A Framework for Decentralizing Civil Servants

1. A Framework for Decentralizing Civil Servants Workshop on Decentralizing Civil Servants Wednesday, 9 June 2004

2. Purpose of the Review • To review the staffing practices in 8 countries in the context of their decentralization experience • Based on this review, to develop a framework for analyzing the range of employer functions in terms of their contribution to the objectives of administrative decentralization • Identify specific lessons for developing an action plan for administrative decentralization • The paper also provides some suggestions for testing the framework in a broader set of countries

3. A decentralization strategy should address all 3 dimensions In practice the degree of decentralization in each dimension does not always line up – focus is often on political &/or fiscal aspects Achieving intended degree of decentralization depends on effective interaction among all 3 dimensions Dimensions Political Fiscal Admin’tive Deconcentration (minimal) D e g r e e s Delegation (intermediate) Devolution (substantial) Achieving the intended degree of decentralization

4. Effective interaction between administrative and fiscal decentralization • Critically important to successful decentralization strategy • Failure is inevitable without: • Adequate fiscal tools to manage staff & other resources • Administrative authority to allocate resources, supervise activities & otherwise ensure effective implementation • And without these tools, a politically decentralized government cannot reasonable be held accountable

5. Objectives of a decentralized staffing model • Decentralized administration means that local government has the means to effectively deliver its functional responsibilities • To do so, it must be able to: • hold staff to account • allocate staff to where need is greatest • manage its financial resources • attract and retain skilled staff • The following table identifies the various employer functions that contribute to these objectives

6. Devolving the Employer Function

7. Assessing the Case Studies as Decentralizers Y=yes; P=partial; N=no

8. Points of Entry for Administrative Decentralization, based on the Case Studies

9. Can we extend the analysis to identify which functions are most critical to decentralization?

10. Testing the Framework • Framework based on ‘desk’ review of 8 countries’ experience • While promising, it needs to be tested more broadly to provide a solid, empirical basis • Consideration should be given to using a standardized questionnaire; a draft is included in the paper • Results will also give better evidence on which employer functions are most frequently devolved early on, and which are most critical in achieving objectives