Capacity Development for Public Resource Management Effectiveness

1
Capacity Development for Public Resource
Management / Effectiveness

• Hierarchy of Effectiveness Concerns
• Setting National Priorities Strategic Planning -
  "Doing the Right Things"
• Public Finance Management Aligning Resources
  with Priorities - "Doing the Things Right"
• Ensuring Aid Complements Own Resources
• Aid only Efficient, Effective, Relevant if
  Objectives for aid are clear
• Capacity Development (CD) for Aid Effectiveness
  must thus address all three levels

2
Getting Priorities Right

• National Policy Setting Strategic Planning
  Instruments
• Long-term National "Vision Documents", General
  Policies
• Medium-Term Dev't Plans, Expenditure/Financial
  Frameworks
• Annual Budgets, Government/Sector Action Plans
• MDGs (Poverty Reduction Strategies), UN
  Conventions
• Overarching EU Accession (European Partnership,
  CARDS/IPA...)
• General Need for broader consultative processes
  for consensus
• Political process needs to be able to manage this
  
• Need clear National Priorities, that are
  coherent, comprehensive, consistent, with
  resource commitments ? Credibility
• Capacity for political and public admin to do
  strategic planning

3
Aligning Resources with Priorities

• Public Finance Management Cycle Instruments
• Budgeting Transparent, Comprehensive ? to
  Priorities
• Revenues, Exp's Follow Budgets,
  Collected/Disbursed per plan
• Accounts and Audits according to International
  Standards
• (External) Audits both Financial and Performance
• Accountability to Parliaments, Public (i)
  Budgets, (ii) Expenditures
• Management must get feed-back for decision taking
  
• Weakest point Accountability (i) External Audit,
  (ii) Parliamentary Oversight, (iii) Reporting to
  Public
• Capacity Build overall system, BUT ensure
  compliance throughout.

4
Aid Effectiveness

• External Resources Management
• Credits Are National Resources, On-budget,
  captured by Debt Management Systems ? No
  Coordination Problems
• Grants/Project Aid If clear National/Sectoral/Reg
  ional Programmes, usually aligned. If NOT ?
  Headache!
• Grants/Technical Assistance (support to Capacity
  Development)
• Highly Donor-Driven,
• Often other agendas than just Capacity Building,
• Small sums but very costly to manage/ time
  intensive,
• Strategic for Capacity Development but not paid
  much attention
• New modalities (SWAPs, Budget Support) support
  Alignment
• Challenge is CD support ? Major Transaction Costs

5
Capacity Development I

• Systems and Staff
• Overall System for Public Resources Management
  Over time how to achieve "4 C's" Coherent,
  Comprehensive, Consistent, Quality
• Staff Provide data, analysis for decision making
  (unit costs, benchmarking, trend lines, .... )
• "3 R's" Clear Responsibilities, Roles, Resources
  
• CD Programme must be long-term, with clear
  Outputs, Targets, Indicators, Monitoring System ?
  Resources
• Quality at Entry critical, since CD programmes
  are management, transaction cost intensive

6
Capacity Development II

• Management Key to Success
• Systems and Staff may be good Management makes
  it work
• Management Role much more demanding
• Decision making under greater time pressures
  greater uncertainty
• Need more, faster decisions lower down ? empower,
  manage, skilled staff much better
• Accountability tending to increase
• Public Sector, Big Business invest ever more in
  Management CD
• Poorly Resourced Underinvest ? Those who need
  most do Least
• Management Training ? Key Component of CD
• Political Level needs to be included