Civil Service Management Board: An Innovation in Reform Leadership and Governance

The establishment of the Civil Service Management Board (CSMB) was a pivotal step in setting the future direction of strategic leadership in the Irish civil service. The CSMB enabled all Secretaries General/Heads of Offices, for the first time, to meet collectively to have strategic discussions on issues affecting all Government Departments and Offices. The CSMB implements the Civil Service Renewal Plan (CSRP), which seeks to tackle the biggest challenges facing the Irish civil service.

Innovation Summary

Innovation Overview

The civil service in Ireland is the core group of over 36,000 employees that work for Central Government. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the underestimation, and poor management, of fiscal and financial risks was considered to be a major contributor to the economic situation Ireland found itself in. In response to this, the 2011 Programme for Government emphasised that key elements of a successful turn-around strategy for the country were a more joined-up strategic centre at the heart of government and stronger civil service accountability and performance.

The OECD stated the need for a unified, responsive, accountable and professional civil service. Evidence obtained through a structured consultation process with over 2,000 employees and stakeholders provided a candid assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the civil service. One issue highlighted was the need to collaborate, coordinate and join up Government more effectively. It was concluded that the civil service needed to be led and managed in a unified way with collective leadership and management structure.

In 2014, the Government approved the CSRP. This contained 25 actions (and 104 sub-actions) designed to transform the civil service. To pursue a meaningful and effective renewal programme, a strong governance structure with a powerful mandate was required.

A central action of the CSRP, and one of the first steps in implementing this plan, was the establishment of the CSMB. The CSMB consists of all of the Secretaries General/ Heads of Offices. They meet regularly to oversee the major reforms set out in the CSRP.

The CSMB provided a strong, dynamic, collective leadership and executive management team to deliver a wide range of whole-of-Government priorities with substantial outcomes benefiting the Irish public,employees of the civil service and Government itself. This unified governance model allows for far more cross-organisational working through secondments and project-based working. It not only provided support to the Secretary General cadre at an individual level, but it also provided for the development of centralised, high quality supports and guidance in the areas of HR, ICT, project management, procurement and communications thus accelerating modernisation and maximising potential for economies of scale.

Objectives:
• To ensure the Government has the support of a cohesive executive management team to deliver whole-of-government outcomes
• To agree on key outcomes for the year ahead and a business plan to achieve it
• To horizon scan, identify and manage strategic and operational risks
• To share ownership of reform by assigning officials at Secretary General/Head of Office level to the key CSRP actions to drive and deliver successful civil service reform
• To assign collective responsibility to the Board to drive the implementation of the CSRP under the leadership of the Secretaries General of the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

The establishment of the CSMB resulted in a single, unified service with a shift to stronger citizen centric engagement; and clearer, comprehensive and consistent development and implementation of HR policies. It provides a focal point for discussion on key cross-government priorities which require collective effort to deliver. To date the CSMB has overseen and driven the implementation of a range of initiatives, including, but not limited to:
• Establishment of OneLearning - a shared suite of training programmes for the civil service
• Development of the National Data Infrastructure, linking administrative data sources from public bodies
• Development of a Civil Service ICT strategy
• Launch of the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards
• Implementation of an employee mobility programme
• Development of a talent management scheme for senior civil servants
• Creation of a People Strategy for the civil service
• Design and issue of a biennial Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey
• Professionalisation of project management through a network, handbooks, tools and a portal
• Regular 'Town hall' events where employees of the civil service meet with members of the CSMB to engage in dialogue about the change programme

The CSMB also engages in strategising and planning for the future of the civil service and this will be formalised in the next phase of renewal which will be agreed and published by the CSMB in 2018.

The CSMB is now considered a vital mechanism to deliver a unified Civil Service. The next phase of Civil Service Renewal will endeavour to embed previously launched initiatives, support existing strategies and pursue new strategic priorities. The CSMB will continue its work in driving implementation of these core actions.

Stronger understanding and standardisation of governance approaches both internally and with key agencies has informed the agenda and implementation structures for Our Public Service 2020.

Innovation Description

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

The CSMB is an innovation in reform governance because:
1. It was new to the Irish civil service.
2. It provides a dynamic and effective means of implementing successful reform in a responsive way.
3. Each Departmental Secretary General has responsibility for a key area of reform. They commit employees and their time to delivery and are held accountable by the CSMB.
4. It facilitated - through its influence, power and mandate - greater collaboration, cross-silo working and project-based working.
5. It has overseen the implementation of a wide range of initiatives.
6. It has spread potential.

What is the current status of your innovation?

This innovation was implemented in 2014 and experienced significant scaling up (in terms of its workload and the number of initiatives the CSMB became responsible for overseeing) during 2015 and 2016. The CSMB has produced annual reports outlining its work, outputs and outcomes for each year since it was established.

