Measuring good governance at local level indicators methodology

Measuring good governance at local level: indicators, methodology and strategies for data collection Petr Witz 26 May 2016

Measuring governance • no single exact measure available • we rely on proxies to describe the reality with at least some level of precision • statistics and other quantitative data don‘t explain everything about quality • very often we rely on second hand data and surveys capturing perception of people • the whole process of turning qualitative indicators into indexes prone to errors and deviations

Methods for data collection • • • Statistical analysis Analysis of literature and official documents Discourse analysis Participant/informed observations Questionnaires Surveys Interviews Focus groups modified Delphi method

Governance Indexes • World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators • Hertie School of Governance: Governance Reports • Bertelsmann Stiftung: Sustainable governance indicators • WEF: Global competitiveness reports

Towards modern governance and bureaucracy Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy New Public Administration New Public Management Governance Neo-Weberian State

From mass administration…

…to even greater one…

…and then to specialized units, or public managers, or…?

…to expert task forces and smart administration, or…?

…to empty chairs…. ?

…or something like this?

Public Administration in flux • Bureaucracy changing together with the whole society and the way its organized • Countries differ in their administrative practices and response to modern challenges • Which paradigms are prevalent in PA reform iniciatives in EU countries?

Bureaucracy evolution – successive reforms • Current bureaucracies - a mixture of influences • Traditional hierarchies supplemented or altered with neo-elements • We may be able to identify or even measure the influence of new paradigms/regimes on real organizational reforms • Or even to assess the depth of individual reform measures and compare them across the sample of countries… • Here we chose Neo-Weberian State (NWS), New Public Management (NPM) and Digital Era Governance (DEG)

How do we go about it? • A) assemble the list of paradigms and their attributes • B) get a sample of countries and their administrative reforms • C) analyse them – identify, assess and grade reform emphasis/accents…

NWS United Kingdom France Denmark Czech Republic Strengthening the role of admin structures/re-integr. Civil service academy/training programmes Professionalization and depoliticization Clientoriented/citizen friendly services Ex-post evaluation mechanisms Strict rules against conflicts of interests

Strong accent Some accent No accent Scale 2 1 0

NWS Strengthening the role of admin structures/re-integr. Civil service academy/training programmes Professionalization and depoliticization Clientoriented/citizen friendly services Ex-post evaluation mechanisms Strict rules against conflicts of interests United Kingdom France Denmark Czech Republic

NPM United Kingdom France Debureaucratization/cuts/ size reduction Devolving authority/autonomy Competition within government Outsourcing/contracting out Secondments from private sector Performance management/reward Denmark Czech Republic

DEG Big data Creating and connecting databases Making data available New Web 2. 0 platforms Removing system bottlenecks Utilizing social media for communication and data collection United Kingdom France Denmark Czech Republic

DEG NPM NWS Denmark United Kingdom France Czech Republic

Simple model for measuring good governance

Intro • a unique combination of innovative indicators developed specifically for this proje • can be used for cross-country comparisons or for evaluating the case of Armenia and Georgia alone • final score should be calculated as an average using simple equation:

Regulatory environment

Indicator Score WGI Regulatory quality 0 -20 0 20 -40 1 40 -60 2 60 -80 4 80 -100 6 Note: Comprehensive aggregate indicator developed and regularly updated by World Bank experts and collaborators. It captures perceptions of the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations. Relevant data to be retrieved http: //info. worldbank. org/governance/wgi/index. aspx#reports from

Is there a process of consulting public and interest groups when a new local regulation or project is prepared? No, never 0 Limited, ad hoc, only minor issues, no impact 1 Yes, on most issues but only formal with no real effect 2 Always, some real effect 4 Always, it is a norm, strong partnership with a significant 6 impact Note: This indicator is to assess the ability of citizens to influence the new legislation proposals before they are signed into a law. It shows to what extent collaborative network approach is practiced by the government. How to collect data: qualified observation may be sufficient, may be supplemented with an analysis of memos from council sessions and interviews

Do important regulation proposals need to pass Regulation Impact Assessment (RIA) or any other comprehensive ex ante evaluation before they are put forward? No 0 Yes 6 Note: To be assessed by evaluator. Basic ex-ante indicator of the quality of laws in terms of their wider regulatory impact. Widely used in developed democratic countries RIA forces the legislators to take into account the whole range of impacts a new piece of regulation may have on various parts of society. There are many related procedures like Corruption Impact Assessment (CIA) or Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). The point of these mechanisms is to make the regulations as forward-looking and as comprehensive and properly thought through as possible to prevent undesirable side effects of new laws and an immediate need for amendments.

Council ability to pass key decisions through the city assembly. None of the key policies passed 0 Up to 1/3 of policies passed 1 Up to ½ of policies passed 2 Up to ¾ policies passed 4 All intended policies passed 6 Note: To be assessed by evaluator. Based on a review of government work and outcomes of the legislative process. Basic indicator of government ability to govern.

Durability of government policies - How frequent are major changes and major amendments once certain policy is signed into a law? Very frequent 0 Rather frequent 1 Somewhat frequent 2 Relatively rare 4 Very rare 6 Note: In other words; how stable is the overall political environment, government policies and the overall governance paradigm of the country? Are there frequent changes in local council composition and strategies? That is likely to have an adverse effect on the economy because it leads to short-termism and makes the government and regulations less predictable.

How big is the overlap between the agenda of NGOs and government policies? No overlap 0 1/3 overlap 1 ½ overlap 2 ¾ overlap 4 Total match 6 Note: To be assessed by evaluator. This indicator in fact shows to what extent the government regulations are in line with what independent NGOs see as necessary measures. The NGOs’ view may not always reflect the views of the general public but is often based on the best practice examples from around the world.

