Presentation by Edwin Lau at the EROPA Conference, Seoul, South Korea on 12 September 2017. This presentation was made at the launch of the OECD report "Skills for a High Performing Civil Service". For more information see: oe.cd/HRM-Skills

1. PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT &
CITIZEN-CENTRIC GOVERNMENT
2017 EROPA Conference: The Role of Public Governance in
Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
∙ 11-14 September 2017
Edwin Lau,
Head of Reform of Public Sector Division
Public Governance Directorate, OECD

2. Overview
• Sustainable development and citizen-centricity means
focusing on outcomes
• An innovation paradigm to deliver results
• Building evidence and capacity to build and renew the
civil service

3. What
Outcomes?

4. Core government results: reducing poverty
-100%
-80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
%
Mean Bottom 10% Top 10%
Change in real labour income growth between 2007 and 2013 by
income group, working-age population
Source: OECD Income Distribution Database.

5. 5
Better Public Services: Serving citizens
scorecards
Top third group.
Middle third group.
Bottom third group.
Note: Countries are listed in alphabetical order. The number in the cell indicates the position of each country among all countries for which data are available. The arrows
indicate whether the situation is improving (↑), staying the same (→) or worsening (↓) in absolute terms (i.e. not relative to other countries). Years of reference for each
indicator are specified in the figure notes. No symbol means no trend data available.
For detailed description of the indicators see "Chapter 14: Serving Citizens"
Indicator
Mortality rate -
Acute Myocardial
infaction (heart
attack)
Mortality rate -
Cerebrovascular
disease (stroke)
Breast cancer
mortality in
women
PISA mean
score in science
PISA mean score
in mathematics
PISA mean
score in reading
Effective
enforcement of
civil justice
Civil justice is free
fromimproper
government
influence
People do not use
violence to
redress personal
grievances
Austria 20↑ 9↑ 19↑ 20↓ 15 25 5 10 6
Belgium 14↑ 12↑ 31↑ 14 10↓ 17 11 12 13
Canada 18↑ 3↑ 15↑ 4 5↓ 1 13 6 5
Denmark 10↑ 18↑ 35↑ 15 7 15 8 3 3
Finland 29↑ 22↑ 7↑ 3↓ 8↓ 2↓ 6 7 2
France 1↑ 1↑ 23↑ 21 19 16 15 19 22
Hungary 31↑ 33↑ 30↑ 28↓ 28↓ 30 25 26 10
Italy 11↑ 24↑ 20↑ 27 23↑ 26↑ 27 20 26
Japan 2↑ 17↑ 4→ 1 1 6↑ 4 15 7
Korea 5↑ 25↑ 1→ 5 2↓ 5↓ 9 17 19
Mexico 35↓ 19↑ 3→ 35 35 35 28 27 27
Netherlands 9↑ 13↑ 28↑ 11↓ 6↓ 12 7 1 16
Norway 23↑ 11↑ 9↑ 18↑ 14↑ 7↑ 1 2 8
Sweden 25↑ 14↑ 8↑ 22 17 14 2 8 1
United Kingdom 17↑ 15↑ 26↑ 9 20 19 12 9 15
United States 16↑ 5↑ 13↑ 19 31 20 17 18 18
Health care (including prevention and care) Education Justice
Pillar 3:
Quality of Services

6. Gender equality: ensuring government
leadership
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2015 2010
Share of women in Senior Management positions in Central
Government, 2010 and 2015
Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the Composition of the workforce in Central/federal Governments

7. Public Governance matters for delivering
on all the SDGs
Leadership and co-leadership of the implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals, 2016
Source: OECD 2016 Survey on Planning and Co-ordinating the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
No data available for Canada, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Ireland
Leadership/co-
leadership
without centre of
government:
31%
Co-leadership
between centre
of government
and line
ministries: 38%
Leadership by
the centre of
government:
31%

8. • Comparative benchmarking
– How good are we doing?
– Do we need to do more?
• Evidence-based decision-making
– Prioritisation
– Allocation
– What requires more attention?
– What works?
– What makes sense (context)?
• Inspiration
– How could things be done
differently?
– Operationalising governance
principles
– Understanding the implications
of the data
What evidence do leaders need?

