DPU- BVI

In July 1999, the Government of the British Virgin Islands embarked on a comprehensive Programme to improve and develop its Public Service in order to cope effectively with the external pressures. Changes in the global and national environment of the British Virgin Islands are putting the BVI Public Service under considerable pressure to modernise. In the first place, these changes are related to the robust economic growth, especially in the areas of financial services and tourism. This was accompanied by an expansion in population consisting mostly of contracted workers. In response to the changing demands of its economic and social environment, the BVI Public Service has already grown considerably in size and complexity.

In the second place, the BVI Public Service is under pressure to modernise to be able to support the country in dealing with increased global competition in key industry areas, keeping up with rapid technological changes, and coping with the threat of economic stagnation if the Financial Services Industry is to be restricted. In the third place, modernisation would allow the BVI Public Service to respond to the enhanced expectations for better quality services by the Public and to become aligned to "best practices" in Public Sector Management.

To deal with these pressures, the BVI Government defined the following objectives of the Public Sector Development Programme:

· Greater service orientation - developing a culture in which the delivery of an outstanding service to the public is accepted as the norm.

· Improved accountability - performance must be effectively managed, and failure to meet standards should be recognised and dealt with improved financial accountability - the competent management of 'resources according to a strong "value for money" ethos as a hallmark of the public service.

· Improved flexibility - a greater ability to work in teams across traditional departmental lines.

The Public Sector Development Project constituted the first step in the three year Programme and focused on assessing the current state of the Public Service, designing the desired future state, and developing an Implementation Plan to move from the current to the future state.

As part of the Public Sector Development Project, a unique approach towards managing the transformation of the Public Service evolved. The approach to Transformation Management adopted by the BVI Public Service can be characterised by the following elements:

· Strategic guidance by Transformation Leadership Team consisting of the Executive Council and Senior Management at critical decision-making points in the Project

· Strong Value Management to ensure that the BVI Government derived sufficient value from the change process by the Programme Manager, the Public Sector Development Commission (PSDC), the PSDC Advisory Group and the key sponsors of the Project.

· Active Change Teams which served as first-line change providers and were directly involved in all phases of the Project. The seven Ministry Change Teams, headed by the Permanent Secretaries, consisted of fifteen to twenty-five representatives of the Ministries and their Departments. In addition, there were two Change Teams focused on respectively HR Management and IT & Telecommunication.

· The use of Organisational Development (OD) interventions in the 'form of Workshops which created a behavioural environment that promoted an open, participative approach, and facilitated the transfer of knowledge and skills in transformation management and best practices to the Change Teams. This participative approach also ensured ownership of and commitment to the results of the Project by the participants.

· Integration of Change Management activities into the Project, including the establishment and implementation of a change specific Communication Strategy and Plan by the Communication Team, the sensitisation of key stakeholders, and the training of Change Teams in Change Management.

· The appointment of a strong Counterpart Staff Team on a full-time basis to support the coordination of the Project and assist in specific transformation activities.

The following table provides a concise overview of the Phases, Steps, Key Activities and Key Deliverables of the Public Sector Development Project:

Step	Key Activities	Reports
Phase I. Current State Assessment
1.1 Project Mobilisation	· Project Planning Sessions · Work Session with Change Teams to obtain feedback on Project requirements and expectations	Inception Report


1.2 Sensitisation	· Workshops to introduce the Project, discuss trends in Public Sector Management, and provide training in Change Management
1.3 Diagnostic Review ·	· Review of documentation · External Analysis Workshops with the Executive Council and PSDC · Two-day Internal Analysis Workshops with the Change Teams	Diagnostic Review Report

