2nd Annual Public Service Research Colloquium

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2nd Annual Public Service Research Colloquium
LEVERAGING RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
DEVELOPMENT
VALIANT CLAPPER DEPT. OF PUBLIC
MANAGEMENT TSHWANE UNIV. OF TECHNOLOGY PRETORIA
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Research, service delivery academia

• ASSADPAM
• uKubambisana
• 5-7 Nov 2005

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Work fields

• Curriculum development
• Experiential learning
• Professionalisation
• Revolving door
• Community involvement
• Research
• Financial resources identification

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RESEARCH FOCI

• RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
• HOW CAN WE TALK TO EACH-OTHER
• DETERMINING RESEARCH PRIORITIES
• WHAT IS THE ROLE OF ACADEMIA?
• HOW DO WE IDENTIFY THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

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RIGHT QUESTIONS?

• POLITICIAN / ACADEMIC Q? versus
• Q of public officials
• IDEALS vs FACTS

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TITLE Revisiting Batho Pele Building a
citizen-centered public service
Faculty of Humanities
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PROFILE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZEN -1

• CIT original source of power in a democracy
• A DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT has developed over time
• Resulting in a FRAGMENTED CITIZEN
• Confused taxpayer, consumer of services, voter,
  parent, student, ..
• But cannot recognise own viewpoint(s) in
  political or service delivery decisions
• Waiting on promises yet to be fulfilled
• Bureaucratic gridlock / unresponsiveness

Faculty of Humanities
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PROFILE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZEN -2

• A reactive citizen
• Recent l.g. unrests
• Claiming human rights
• Expectations of citizen value
• Calls for improved service delivery
• In midst of
• Calls for increased efficiency from all quarters
• treat public as customers according to private
  sector tenets (NPA, Batho Pele)

Faculty of Humanities
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APPROACH OF THIS PAPER

• CALLS FOR INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND IMPROVED
  BATHO PELE FACE AT LEAST FOUR CHALLENGES
• CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGES,
• EXPERIENTIAL CHALLENGES,
• ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES,
• IDEOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

Faculty of Humanities
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APPROACH OF THIS PAPER

• Organisational readiness
• Citizen preparedness
• will be approached from these four vantage
  points

Faculty of Humanities
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1 - CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGES

• CUSTOMER CONCEPT
• NPM /
• /- 80 X in BATHO PELE WHITE PAPER
• Misplaced misleading wrong in developmental
  and definitional context

Faculty of Humanities
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2 - EXPERIENTIAL CHALLENGES

• EXPERIENCE OF MOST RSA CITIZENS BATHO PELE IS
  MISLEADING
• Dissatisfaction with public services prevail
• Trust levels at all time low (MARKINOR)
• Boycots
• Treatment received from bureaucracy
• (Gov. is the problem . - Reagan)
• Conclusion
• Experientially Batho Pele has proven to be a
  great challenge in p-sector
• Batho Pele needs serious rethinking and different
  approach in p-sector

Faculty of Humanities
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3 - IDEOLOGICAL CHALLENGE

• Priv-sector pub-sector demands different tools
• Developmentalism demands an understanding of
  citizens as clients rather than customers
• Basic Human rights, Constitution endorse approach
  foreign to customer approach (that assumes
  ability to pay)
• Sayres law pub priv management are
  fundamentally alike in all unimportant respects
• B.P. IN PUB-SECTOR HAS TO BE DIFFERENT

Faculty of Humanities
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4 - ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGE (1)

• CHALLENGE OF HIERARCHICAL ORG. FOR B.P. IN
  PUBSECTOR CONTEXT
• WEBERIAN BUREAUCRACY not suited to developmental
  goals, but rather to process goals.
• B.P. in developmental context requires an
• i-Thou relationship (not I-it).
• CONTINGENCY theory reminds what org. (can) do is
  contingent on how they are structured
• (consider OD discussion circa 1997)

Faculty of Humanities
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4 - ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGE (2)

