Transforming administration – strengthening innovation (TRANSFORMASI)

Programme description

Title: Transforming Administration – Strengthening Innovation (TRANSFORMASI)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Indonesia
Lead executing agency: Kementerian Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara dan Reformasi Birokrasi (KemPAN-RB) (Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform), Kementerian Keuangan (Ministry of Finance)
Overall term: 2014 to 2020

Context

The low level of efficiency in the public administration system in Indonesia is hampering the country’s social and economic development. Despite improvements in the legislative framework designed to raise professional standards in the public service, the administration as a whole is not very efficient. Poorly defined areas of responsibility, a competitive mentality, corruption and political struggles over the distribution of resources are characteristic of the governmental machinery and administrative apparatus and are all factors leading to the inadequacy of the services for the public. 

The Indonesian Government is pursuing a holistic approach to reform that involves fostering a performance mindset in public administration, encouraging cost awareness, and centring attention on the accessibility and quality of services. 

Objective

The capacity of the public administration system for the continuous development of human resources management and its efficiency in the area of public services have improved.

Approach

The project cooperates with the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform and the Ministry of Finance as well as with selected regional governments and supports them in their reform efforts in the areas of personnel (human resources management and development) and service innovation, and with the introduction of a national complaint management system. 

In the area of human resources management, TRANSFORMASI is assisting the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform in trialling a newly developed competency model for administrative positions and in building and utilising capacity for roll-out to other institutions with the intention of strengthening the performance mindset of public servants nationwide.

A second focus of the work is on the development and introduction of a career path in finance in the Ministry of Finance that will be implemented at regional level. The aim is to improve the quality of expenditure and increase the own-source revenue of administrative divisions.

The third area of work involves transferring best practice in the field of public services (in registration offices for residents, for example, and in health centres) to other regions via innovation networks and introducing the national complaint management system for public services in selected regions.

One essential element of this is the exchange of knowledge between institutions and tiers of government in order to promote the formation of knowledge networks and to capitalise on experience for evidence-based policymaking. 

Results

In the area of personnel reform, TRANSFORMASI helped to develop standardised competency models for managers and administrative staff. These were piloted in conjunction with the State Employment Agency (BKN) with around 3,000 public sector employees. 
Building on this experience, at the end of 2017 the project supported the Ministry of Administrative Reform in defining simpler key human resources management competencies for administrative staff. This standardises recruitment and promotion procedures on the basis of verified skills and performance of civil servants. The new arrangements are mandatory for the entire public sector in Indonesia. So far 122 employees have been assessed. The results will be incorporated into the performance management scheme and the preparation of career and promotion plans. A programme of support is accompanying the national roll-out. 

An innovation competition has been launched on the subject of public services. The Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform runs the competition independently every two years and receives more than 2,500 submissions. In East Java, an innovation platform for public services has been established with the coordination of the provincial administration and a large number of stakeholders. The platform encourages positive attitudes towards public initiatives and enables best practice to be shared. This model is now being used in two further provinces, South Sulawesi and South Sumatra. A further province, Central Java, will be mentored at the request of the Ministry and in cooperation with KOMPAK/the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). 

In addition, the project has supported Indonesia in competing for the United Nations (UN) Public Service Awards. These are the most prestigious awards for public initiatives. 

As part of the process of implementing the national complaint handling system LAPOR!, the project is assisting the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform with the provincial roll-out of the system and with an accompanying scheme to develop capacity at provincial and district level. As things stand, 24 districts have participated in the programme to date.