public sector management: putting policy to work
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From T.S. Elliott's "The Rock".......
The endless cycle of idea and action, Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; Knowledge of speech, but not of silence; Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word. All our knowledge brings us nearer to death, But nearness to death no nearer to God. Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? |
Measuring Employee Engagement: Off the Pedestal and Into the Toolbox
This is a recent survey of the use of employee engagement surveys in various governments across Canada. It also points to recent trends that suggest a balanced and varied use of new social media and short-term surveying. Employee surveys are a good thing, often however fraught with political and organizational pitfalls. But they are useful. Emerging feedback and engagement tools lean heavily on social media and more rapid response capacity. Click on here to access. "If you torture data sufficiently, it will confess to just about anything."
- Fred Menger |
Policy Designed to Work: Checklist for Policy Design and Implementation
This Checklist was created as part of the Putting Policy to Work workshop that I teach through Queen's School of Policy Studies. It has been developed with workshop participants so reflects their experience as well as my own and, of course, my prejudices. Below is an brief opener and an outline of the sections. To access the full Checklist, Click Here.
“Experience shows that optimal outcomes from policy initiatives are more likely to be obtained when there is early and systematic consideration of the practical aspects of implementation.” is how the Government of Australia’s 2006 Guideline on Implementation of Program and Policy Initiatives: Making implementation matter. This checklist is derived from valuable documents such as this, Queen's University’s School of Policy Study Workshops on Policy Design and Delivery, and, of course, on the input generated by the participants in those workshops.
Checklist: Be Warned
Like concepts like best practices, checklists serve useful purposes, but they are neither the total answer to challenges of good policy design nor do they provide full protection from the unanticipated or major shifts in the real world. As Robert Behn of Harvard University says, “Behind The Checklist Manifesto lurks Murphy. For professionals, the first challenge is to identify things that can go wrong. Their second challenge is to identify items to put on the checklist—those steps that, if taken, will reduce significantly the chances of something going wrong —going disastrously wrong.”[1]
Sections
Section 1: Implementation During the Policy Design Phase
Integrated Approach
Engaging Implementers During Policy Development
Clear-eyed Focus on Risk
Time and Timing Policy
Contingencies and Assumption
Section 2: Governance
Commitment at the Top
Roles and Responsibilities
Whole of Government: Taking Everything Else into Account
Mechanisms of Governance
Section 3: Risk Management
Risk Management Design
Risks in Implementing Policies through Agencies or Third Parties
Managing Risk and its Consequences
Section 4: Integrating Planning for Implementation into Policy Design
Plan Early to Implement
Present a Sound Implementation Plan
Whole of Government Issues
Making it Manageable
Plan to Adapt
Section 5: Communications
Developing a communication strategy
Making communication an integral part of implementation
Section 6: Monitoring and Review
Monitoring the Initiative during Implementation
Review of Progress and Initiating Any Corrective Action
Whole-of-Government
[1] Robert Behn, Murphy’s Law and the Checklist Remedy, Performance Leadership Report, Vol. 10, No. 10, June 2013
This Checklist was created as part of the Putting Policy to Work workshop that I teach through Queen's School of Policy Studies. It has been developed with workshop participants so reflects their experience as well as my own and, of course, my prejudices. Below is an brief opener and an outline of the sections. To access the full Checklist, Click Here.
“Experience shows that optimal outcomes from policy initiatives are more likely to be obtained when there is early and systematic consideration of the practical aspects of implementation.” is how the Government of Australia’s 2006 Guideline on Implementation of Program and Policy Initiatives: Making implementation matter. This checklist is derived from valuable documents such as this, Queen's University’s School of Policy Study Workshops on Policy Design and Delivery, and, of course, on the input generated by the participants in those workshops.
Checklist: Be Warned
Like concepts like best practices, checklists serve useful purposes, but they are neither the total answer to challenges of good policy design nor do they provide full protection from the unanticipated or major shifts in the real world. As Robert Behn of Harvard University says, “Behind The Checklist Manifesto lurks Murphy. For professionals, the first challenge is to identify things that can go wrong. Their second challenge is to identify items to put on the checklist—those steps that, if taken, will reduce significantly the chances of something going wrong —going disastrously wrong.”[1]
Sections
Section 1: Implementation During the Policy Design Phase
Integrated Approach
Engaging Implementers During Policy Development
Clear-eyed Focus on Risk
Time and Timing Policy
Contingencies and Assumption
Section 2: Governance
Commitment at the Top
Roles and Responsibilities
Whole of Government: Taking Everything Else into Account
Mechanisms of Governance
Section 3: Risk Management
Risk Management Design
Risks in Implementing Policies through Agencies or Third Parties
Managing Risk and its Consequences
Section 4: Integrating Planning for Implementation into Policy Design
Plan Early to Implement
Present a Sound Implementation Plan
Whole of Government Issues
Making it Manageable
Plan to Adapt
Section 5: Communications
Developing a communication strategy
Making communication an integral part of implementation
Section 6: Monitoring and Review
Monitoring the Initiative during Implementation
Review of Progress and Initiating Any Corrective Action
Whole-of-Government
[1] Robert Behn, Murphy’s Law and the Checklist Remedy, Performance Leadership Report, Vol. 10, No. 10, June 2013