FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Re: Innovation in the Public Service Delivery

The focus of this paper is on improving governance through the

use of the information and communication technology (ICT) in
delivering services to the poor, i.e., improving the efficiency,
accountability, and transparency and reducing bribes in delivery of
services.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies have

enabled governments to connect with people and to continue to
deliver services online. In many countries digital government has
stepped up its central role as a necessary element of
communication, leadership and collaboration between policy makers
and society. At the same time, heightened concerns over privacy,
misinformation and disinformation have emerged. Policy makers
have found themselves in the middle of a rapid digital
transformation during these times.

United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs

(“UNDESA”) recognizing the need to encourage governments to
innovate started the United Nations Public Service Awards. The
Public Service Awards were launched in 2003 as a result of the
deliberations of the Group of Experts on the United Nations Program
in Public Administration and Finance. It was recommended that an
annual event be organized to recognize and encourage excellence in
public administration by UNDESA - through its Division for Public
Administration and Development Management.

The Public Service Awards, which are designated to enhance the

role, professionalism and visibility of the public service are
presented in three (3) categories: 1.) Improving transparency and
accountability; 2.) Improvement of public service delivery; and 3.)
application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in
Government.

There are many ways in which the potential benefit of deploying

ICT within organizations has been conceptualized. The ability of ICT
to improve the asymmetry in access to information and thereof
better manage the principal–agent problem (Gurubaxani and Whang
1991) is one such benefit. Similarly expanding access to markets
and suppliers, efficient processing of transactions with all types of
stakeholders and enhancing access to knowledge through electronic
publishing are other benefits applicable to all types of organizations.
Figure 1 presents all of the above types of uses in the context of
activities and processes that directly impact the rural and poor
populations.
The first type of application consists of ICT intervention in an
existing program of delivering public services, for example in health.
The management information system reports generated by the
workers in the new system are based on beneficiaries saying they
have received a service rather than a worker saying that service
was delivered. The local public health officials are better able to
monitor service delivery, evaluate beneficiary experience, identify
service delivery gaps, and respond promptly to concerns such as
supply shortages, lack of community involvement, and needs for
further training.3 In an experiment in Ethiopia, mobile phone-based
tools are being used by community health workers for registration
of patients, appointment reminders, and management of inventory
(Otto 2012).4 In the program to provide subsidies for food and
fertilizer to poor farmers in India, it is proposed to use e- banks in
rural areas to transfer cash subsidies based on UID numbers and
finger scans to identify the receivers.

Hence, to minimize socio-economic disruptions during the

pandemic, many governments had to create quick policy solutions.
A variety of innovative policies have been were introduced,
particularly in the area of digital inclusion. For some governments,
the policy actions entailed redirecting channels from traditional
visits to government offices to online services. This high demand
and pressure for front line services required policy adjustments to
co-ordinate requests for government agencies including support and
assistance. Other policy responses were aimed at dealing with the
challenges arising from the spread of information and sharing of
data during COVID-19. The pandemic also highlighted disparities in
access to Internet and also in digital skills. Many governments
embarked on creating policies that are more inclusive and which
accelerate the provision of internet connectivity for vulnerable
groups. For example, in the Philippines the Free Wi-Fi for All
Program advanced the upgrading and installation of free Wi-Fi
services across the country to bring vulnerable groups online, while
simultaneously connecting frontline workers to increase their
capacity to respond to outbreaks and emergencies. In France, the
government set up a portal called MedNum to support people with
difficulties using digital tools during the crisis. The platform offers a
variety of digital inclusion resources such as tutorials and free
advice from volunteer digital mediators.
 In today’s rapidly transforming world, characterized by the
information super highways, rapid capital flows, and ever increasing
globalization, the role of the state has once again assumed centre
stage. The prevalent trend in the “global government reform
movement”, is not about curtailing the powers of the state but
about enhancing state capacity and increasing its efficiency. On the
international arena, states have to play an increasingly active role,
in order to attract foreign investment and influence the international
location of economic activities. Whereas, on the domestic front, with
a citizenry becoming increasingly aware, the pressure on the role of
the state to deliver increased. This is happening among the midst of
new New Public Management (“NPM”) theories advocating
downsizing and budget cuts to make the public services more
streamlined.

Reform and restructuring are needed to enable government

workers to effectively manage these pressures. An effective,
responsive and accountable public service plays an important role in
poverty reduction and over all development. People all over the
world, living under the crippling burden of poverty and destitution,
depend upon the civil service to implement such policies that would
enable them to live a dignified life, free of the fear of hunger and
insecurity. In today’s world where economic depravations are
exacerbating ethnic and civil conflicts, the onus lies on the state to
ensure that all segments of the society have equal access to
services provided by the state. States, that pursue all inclusive and
equitable policies where all have equal access and all are equal
before law, where the human rights of citizens are respected, are
the only way forward to building a freer, safer world.