This innovative governance model is now embedded. The CSMB is currently in the process of finalising new goals and objectives to drive the further development of the Irish civil service, ensuring Ireland's civil service is a world leader in innovation and delivery of public policy and services to our people.

The learnings from this transformational initiative are now being applied to Ireland's wider public service e.g. the value of a number of leaders from different organisations working together to drive actions; the need to engage the secondary leadership level to implement CSMB decisions; and the imperative associated with prioritising actions.

Innovation Development

Collaborations & Partnerships

The creation of the CSMB was a direct consequence of a large stakeholder engagement process. Over 2,000 employees, academics, experts and members of civil society were consulted. A renewal taskforce made up of senior officials was established, in addition to an independent external expert group.

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

Citizens are provided with a more professional, unified, open and accountable civil service overseen by the CSMB. Employees of the civil service are beneficiaries through the implementation of key initiatives which the CSMB have ultimate responsibility for. The Government has a unified executive to tackle the most difficult, intractable issues facing the country.

Innovation Reflections

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

The direct result of the CSMB governance structure is the implementation of the suite of initiatives outlined in the Renewal Plan. The CSMB provides real ownership of a shared agenda of dynamic, ongoing reform. The establishment of the CSMB has resulted in a transformational change in the way the Irish civil service operates and thinks.

The Irish civil service is no longer a group of discrete organisations working to meet their own individual agendas. Instead, it is a unified and accountable body under the direction of a committed management board with a strategic vision and implementation plan designed to meet the changing needs of our environment.

The 2017 Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey (itself a product of the work of the CSMB) showed improvements in 22 out of 24 areas being assessed with civil servants feeling highly engaged and supported in their roles; indicative of the success of the CSMB and the Renewal Plan generally.

Challenges and Failures

A number of challenges existed for the CSMB, particularly in trying to begin implementing 25 core actions (and their associated sub-actions) quickly, in order to gain traction and maintain momentum for the CSMB's work. A key learning was the need to prioritise actions appropriately and realistically. This learning has been implemented with the prioritisation of a number of key actions and appropriate reporting at substantial milestones which ensures that these actions are achieved.

Failure to involve the secondary leadership level (Deputy/Assistant Secretary level) was a significant issue that needed to be addressed subsequently.

Another challenge encountered by the CSMB - and which continues to be a challenge - was the effective communication of the achievements of the work programme. Efforts have been made to increase communications through a network of Special Points of Contact in each civil service Department / Office, who effectively communicate achievements of the CSMB.

Conditions for Success

This initiative required acceptance and permission ('buy-in') from senior management across the entire civil service. Strong terms of reference and a dedicated work programme were also essential to the operation of the CSMB. It was also vital that the CSMB did not allow issues that were outside of its purpose to 'creep' onto the agenda. Strong support from the Centre was required. The success of the CSMB was also dependent on Cabinet level support of, and strong commitment to, the extensive programme of reform.

The CSMB is chaired by the Secretary General to the Government, its secretariat is provided by the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and funding is provided by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Support is provided by a Programme Management Office located in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Replication

The CSMB’s primary focus is the delivery of the Civil Service Renewal Plan. But, critically, it has now also moved to consider how to ensure the enhanced capacity of the civil service is brought to bear collectively on implementation of key cross-government policy and reform priorities.

As previously stated, this governance model has now also been applied to Ireland's wider public service of c.317,500 with the creation of the Public Service Leadership Board, which was established in March 2018. This new Board is overseeing 'Our Public Service 2020' - a framework of innovation and development for Ireland's entire public service.

Adapting the successful CSMB model, this governance Board has assigned leaders from key public service bodies to work collaboratively and across organisational boundaries to work on specific actions which will address some of the most intractable issues faced by the Irish public service.

Lessons Learned

The CSMB has provided an insight on how best to harness collective leadership to progress critical whole-of-Government reforms.

The cross-departmental and cross-sectoral ownership structures which are central to the CSMB have allowed for large scale projects to be successfully delivered which positively impact all levels of the civil service, including the establishment of a Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey; development of a National Data Infrastructure; formation of a centrally operated learning and development centre 'OneLearning'; Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards; an enhanced central Employee Mobility Programme; and development of executive leadership programmes as part of a new talent management initiative.

Four key strategies are also being progressed under the auspices of the CSMB, including the Shared Services Strategy, People Strategy for the Civil Service, the Public Service ICT Strategy and a Communications Strategy.

The shared ownership approach has been a key lesson from the development of the CSMB. It has allowed senior leaders to collaborate in tackling cross-civil service issues by applying a range of experience and expertise.