Latest Resources
Public governance indicators: a literature review
Article / Working Paper, Public Administration, Other UN AgencyThis paper provides an overview of public governance indicators, briefly discussing their pros and cons. It also evaluates existing methodologies such as data collection, sampling, aggregation methods, and applicability of results. The author argues that any discussion of governance should integrate the private sector more closely as a partner. Transforming new factors such as the information age...
Briefing | Malawi | More than just ‘demand’: Malawi’s public-service community scorecard
Article / Working Paper, Civil Society, Governance and MDG, Public Administration, Civil SocietyCommunity-based monitoring instruments, such as scorecards, are used increasingly to complement and reinforce conventional mechanisms to strengthen accountability and performance in public-service delivery. While they have been backed by the international community, there is limited evidence on how they work in practice and what conditions they need to be effective. This Project Briefing seeks...
The Benefits of a Big Tent: Opening Up Government in Developing Countries
Article / Working Paper, Civil Society, Public Administration, Academic/Think TankBringing open data and open government under a single banner, Yu and Robinson argue, leads to conceptual muddling that ultimately impedes progress for both projects. They express a concern that superficial commitments to open data “can placate the public’s appetite for transparency.” Drawing on our experiences with the Kenya Open Data Initiative and the Open Government Partnership, we argue...
Una nueva generación de sistemas de evaluación de desempeño en América Central. Panoramas de un recorrido reciente
Article / Working Paper, Latin America and the Carribean, Public Administration, Academic/Think TankExamina las característica de una nueva generacíon de sistema de evaluacíon de de desempeño en América Central. Se procura identificar si los mismos han tomado elementos de un enfoque centrado en el desarrollo de las personas. El recorrido realizado es importante pero hay pendientes y desafíos con el propósito de lograr un sistema efectivamente centrado en el aprendizaje organizacional, el...
Improving the quality of governance in Poland through performance based budgeting
Article / Working Paper, Public Administration, Academic/Think TankThe paper asks whether performance based budgeting (PBB) can serve as a tool for implementing the rules of good governance in Polish state administration. The authors put emphasis on analyzing de facto mechanisms of PBB implementation rather than focusing only on de jure ones. In other words, they use sociological and politological approaches combined with some insights from recent studies on...
Governance and public service delivery in Europe and Central Asia : unofficial payments, utilization and satisfaction, Vol. 1 of 1
Article / Working Paper, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and CIS, Public Administration, Inter-Governmental OrganizationUsing data from the 2010 Life in Transition Survey, this paper examines the levels of citizens' satisfaction with public service delivery in Europe and Central Asia and identifies some factors that may help explain variation in utilization and levels of satisfaction with service delivery. It finds satisfaction with public service delivery in Europe and Central Asia to be relatively high, and,...
Measuring National Statistical Capacity in Conflict and Fragile Countries
Article / Working Paper, Conflict, Public Administration, UNDP ProducedThe UNDP Oslo Governance Centre presents in this discussion paper the issue of measurement of statistical capacity in conflict ridden and fragile countries. It shows the importance of statistical capacity for public policy and measuring peace- and statebuilding strategies as well as an indicator in itself of State capacity. This discussion paper by the UNDP Oslo...
The role of civil society in decentralisation and alleviating poverty - An exploratory case study from Tanzania
Africa, Article / Working Paper, Civil Society, Local Governance and Decentralization, Public Administration, Academic/Think TankIn many developing countries decentralisation efforts have been planned and implemented as a means to improve service delivery to all citizens, to increase citizen participation, and to improve good governance at the sub-national level. However, until recently, poverty reduction has not been a central feature of decentralisation measures until recently. Donors have begun to realise the...
The Pursuit of Integrity in Customs: Experiences from sub-Saharan Africa
Africa, Article / Working Paper, Corruption, Public Administration, Civil SocietyFighting corruption in customs administration is a major challenge for many African governments, as well as for development agencies providing technical assistance. In this paper the author argues that integrity reforms have been too focused on reforming formal institutions, and too little attention has been paid to the political economy of reforms. Therefore, this paper...
Accountability in the Provision of Social Services: A Framework for African Research
Article / Working Paper, Public Administration, Academic/Think TankGlobally, there appears to be surprisingly little relationship between government expenditure on basic services and the actual level of service delivery. This suggests that there are potentially severe problems in getting good value for money which are better tackled in some countries than in others. How do recipients of a service get good value from providers? For most services the...