Step	Key Activities	Reports
Phase II. Future State Design
II.1 Strategic Planning	· Two-day Strategic Planning Session with the Executive Council and Senior Managers · Two-day Strategic Planning Sessions with the seven Ministry Change Teams	Strategic Session Reports
11.2 Change Team Sessions	· One day Sessions with the Change Teams to understand and apply change management principles and identify the "quick wins"	Change Session Report
11.3 Organisational Structuring	· Meetings with the Ministers and Permanent Secretaries to discuss the top-structure of the Ministries · Two-day Workshops with the Ministry Change Teams to identify the required Processes and design the future Departmental Structures	Organisational Structuring Report
II.4 HR Management Improvement Strategy	· Workshops with the HR Management Change Team · Meetings with CPO, representatives from the Personnel Department, and Permanent Secretaries · Development of sample Policy & Procedure Guides	HR Management Report
II.5 IT & Tele-Telecommunication Improvement Strategy	· Workshops with IT & Telecommunication Team to develop IT&T Improvement Strategy	IT & Telecommunication Strategy Report
11.6 Financial Management Improvement Strategy	· Interviews with Financial Secretary, Deputy Financial Secretary, other representatives from Ministry of Finance, and two Permanent Secretaries · Review of relevant documentation	Financial Management Report

Step	Key Activities	Reports
Phase111.1 Implementation Planning
III.1 Prioritisation of Implementation Projects	· Development of Improvement Portfolio · Surveys to identify priorities · Meetings with Executive Council, PSDC, PSDC Advisory Group, and Senior Management to discuss prioritisation of Implementation Projects · Development of High Priority Improvement Programmes	Implementation Planning Report
Ill.2 Development of Project Charters	· Development of High Level Implementation Plan · Development of Project Charters	See 111. 1
111.3 Final Report & Presentation	· Development of Final Report · Final Presentation to Executive Council, PSDC, PSDC Advisory Group, Change Teams	Final Report

Based on the results of the analysis conducted during the Public Sector Development Project, the following key areas for improvement were identified:

Governments around the world have accepted that the development of clear Strategic Plans and Policies is one of the most important success factors in achieving key national objectives in an effective and efficient manner. The fact that the finalisation and implementation of the National Integrated Development Strategy (NIDS) is viewed by the Ministers and Senior Management of the BVIG as highly important, demonstrates that this concept has also been embraced by the BVI Government. In addition, the review and update of the legislation and regulations was also seen as highly important.

To ensure the successful implementation of NIDS, a Strategic, Management Framework should be established to link Strategic Planning & Policy Development with Operational Planning & Budgeting. To support the implementation of the Strategic Management Framework, the capability and capacity in the area of Strategy & Policy Development and Planning in the BVI Public Service should be enhanced. In addition, a proper Governance Framework is required to define the agreed roles and responsibilities of the Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in developing and implementing Strategic Plans and Policies.

The Projects of Programme A "Improve Strategic Management and Governance Framework" include:

Complaints by the Public with regard to customer services include the long response time to requests and applications, inadequate provision of information, lack of caring and respect by some front-line officers, and insufficient opportunity for redress. An important initiative to address these issues is the development of the BVI Charter which, inter alia, provides information on and sets standards for Government services. To ensure those standards will be acceptable to the customers, the Customer Interface Processes should be streamlined and staff should be trained. Regular Customer Satisfaction Surveys should be conducted to ensure customer requirements are met.

Currently, the Senior Managers are overburdened and their style is sometimes characterised as autocratic and top-down. They are increasingly involved in "firefighting" and operational management. This situation stems partly from the breakdown of bureaucratic mechanisms under the force of the dynamic environment. In a bureaucratic system, rules and regulations make it possible for lower and middle managers to make most decisions. Only aberrant decisions are taken to the top. In the new dynamic environment, however, an increasing amount of decisions are not standard, leading to an overloaded top-management.

This new environment calls for a more participative management style whereby lower level managers and employees are empowered to make certain decisions. It also requires Senior Managers to change their focus towards providing strategic direction and leadership. These new requirements call for Leadership and Management training at all levels of management as well as the implementation of proficiency standards linked to specific management levels.

The Projects of Programme C "Enhance Leadership and Management Capability" include:

The implementation of the future Organisational Structure design for the Top-Structure of the Ministries and the Department Structures will cover several objectives at once, such as:

The last item "Improved Coordination between Departments" should be further supported by improving current and establising new Cross-Departmental Teams.

As part of the implementation of the revised Organisational Structure, it will also be necessary to conduct a Job Evaluation exercise to ensure that the grade and salary range of the positions are fair and equitable so that persons are compensated according to the relative importance of their job function.