• B.P. in developmental setting
• CONNOTES development of citizen-consumer
• Demands involvement participation
• very different from merely ability to pay
• Fundamentally apposed to merely being processed
  at counters (and the humiliation that often
  accompanies such processing)
• Requires determination of appropriate roles for
  all involved in the SOCIAL CONTRACT (reciprocal
  relationship between government-citizens-private
  sector)

Faculty of Humanities
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4 - ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGE - 3

• B.P. in developmental setting
• Emphasises need for unlearning power roles (as
  apposed to authority roles)
• mentor development

Faculty of Humanities 16
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PROPOSALS

• THREE-FOLD B.P. IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS
• PLANNING FOR B.P. RELATIVE TO GOVERNMENT
  STRUCTURE
• PLANNING FOR B.P. RELATIVE TO INFORMATION NEEDS
• PLANNING FOR B.P. IN LIGHT OF CITIZEN READINESS

Faculty of Humanities
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CAVEAT
RESEARCH, CONSULTATION, CIRCUMSPECTION
Faculty of Humanities
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B.P. RELATIVE TO GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE -1

• Directing all of gov. efforts towards
  satisfaction of citizen needs
• Create and Communicate the REDEMPTIVE VALUE of
  citizenship (de Tocqueville / Waldo/ Black Sash)
• (CITIZEN CENTEREDNESS a la Batho Pele)
• Create an externally oriented organisational
  culture (I-thou attitude)
• Provide management support widespread
  sponsorship of B.P. and concomitant service
  delivery

Faculty of Humanities
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B.P. RELATIVE TO GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE-2

• Commit resources for education and training of
  public officials technical and attitudinal
  training
• Assign a CHAMPION (respected, credible
  individual, political standing)
• Manage and develop DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE -
  imperative for successful cooperative
  governance.(Pres. Review Comm)

Faculty of Humanities
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• B.P. RELATIVE TO INFORMATION NEEDS-1

• B.P. and effective, goal-oriented citizen
  engagement requires
• Providing relevant information to citizens
  (one-way relationship)
• Gov to produce info for use by citizens
  (active/passive)
• Consulting with citizens (two-way relationship)

Faculty of Humanities
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• B.P. RELATIVE TO INFORMATION NEEDS-2

• Cit. provides feedback to gov. Gov defines which
  info is required, which views are sought
• Cit. plays active role in policy matters. Gov
  acknowledges and fosters participation.
• Final decisions and responsibility remains that
  of gov ( public service).

Faculty of Humanities
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• B.P. RELATIVE TO CITIZEN READINESS -1

• CITIZEN READINESS FOR B.P.?
• Despite above (boycotts/ dwindling trust, etc.)
• There exists a citizen readiness for B.P.
• Citizens remain attached to governmental
  institutions and representatives.
• Often very supportive

Faculty of Humanities
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• B.P. RELATIVE CITIZEN READINESS -2

• CITIZEN READINESS FOR B.P.?
• Vicarious existence in political glamour
• Reservations in participation (Gladiators,
  Spectators, Apathetics)
• Impingement in private lives
• Ambivalence / Complexity in desire to
  participate (rich area for research)

Faculty of Humanities
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• B.P. RELATIVE TO CITIZEN READINESS -3

• CONCENTRATE ON bringing govt and cit closer
  where they intersect more frequently LG sphere
• Strengthen confidence and trust in
  administration
• Responsiveness
• Better quality services
• Strengthen democratic character of policy choices
  (Factoring in citizen wishes)

Faculty of Humanities
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• B.P. RELATIVE TO CITIZEN READINESS -1

• Improve Batho Pele relationships with citizens
• Involve marginalised (geographical -, ethnic-
  SES, etc.) communities
• Improve quality implementation of decisions
  over time
• Consolidate development of credible public
  institutions that pursue more direct involvement
  of/with citizens.

Faculty of Humanities
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• Thank you
• Valiant Clapper
• clapperva_at_tut.ac.za

Faculty of Humanities