9. How to Deliver
Change?

10. OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies
Openness and
Engagement
Governance and
Coordination
Capacities to Support
Implementation
1) Openness, transparency
and inclusiveness
2) Engagement and
participation in a multi-
actor context in policy
making and service delivery
3) Creation of a data-driven
culture
4) Protecting privacy and
ensuring security
5) Leadership and political
commitment
6) Coherent use of digital
technology across policy
areas
7) Effective organizational
and governance frameworks
to coordinate
8) Strengthen international
co-operation with other
governments
9) Development of clear
business cases
10) Reinforced institutional
capacities
11) Procurement of digital
technologies
12) Legal and regulatory
framework
ICT Use to Create Public Value
Putting people first: User-driven public services

11. Global trends on public sector innovation
http://oe.cd/embracinginnovation

12. Openness is at the heart of innovation
Citizens co-produced new solutions improves
service delivery and empower individuals
Crowd collaborating platforms
allows citizens to provide suggestions
in areas that matter to them
Open policy
making –
stakeholders’
involvement can
help shape more
innovative policies
Open Data strengthens insights
about user needs, increases
transparency and engages citizens

13. Innovation in the Public Sector has its
own particular set of challenges
Risk
Incentives
Rules
Rigidities
Structures

14. OECD: from a call to action to fostering
innovation capacities in government
Building innovative
capacity across the
public sector by
addressing:
• the people involved
• the information they
are using
• the rules and
processes which
govern their work
• the ways in which they
are working together

15. OPSI: Empowering public servants to
achieve new possibilities
15
 Uncovering what’s next
Identifying innovative practices at the edge of government and providing insights into what they mean for
government
 Turning the new into normal
Investigating the frameworks, skills, and methods to unlock creativity and innovation, and helping embed
them in the day-to-day work of public servants
 Providing trusted advice to foster innovation
Identifying contextual and system-specific barriers to innovation, and supporting countries in finding ways to
overcome them

16. Which civil
service is
required?

17. Building a civil service fit for purpose
1. Determine
What are the needed skill sets and where are the gaps? How can they
be identified?
2. Attract and Select
How can the right people with sought-after skill sets be attracted to jobs in
the public sector?
3. Develop and nurture
How can public organisations create a culture of learning for a dynamic and
fast-changing world?
4. Use
What kind of organisation and leadership to motivate employees and
provide opportunities to put skills to use?

18. Changing skill needs: abilities to solve
problems and manage complex projects
Civil
Servants
Develop
policy
Work with
citizens
Professional
expertise
legal, regulatory,
economic…
Strategic
orientation
foresight,
evidence,
resilience
Innovation
capabilities
new tools
for policy
making
Professional
expertise
service,
outreach,
communi-
cations…
Strategic orientation
engaging citizens to
improve policy
outcomes
Innovation
capabilities
crowdsourcing,
co-creation
Professional expertise
stakeholder relations,
partnership
development…
Professional
expertise
value for
money,
business and
commercial…
Innovation
capabilities
agile development,
social finance
Strategic orientation
using and developing
markets to improve
policy outcomes
Innovation
capabilities
social innovation,
government as
platform
Strategic
orientation
align objectives,
resources,
actions
Collaborate
in networks
Commission
and contract

19. Mapping innovation skills and competencies
in the public sector

20. Identifying needed skills and skills gaps
Iteration
Data literacy
User centricity
Curiosity
Storytelling
Insurgency
Perception of self Perception of manager Perception of organisation
Assessing Innovation skills in Chile

21. Attracting and selecting the talent needed in
the civil service
UK fast stream’s 15 schemes
https://www.faststream.gov.uk/

22. Developing skills and building learning
cultures
Self Service, Co-Lab, Academy: from initiation to
expert support at Belgium’s TIFA

23. But skills alone won’t be enough to ensure
performance
Ability
I can do it
• Skills (hard and soft)
• Knowledge
Motivation
I want to do it
• Intrinsic
• Extrinsic
Opportunity
I am allowed to do it
• Work design
• Organisation

24. Using the skills employees have in the
most effective ways
Denmark’s national
innovation internship
Australia’s Talent
Management Guide

25. • SDG outcomes and citizen expectations do not match government
organisational structures.
• Indicators help to focus attention on outcomes, but also to identify new
approaches and learning opportunities, and to focus on implementation.
• Creating the conditions for innovation is the best driver for strengthening
citizen centricity & performance.
• Public servants hold the keys to improvement: programme & user
knowledge, process insights, & motivation for change
• But reforms are also needed to reduce barriers, support risk-taking, agility
and collaboration, and to skill-up the civil service
• Good practices inspire, but seldom transfer well without tailoring &
adaptation, so networking and sharing are critical.
• Openness is the key to tackle cultural and structural barriers.
• And leadership is needed to keep the focus on people…on both sides of
the public service counter.
A few closing thoughts…

26. • Data : Government at a Glance (OECD, Latin America,
SE Asia, individual countries)
• Analysis & Recommendations
• Digital Government & Open Data
• Public Employment, Innovation
• Country reviews & advice
• Thematic reviews
• Public Governance Reviews
OECD Resources
Policy Communities
• Practitioner Networks
• Observatory for Public
Sector Innovation
• OECD-Korea Policy Centre:
Asian Public Governance Fora
• Regional Networks on Open &
Innovative Government

27. Thank you !
edwin.lau@oecd.org
http://www.oecd.org/gov
http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/