Egypt: Mainstreaming governance in service delivery

Improving service delivery requires that institutions charged with delivering services become more effective and efficient. Better statistics and indicators are important tools for supporting performance management, and may help managers and politicians make informed decisions. However, limiting the information base to indicators in the areas of effectiveness and efficiency may not be sufficient. 

 

The Government of Egypt has decided to take his a step further, and recognizes that institutions not only need to track performance in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, but also in terms of democratic governance. This includes issues related to human rights, democracy and accountability. These broader governance issues are viewed as important factors for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Governance indicators are needed to complement the existing set of socio-economic indicators in order to enhance the evidence base supporting government decisions.

 

The project will develop a governance assessment framework that mainstreams governance in the areas of poverty reduction, education, health and water and sanitation. The work will draw on the National Human Development Reports that includes data on human and social development.

 

A Governance Assessment Unit has been set up within the Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) at the Prime Minister’s Office. This is a key step in institutionalizing governance assessment in Egypt. IDSC is one of Egypt’s leading statistical arms, and acts as the Egyptian Cabinet Think Tank. The Governance Assessment Unit will complement the existing Social Contract Unit, which monitors progress towards the achievement of 55 MDG-based programmes.