SUMMARYPublic service reform has been more effective in Tanzania than in most African countries. An important contribution to this relative success has been the growing capacity of the Government of Tanzania to design and lead complex reform programs such as the Public Service Reform Program. This article looks at how and why this capacity developed and the possible implications for other efforts at public service reform in Africa. Our specific focus is on the Public Service Management Department in the President's Office (PO-PSM), the unit designated to manage the PSRP and the emergence of its capacity to lead and energize the change process. A variety of factors have accounted for the effectiveness of the PO-PSM. We argue that three have been particularly important: its organizational positioning, its development of a range of required competencies and capabilities, and finally its sequencing of the reform activities of the PSRP.
This case study shows how the Office of the Public Solicitor of Papua New Guinea developed a social change vision built on clearly articulated values and used this as a driver for enhancing both its legitimacy and its capacity more generally. The experience was monitored using the capacity development framework developed by the European Centre for Development Policy and Management. This emphasises individual empowerment and engagement as well as skills, and how these are articulated with collective capabilities in particular contexts to build a system's capacity to perform. The authors suggest that evolution of systemic capacity is a process that requires drivers beyond organisational self interest, personal advantage or greater efficiency. The experience of the OPS shows that capacity can emerge out of fruitful relationships among people holding common ideals who want to make a difference, rather than just resulting from improvements to technique, structure or assets.
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