Innovation, Collaboration and New Zealand Public Sector ICT Middle Managers

<p>The case study explores the relationship New Zealand public sector information and communication technology (ICT) middle managers have with innovation and collaboration in relation to an all-of-government ICT strategy. Middle managers are key to implementing ICT strategy, innovation is a stated expectation and collaboration is a critical enabler. The study identified that awareness of the ICT strategy amongst middle managers was lower than desirable, although slightly higher from core public sector managers mandated to follow the strategy. There was not a consistent sense of what innovation is, although managers indicate they are engaging in innovations to quite a high degree. There is a very limited range of stakeholders collaborated with; primarily other agencies, consultants and vendors. This may inhibit potential for innovation that could come from wider engagement. Agencies are exhibiting a narrow view of collaboration and appear reluctant to share resources. Middle managers engage in collaboration and networking within their sector, and appreciate assistance provided by the Government Chief Information Officer, however they also note there is little support provided to collaborate. They would like more forums, facilitators, tools, and policies that support collaboration and systems thinking. The most significant factor empowering middle managers to innovate was the support of their senior manager; however lack of senior manager support was also noted as a significant issue. Primary barriers to innovation were workload and budget, leadership thinking, internal governance mechanisms and risk aversion.</p>

Innovation, Collaboration and New Zealand Public Sector ICT Middle Managers

<p>The case study explores the relationship New Zealand public sector information and communication technology (ICT) middle managers have with innovation and collaboration in relation to an all-of-government ICT strategy. Middle managers are key to implementing ICT strategy, innovation is a stated expectation and collaboration is a critical enabler. The study identified that awareness of the ICT strategy amongst middle managers was lower than desirable, although slightly higher from core public sector managers mandated to follow the strategy. There was not a consistent sense of what innovation is, although managers indicate they are engaging in innovations to quite a high degree. There is a very limited range of stakeholders collaborated with; primarily other agencies, consultants and vendors. This may inhibit potential for innovation that could come from wider engagement. Agencies are exhibiting a narrow view of collaboration and appear reluctant to share resources. Middle managers engage in collaboration and networking within their sector, and appreciate assistance provided by the Government Chief Information Officer, however they also note there is little support provided to collaborate. They would like more forums, facilitators, tools, and policies that support collaboration and systems thinking. The most significant factor empowering middle managers to innovate was the support of their senior manager; however lack of senior manager support was also noted as a significant issue. Primary barriers to innovation were workload and budget, leadership thinking, internal governance mechanisms and risk aversion.</p>

Policy design: Perspectives of innovation from Digital Bangladesh

Despite recording high-levels of corruption persistently, some governments in least developed countries have recently achieved impressive online transformation level, through electronic or e-Governance implementation. What explains the digital transformation of these governments? In particular, how did such governments with little or no knowledge on digital governance policies, embark upon the e-Governance path? The article analyzes how Bangladesh, a least developed country, is experimenting with design thinking policies for e-Governance implementation. It combines survey data from a design thinking led empathy training program with secondary literature and interviews with top-level bureaucrats and representatives from international donor agencies. The results support the thesis regarding the importance of design thinking policies and strategies in motivating public sector managers to engage in digital transformation efforts. We discuss the policy implications for practitioners and scholars working in the area of designing policies such as capacity building training programs, for public sector managers to implement citizen-centric innovations.

Four Domains of Public Value Creation: A Core Typology

The public management literature has failed to capture the arenas of operation of the public sector manager in one holistic framework, thus inhibiting the development of a more complete theory of leadership that drives public value. This paper develops a core typology of arenas of public value creation, based on the locus of interaction (internal or external to the government organisation) and the public value purpose (trading or policy development). Four arenas are described, illustrating that public sector managers in complex policy areas traverse all forms of institutional structure includingmarket, hierarchy and hybrid. The typology developed and discussed is an attempt to provide more precision in characterising the nature of policy leadership. Building on the public value work of Moore (1995; 2013; 2014),the typology enables theorising on the role and nature of leadership in driving public value.

Appraising Public Value in the Public Sector: Re-evaluation of the Strategic Triangle

Purpose- This article aims to address public value by assessing public programs and services' success in a more cost-effective way. The study also investigates how public managers and elected officials can use public value to guide their decisions on resource allocation to create value for the citizens. Design/methodology- To meet this study's aims, Mark Moore’s strategic triangle is used as the framework for this study. This is a comprehensive framework that evaluates the performance of public sector programs and service delivery. Data for this study has been collected via a primary scoping of the literature on public value. Database searches were conducted in the Social Sciences Index, SCOPUS journals, ISI Social Sciences Citation Index, and Google Scholar. Findings- From the investigation, the result indicates that public value is created by government or public managers in their daily transactions and by non-profit organizations that articulate their objectives and find popular support for the community's common good. Practical implications- Arguably, public value management provides a necessary improvement to public management theories. It redefines the function of public sector managers in the provision of socially desirable outcomes through citizen engagement. As a progress appraisal tool in public organizations, it offers a broader and inclusive framework than the New Public Management (NPM). Originality/value- This study's results contribute to the knowledge and literature of public value in the public sector. The strategic triangle builds on the challenges and weaknesses of NPM and it aims at reshaping institutions to prioritize value creation for citizens.

Resilience in Public Sector Managers

This study discusses the concept of employee resilience (ER), defined as the capability to use resources to continually adapt and flourish at work, even when faced with challenging circumstances. The concept is grounded in positive psychology and conservation of resources (COR) theory and complements other concepts such as coping which describe employees and managers adapting to challenge and change. This study validates a scale of ER and examines attributes and job factors associated with heightened ER in public sector line managers. Study results show that heightened ER is associated with public service motivation (PSM), employees’ pro-social skills and constructive leadership by supervisors. ER is also associated with a climate for innovation. Theoretical and practical implications for strengthening employees’ resilience in public organizations are discussed.

Accountability in the Ghanaian local governance structure: probing the role of external auditing

The roles of external auditors have been under the spotlight due to the strategic positions they occupy to ensure accountability by public sector managers. This study examines the role of the external auditors in the accountability regime of the Ghanaian local governance structure. The study analyzed the annual reports of the Auditor General (AG) on all the metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana from 2010 to 2018 through a content analysis method. The analysis revealed that Ghanaian audit activities had mainly focused on internal control effectiveness, cash management, contract management, revenue management, expenditure management, payroll management, and procurement management. However, the study found that the focus of the external auditors kept expanding as the years progressed. The evidence showed that the auditors excluded performance audits in their scope of work. The findings of the study further revealed that the MMDAs had recurring, repetitive, and common audit queries, comprising cash; procurement and stores; contract and tax irregularities. Besides, the audit recommendations were in response to the specific audit queries on the various financial and operational irregularities. Based on the analysis, the study concludes that the external auditing in Ghana has marginally contributed to accountability in the MMDAs. The study recommends that the scope of the external audit should include performance auditing.