The Projects of Programme D "Implement Revised Organisational Structure" include:

The Vision of the BVI Public Service is as follows: "The Public Service of the BVI is a World Class Service where individuals can achieve their full potential and which is a source of national pride. "World Class" stands for being globally competitive, dynamic, highly competent, efficient, accountable to its stakeholders, and responsive to its environment. " To be able to implement this Vision, the culture of the BVI Public Service has to reflect these values. This requires the development and implementation of Culture Change Programmes using a variety of methods, including training, communication, and assessing behaviour as part of the Performance Management process.

The HR Management Function should be strengthened to support effective and efficient utilisation of Human Resources in the Public Service. Currently the focus is more on personnel administration rather than HR Management. In addition, the autonomy and capability in HR Management decision-making (eg. recruitment, disciplining, training, etc.) by the Ministries and Departments should be enhanced to make it more effective. The Ministries and Departments should be supported by a strong central HR Management Department which will provide assistance in HR Planning using a sound HR Information System.

F.2 Enhance the autonomy and capability of the Ministries and Departments in the area of Human Resources Management

To strengthen the IT support function in the BVI Public Service, an IT Steering Committee should be established to provide strategic management, and ISU and TSMU should be integrated and restructured. In addition, end user support in IT & Telecommunication should be decentralised and strengthened within the Ministries. This will also enhance the interaction between end users and IT Management so that the BVI Public Service could make more effective use of IT and Telecommunication. To become more cost-effective, the management of the current telephone system should be outsourced. E-mail systems, Internet and Intranet should be standardised and widely used. The BVI Government should develop and implement a strategy to be the leader in the use of IT through the adoption of e-Government. Finally, the knowledge residing in key individuals should be captured for wider use in the BVI Government by implementing a Knowledge Management System.

A key strategy to enhance the focus on results is the full implementation of a Performance Management System. The Performance Measures and Targets should be linked to the strategic objectives of the Ministries and Departments, In addition, there should be a Rewards & Recognition System which ensures that incentives are provided for good performance. The full implementation of a Performance Management System is already underway.

Performance and productivity can be further enhanced by implementing a mandatory Education & Training Programme whereby proficiency standards are established for each position. Finally, productivity and results orientation can be improved by enhancing the Project Planning and Management capability.

Currently, a number of Procedures are bureaucratic and cumbersome, and not focused on output and objectives, This leads to long response time to requests and applications by members of the Public. Other Procedures are not standardised and clearly communicated, which leads to inefficiencies and confusion. To address these issues, key processes and procedures should be reviewed and streamlined. The streamlined procedures should be captured in Procedures Manuals to ensure standardisation and staff should be trained to adopt the new processes and procedures. In streamlining the procedures, it should be reviewed whether Information Technology can be used to enhance efficiency. Based on the prioritisation, the Customer Interface Processes (= Processes which involve direct interface with the Public) will be streamlined and documented as a first step. This Project is incorporated in Programme B "Enhance Customer Services".

Currently, Financial Management decision-making processes are too centralised within the Ministry of Finance. The autonomy and capability of the Ministries and Departments in the area of Financial Management should be enhanced. The activities to make this happen are incorporated in Programme D "Implement Revised Organisational Structure", Project D. I "Implement Proposed Top-Structures of the Ministries".

In addition, the budgeting processes should become more results-oriented which requires a shift from Line Item to Programme Budgeting. This shift, in turn, requires a move from Cash Accounting to Accrual Accounting to create more flexibility in the financial management processes. These Projects are already underway.

During the Diagnostic Review, a need for specialised equipment was identified to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of certain Departments such as the Fire & Rescue Department, Public Works Department, Water & Sewerage Department, etc. Also certain Departments not housed within the Government Complex complained that their office facilities were not suitable for a variety of reasons. The decision to improve certain facilities and equipment should be based on proposals in which the cost and benefits are carefully weighed. Finally, Departments housed within the Government Complex indicated that in some areas the workspace was not used effectively whereas in other areas the workspace was inadequate. The space utilisation of the Government Complex should be reviewed to see whether the workspace can be used more effectively.

Transformation Management Approach

During the coming two years of the Public Sector Development Programme, the Transformation Management approach adopted by the BVI Public Service should be continued with special emphasis on: