State cautioned on implications of initiatives

GOVERNMENTS and state agencies should not embark on major initiatives if they are not to put in the resources to ensure success, a leading management consultants conference of senior civil servants and public service managers in Dublin.

"It's also important not to keep your strategy a secret, especially from the people who will have to implement it," Prof John Bryson of the University of Minnesota, told yesterday's annual conference of the Institute of Public Administration. The conference was organised on the theme of "From Intent to Action: Management of Strategic Initiatives in the Public Sector".

Prof Bryson, who has worked as a management consultant to the British National Health Service in Northern Ireland as well as with public bodies in the US, said managers should always remember that, however well they perform, they cannot solve all of society's problems.

At the same time they had an obligation to try and make the world a better place. Strategic management was about "the organisation of the hopes and dreams of the people of your country".

Budget allocations had crucial strategy, he said. In an era when many government agencies operate on a shoestring, Prof Bryson said, it was important to allocate enough resources, particularly good personnel, to ensure that initiatives succeeded.

Managers also had to accept that there would always be "residual disputes" arising from initiatives The most important forum for dealing with them and assessing the success of an initiative was the court of public opinion.

The assistant secretary of the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Brendan Tuohy, said he foresaw his Department shrinking as some of its functions were transferred to a new public utilities commission. Departmental managers would become more autonomous. There would bet published targets and accountability through the Department's annual report to Oireachtas committees.

Staff generally would have to be more flexible and would have the opportunity to move across Departments and seek out job opportunities. They would also be able to leave the Civil Service and return at any level, as recruitment would take place at all levels.

The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Ms Avril Doyle, said the current strategic management initiative would succeed because it had support across the political spectrum and had active consultation and involvement with staff and customers.