Launching the Public Administration Reform Sub-practice Community

1. Launching the Public Administration Reform Sub-practice Community Kim Henderson – kim.henderson@undp.org Knowledge Network Facilitator for Democratic Governance BDP/DGG, New York PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

2. Outline • Knowledge Management - where have we been and where are we going? • The PAR sub-practice community – where does it fit? • Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

3. KM where have we been and where are we going? • Introduced concepts of knowledge management • Established the Practice Architecture • Set up and are now restructuring the SURFs • Established Global Knowledge Networks • Begun codification and collection • Focus on “Connection” PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

4. KM where have we been and where are we going? KM where have we been and where are we going? • Consolidation and reflection • “The objective now is to further align UNDP’s organisational reality with the vision set forward by the Administrator’s business plans and operationalised in the MYFF.” • Knowledge Management Roadmap Development Process PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

5. KM where have we been and where are we going? “UNDP needs systematic processes for gathering distilling, organizing, finding, and presenting information in ways that improve staff understanding in key substantive and administrative areas and that allow the organization to operate more efficiently, gain insight and understanding from its far-ranging experience on the ground in 166 countries and turn this understanding into a competitive advantage in the development marketplace – all with the aim of using knowledge to further human development.” PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

6. KM where have we been and where are we going? • The Roadmap sets out a strategy for how to do this…at it’s simplest… When a project finishes, find out – What did you learn? Who learned it? How can you share it? How can you repeat it? …and improve it? PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

7. KM where have we been and where are we going? The Intention is to: • Be more effective • Save time (do less work) • Promote collaboration • Know more PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

8. KM where have we been and where are we going? Proposed “Knowledge” Tools: 1.How-to Guide to Project Design 2.Global Project Database 3.“Best Experts and Institutions” Roster 4.Policy Positions 5.Comparative Experiences PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

9. KM where have we been and where are we going? Proposed Capacity Investments: 1.Content Management 2.Systems and Tools 3.Staff Policy 4.Networks and Communities 5.Technology Infrastructure • Connection and Collection PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

10. The PAR sub-practice community – where does it fit? • A key feature of connection is the Practice Architecture and COP • The Practice Architecture is essentially a decentralization of responsibilities that focus on 10 key objectives: Management, agenda setting, community building, knowledge management, professional development, policy development, advocacy, communications, partnership building and resource mobilization PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

11. Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? • Practices are communities of people from across the organization collaborating in an area of common interest • A sub-practice is community that forms around a specific topic within a Practice area, because the narrower topic allows for more meaningful collaboration (e.g., PAR) • Sub-practices engage in the same kinds of activities as Practices – narrower focus PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

12. Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? Who participates in a sub-practice? • Dedicated thematic experts - BDP staff in both HQ and SURFs wo work in • Practitioners – eg CO Focal points • Bureaux and other Practice Members PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

13. Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? What are the fundamental sub-practice principles? • No fixed organizational structure, and small dedicated staff • Practitioner participation encouraged for long-term career success • Nature of participation self-determined and driven by professional interest and entrepreneurial values - Strategic role, not just reactive support. • Stakeholder-driven (based on programme country needs, partner interests, and corporate mandates PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

14. Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? What does a sub-practice do? • Shares comparative practices and builds practical techniques/tools for supporting substantive concerns • Builds strategic and long-term support among regional governance focal points through the identification of the community • Systematically setting and acting on strategic priorities • Fulfills a wider range of organizational responsibilities beyond knowledge sharing, including advocacy, partnership building, and professional development • Facilitates communication beyond e-mail PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

15. Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? What tools are available to support the sub-practice? • In addition to those outlined in the Knowledge Roadmap Process a number of tools are already available… the sub-practice community should also focus on innovating to identify whether these or others meet it’s needs and can develop new tools… PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

16. PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

17. Discussions Practice Notes Experts Partners Focal Point Development Gateway Project Documents Success Stories SRF/ Country info Funding sources Analytical papers Publications Best Practices Etc… PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava

18. Becoming a sub-practice community: tools and principles? What do we want our sub-practice community to do? Who are we? • Objectives • Identity • Issues • Tools – Diagnostic/Primers? • Outputs • Roles PAR Sub-Practice Meeting, Bratislava