Scrutiny of government ability to implement and enforce regulation

WGI Government Effectiveness scores 0 -20 0 20 -40 1 40 -60 2 60 -80 4 80 -100 6 Note: Comprehensive aggregate indicator developed and regularly updated by World Bank experts and collaborators. It captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies. Data to be retrieved http: //info. worldbank. org/governance/wgi/index. aspx#reports from

Cost collection ratio for tax collection (costs/revenues) Up to 3 % 0 Up to 2 % 1 Up to 1, 5 % 2 Up to 1 % 4 Up to 0, 5 % 6 Note: This indicator shows how efficient the government is at collecting taxes from its citizens – how much the whole administration of tax collection costs in relation to the actual amount collected. Evaluator needs data from the ministry of finance, national accounts, country tax authority or a national statistics office

Is the implementation of government policies monitored and evaluated by an independent body (audit office)? What are its competences? There is no such institution 0 There is an institution with considerably restricted 1 competences accountable to government There is an independent institution with considerably 2 restricted competences There is an independent institution with wide-reaching 4 competences excluding certain sections or levels of government There is an independent institution with unlimited 6

Does the audit office publish reports evaluating government policies? No 0 Yes 6 Note: For the evaluator to assess. Discretionary evaluations for the government or MPs use only do not help to improve government performance. In order to make the audits have an impact their results need to be shared with the general public.

Is there a civil service law or a binding code of conduct setting out conditions and requirements for civil service employment and competencies of individual levels of the bureaucratic hierarchy? No 0 Yes 6 Note: Implementation of a civil service law became a norm in European countries. It is an important complex set of rules that establish individual roles, competencies and responsibilities and relations between politicians and civil servants among themselves.

Does the civil service law include provisions forbidding political nominations of civil servants? No 0 Yes 6 Note: Preventing politicians from appointing their own political nominees - friends, followers and backers - protects the objectivity and continuity of the civil service. It is one of the basic preconditions of impartial governance.

How would you assess the recruitment criteria in the civil service in terms of professionalism and expertise? Formal criteria are soft allowing unskilled applicants to 0 get a position. Rather soft criteria, but university degree required 1 Rather strict criteria with several skills and experience 2 required Formalised process designed to test applicant’s specific 4 abilities in desired areas Extremely competitive process consisting of several 6 rounds of tests and interviews, only elite experienced experts can succeed

Salaries in the civil service as compared to private sector and average pay. Salaries in the civil service are considerably lower 0 than in private sector and lower than is the average pay. Salaries are lower than in private sector and equal to 2 national average. Salaries are lower than in comparable positions in 4 private sector but somewhat higher than the national average Salaries are equal to those with similar qualification in 6 private sector and higher than the national average

What share of civil servants’ remuneration is performance-based? Up to 1 % 0 Up to 5 % 1 Up to 10 % 2 Up to 15 % 4 More than 15 % 6 Note: Evaluator needs relevant insight data from relevant departments. This indicator reflects to what extent

Current Country Risk Classification score More than 6 0 5 to 6 1 3 to 4 2 1 to 2 4 High-income OECD country (negligible risk) 6 Note: Based on the OECD indictor measuring risk (e. g. changes in investment conditions). Focus mainly on economic and financial indicators. Recently more

Conflict of interest No legislation on conflict of interest exists 0 Legislation exists but does not cover all eventualities 2 or penalty does not have a power of a deterrent Comprehensive legislation exists, penalty deterrent 4 enough Enforcement Yes (x 1, 5) No (x 0, 5) Note: To be assessed by the evaluator. First he/she needs to

Transparency and use of e-Governance tools

Freedom of information - To what extent are the government data in the public domain/accessible by citizens under the freedom of information act? Any access to government data by citizens is strongly 0 prohibited People are denied access to most information from public 1 authorities except for certain marginal issues People are given information upon request, but they need 2 to declare or prove the purpose of their request People get information upon request without giving any 4 reasons, in case of confidential documents justification for non-disclosure is explained to applicant Most documents with the exception of diplomatic and 6 security secrets are in the public domain readily available

Usability of data – in what form does the local government share its data? Government data are not available in any form 0 Data are available in a form that is incomprehensible 1 or impossible to work with Data are available but they are not comprehensible and 2 processable for non-experts Data are available in a relatively processable form but 4 an intermediate step is necessary Data are available in an easy-to-understand, ready to 6 use format Note:

Availability of government online services in various life events No government e-services are available 0 Government websites contain limited information on what to do in 1 various life situations but there is no option for electronic interaction with citizens Government websites provide thorough information on procedures 2 in various life situations and some assistance is provided online, but most situations are dealt with in person or through paper work and via post Government offers some platforms for digital interaction with 4 citizens in basic life events (losing and finding job, studying, starting a business…) but not all of them are fully interactive Government offers a whole range of platforms that are 6 interconnected and work as a one-stop-shop for most life events. Eservices are available in most formats including mobile phones and are easy to use.

Use of government e-services by citizens: What share of the population has access and capacity to work with the government online services Up to 20 % 0 Up to 40 % 1 Up to 60 % 2 Up to 80 % 4 More than 80 % 6 Note: To be assessed by evaluator based on the official statistics. One thing is the level of government digitisation but the other is the penetration and citizens’ response to the offer. In some countries the overall internet coverage and the level of users’ skills are relatively low. In that case most of the government effort goes in vain. The government has to make sure the level of digitalisation matches that of

State of good governance/progress in implementing Final good governance principles average score No progress, the country/region is seriously underdeveloped 0 -1 with the society lacking basic democratic institutions Country/region at an early stage of developing democratic 2 -3 institutions Country/region at an advanced stage of developing democratic 3 -4 institutions and implementing basics of good governance Most developed countries/regions featuring most attributes of 5 -6 good governance