals. In 2017, the COE on PSP conducted the Workshop on Public Sector Leadership, Common Assessment Framework Training, Workshop on Performance Management, and International Conference on Public Sector Productivity.

Innovation Laboratory provides a venue to stimulate strategic thinking and innovation, understand, experiment and obtain first-hand experience in applying new solutions to address critical public sector productivity issues, under the guidance of technical experts.

Research conducts focused studies on contemporary and emerging trends, assessment of productivity performance, best practices, adaptation of P & Q tools, effectiveness of P & Q technologies, etc. A compendium of innovation and productivity initiatives is published annually. The COE-PSP also serves as the hub of ‘web of collaborators’ on innovation and productivity in the public sector.  As the hub, the COE-PSP establishes a network of NPOs and relevant regional and global institutions with knowledge and expertise on public sector productivity. It is partnering with the Institute of Public Administration and Bruce Searles of Global Benchmarking Network and Benchmarking Partnerships. The center is also exploring possible partnerships with the UN Public Administration Network, the EU Public Administration Network, the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Office, other P&Q organizations, and academic institutions.

Way Ahead

In the next years, DAP aspires to further expand and strengthen the COE-PSP.  It plans to establish a future center which is aimed to be a creative platform for collaborative innovation on public sector productivity. The center will also serve as a repository for PSP knowledge and information library for civil servants and the public to access PSP-related data, information and resource. It will include high-tech and high-touch facilities to help create innovative solutions for the public sector. The COE-PSP is also working on conducting a demo project on productivity measurement and a technical expert’s service on Knowledge Management for the Public Sector. Further, it plans to undertake comprehensive research on baseline data for better appreciation and sharing of best practice in public sector productivity movement among APO member countries.

To learn more about who we are and what we do, you may watch this video: The APO Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity

Productivity is commonly defined as the ratio of output in relation to the input required.  The inputs are labor, equipment, space and energy used, while the outputs are measured by counting the goods and services produced in terms of monetary value.  To raise productivity, the private sector either increases its outputs or decreases its inputs.  However, productivity in the public sector is more complex since its outputs are provided to citizens for free or at subsidized prices, and they are difficult to quantify because of economic and social dimensions. Public sector productivity is defined as optimizing the delivery of services through the efficient use of public funds, resulting in increased citizen satisfaction, public trust, accountability, cost effectiveness, competitiveness, and quality of life.  It also means enhancing the effectiveness of the public sector in creating a conducive environment to increase the total factor productivity in private sector production. In the face of constant financial and economic concerns around the globe, the need to increase awareness and interest in public sector productivity has gained some traction. Raising productivity in the public sector is actually crucial due to the following reasons:

  1. Governments are major employers.

The public sector has a significant share in the total employment figures of any country.  “Public sector” covers all employees working in all branches of the government at the national, regional and local levels, as well as those working in government-owned and controlled corporations.  Data from the World Bank shows that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has the highest ratio of government employment relative to employment population, in contrast with South Asia that has the lowest ratio in this regard.

Source: World Bank’s 2015 Size of The Public Sector Government Wage Bill and Employment

  1. The public sector is the provider of primary services.

One of the roles of a government is to deliver services in education, health care, infrastructure and social welfare to its citizens, particularly to those who are unable to access them through other means.  It also provides services that are otherwise not available such as justice, diplomacy and defense. Currently, developed countries are expanding their health care and retirement security to accommodate the demand of the rapidly aging population.  This pushes governments to find innovative and better ways of delivering these services.

  1. The public sector consumes tax resources.

A large proportion of government budget, which is derived primarily from tax revenues, is spent on government expenses.  It is channeled towards the procurement of goods and services intended for government use, investments, and transfer payments. In most APO member countries, government expenditures even exceed the revenues.

Source: ADB Key Indicators in Asia and Pacific, 2014 and 2015
Given the share for which the public sector accounts, any changes in the public sector can have significant implications.  Low productivity means wastage and misallocation of resources, while high productivity means efficient use of public funds. High productivity in the public sector benefits a wide spectrum of stakeholders – the government agencies themselves, the private sector, the economy, and, most importantly, the general public. There are huge potential savings and quality improvement that could come from increasing public sector productivity.  More productive public services would also boost the economy’s productivity growth and this will have a positive impact on the national basket of services that are delivered to every citizen.  Ultimately, these will all lead to increased citizen satisfaction and quality of life, and to a restoration of trust in public-sector institutions as well as in the processes of governance, participation, and accountability.