The RF Ministry of Economic Development together with the World Bank hosted a conference on March 19, 2009 to review the results of the administrative reform in 2008 and discuss the main directions of reform for 2009.

In opening remarks to the fourth annual conference on Public Administration Reform, World Bank Director and Resident Representative in Russia Klaus Rohland underlined the importance of the Russian Government’s focus on improving the quality of services to citizens. “I do remember many years ago when I just started working as a civil servant in Germany my senior colleagues gave me a piece of wise advice: It is the people you serve who pay you your salary, not the Government”, Mr. Rohland said recalling his personal experience.

This conference was organized by the Ministry of Economic Development for the fourth year in a row with the support of the World Bank Development Partners Secretariat for Governance Reforms in Russia. The World Bank has been engaged in providing technical support to public administration reform in Russia from the beginning of the adoption of the relevant reform strategy (Concept for Administrative Reform 2006-2010). The World Bank works with the Russian federal and regional authorities and other international development partners.

Initiatives such as administrative regulations improve transparency in the process of service delivery, which has internally proven to increase citizen access to services and reduce opportunities for corruption. Implementation of these service delivery processes through innovative mechanisms adapted from international experience to Russian conditions, e.g. multi-functional service centers (one stop shops), seem like a promising initiative in this regard. A large-scale Ministry of Economic Development’s project conducted in 2008 which aimed at monitoring first administrative regulations introduction and implementation included elements of citizens’ monitoring of quality and efficiency of the government services thus proving to have become another step in the same direction.

Senior officials from the presidential administration and federal and regional executive powers responsible for administrative reform implementation as well as international experts from the World Bank and representatives from the Russian public, consulting and research organizations have attended the conference to brainstorm the ways to promote administrative reform agenda in 2009 in spite of the global crisis and consequent budget cuts.

Klaus Rohland noted that the current crisis, which has reduced the budgetary resources available to the Government, especially at the regional level, necessitates an increase in the efficiency of public service delivery. “Government authorities will have to do more with less resources”, he stressed. Public administration reform provides instruments for increasing efficiency that can help federal and regional authorities to weather the crisis without cutting essential public services, especially when it comes to the social protection of the unemployed and their families. He also pointed out that multifunctional service centers can help Russian businesses reduce the costs currently spent on overcoming administrative barriers, therefore increasing their resilience in the crisis. It can also increase efficiency by reducing the cost of delivering existing public services. Such improvements in efficiency and service delivery quality will depend on close cooperation among various Government bodies at both the federal and sub-national levels, Mr. Rohland noted. He agreed with State Secretary Anna Popova that effective public service delivery is not so much about placing representatives of various public authorities in a single location, but about smooth coordination of public authorities’ work to ensure that they present a single interface to citizens.

Background Information

The Development Partners Secretariat for Governance Reforms in Russia was created under the auspices of the World Bank in 2004. Since then the Secretariat has proved to be an effective demand-driven mechanism, working closely with key government partners and international development actors. It focuses on coordinating international cooperation in administrative, budget and civil service reforms in Russia and supporting more effective collaboration between international partners and their Russian counterparts.

At the federal level, the Secretariat led by Senior Public Sector Management Specialist Kathy Lalazarian supports the government’s administrative reform agenda by providing technical expertise, including global knowledge-sharing from OECD and other countries.  Examples:

1. Developing the methodology of performance assessments of executive bodies, use of performance information for policy making, development of citizen service centers (Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Regional Development);
2. Supporting institutions of accountability (such as the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service) in business re-engineering to reduce opportunities for corruption (this is the only example where the Bank has been invited to examine the internal workings of a federal executive body); 
3. Monitoring the government’s reform progress against its objectives in the administrative reform agenda (Ministry of Economic Development).

The Secretariat’s primary geographical focus in providing technical assistance to regions is on the Southern Federal District.

The support to the sub-national level focuses on implementation of new approaches to public administration as outlined in the administrative reform agenda.  This is done through piloting specific aspects of administrative reform.  Examples:

1. Performance management and regulatory impact assessments (N. Ossetia);
2. Review of administrative functions and development of MFCs (Adegheya);
3. Developing participatory budgeting mechanisms in SFD;
4. Interregional knowledge sharing and capacity building, including regional peer-to-peer learning led by more advanced regions;
5. Monitoring performance at the regional level through sociological surveys of public service users and analytical reports.

The Secretariat is financed via a UK Department for International Development (UK DFID) dedicated trust fund.