Can Organizations in Governments Learn

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Can Organizations in Governments Learn?
OECD Symposium on The learning government
Managing knowledge in central government  February
3-4, 2003 Paris

• Maria Barrados
• Assistant Auditor General
• Canada

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Outline

• Introduction the concepts
• Public sector reform trends
• Learning
• Learning from the past
• Requirements for results based learning
• Implications for government

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Introduction

• Knowledge Management
• Learning Organization
• - anthromorphism to be avoided

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Introductioncontd

• Learning Organization and Knowledge Management
• - bringing together information relevant to
  performance (Lipshitz Popper)
• Learning Government?
• - for implementation, the concept is too broad

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Public Sector Trends

• Knowledge Management
• Managing for results
• Performance contracting
• Comptrollership
• Accountability for results-within government and
  as part of budgeting

All based on the theory of adjusting actions
based on empirical evidence.
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Managing for results
Focusing on intended outcomes and the outputs
being delivered, adjusting based on experience.

• Envisages
• information on the results playing a key role
• efforts to measure results
• adjusting efforts

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Performance Contracting

• Management Contracts
• Tied to pay
• As much as possible based on empirical
  information.

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Accountability for results

• Credibly demonstrating
• the results achieved in relation to expectations,
• the contribution made to objectives,
• what was learned and changed as a result, and
• the soundness of the means used.

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Accountability for results-contd

• Key Elements of
• Performance contracting
• Comptrollership
• Budgeting

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Results-based learning

• Knowing what is working and what is not
• Based on credible information
• Sharing that knowledge
• Acting on that knowledge to improve programs

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Organizational Learning

• Vast literature
• Elements are there
• No overriding theory nor best practice
• Easiest to demonstrate in smaller units

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Some key aspects

• A credible information-seeking process
• active measurement
• encouraging experimentation
• active data quality efforts
• active sharing of empirical evidence
• Creating not (just) managing knowledge

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Some key aspects

• Institutionalizing a learning process
• Regular review as essential management
• active sharing of empirical information
• accountability for subsequent changes
• Organizational learning mechanisms (OLMs)

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Some key aspects

• Requires error-embracing
• Encouraging learning from errors
• Living with uncertainty
• Valuing opportunity

Donald Michael (1993)
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Embracing errors

• Cultural aspects of organizational learning
• transparency
• integrity
• issue-orientation
• inquiry
• accountability
• Policy aspects of organizational learning
• commitment to learning
• tolerance for error
• commitment to the workforce
• Lipshitz, Popper and Friedman (2000)

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Learning from the Past

• What has been the experience with
• Performance Measurement
• Performance Monitoring
• Program Evaluation
• Performance Reporting

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Credible measurement

• Whats the problem?
• too much information?
• wrong kind of information?
• information not credible?
• information too late?
• At different times, all of the above

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Evaluation

• What have been the problems?
• Expectations need to be realistic
• Needs to be part of a larger measurement strategy
• Cant self-evaluate rationale issues

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Performance measurement

• What have been the problems?
• done without a context no results chain
• question on data quality
• unrealistic expectations
• lack of larger measurement strategy
• credibility

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Performance Reporting

• Progress has been slow
• Difficulty setting clear expectations
• Insufficient focus on accuracy
• Tendency to tell only good news

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Results-based learning

• Requires
• investment in sensible and credible measurement
• learning from past experience
• embracing errors (and opportunities)
• accountability for learning

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Implications for Government

• Number of challenges
• Overcome risk aversion
• Be transparent
• Be prepared to admit errors
• Difficult in an adversarial political environment
• Demonstrated success in smaller units
• Demonstrated success where initiatives are
  integrated