OECD Symposium on the Future of Public Services
| Author | Derry Ormond |
| Date | 01 August 1996 |
| Published date | 01 August 1996 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199608)16:3<281::AID-PAD881>3.0.CO;2-Z |
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT,
VOL.
16, 281-285 (1996)
Professional Developments
OECD
Symposium
on
the Future of Public Services
SUMMARY
The OECD Ministerial Symposium
on
the Future
of
Public Services took place in Paris, 1-6
March 1996. Professional Developments reproduces below the Statement by the Chair at the
conclusion
of
the Symposium. The OECD comprises 26 member countries, including the
Commonwealth countries of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It
also now includes Mexico and the Czech Republic.
The first OECD meeting at the ministerial level on public management was a very
important and path-breaking effort. We came together because we shared a sense
that the OECD countries have similar concerns about how to govern effectively in
the current national and world settings. During the last decade the commitment to
democratic systems of government--one of the basic values that OECD countries
share-has spread to many other countries of the world. Paradoxically, the practice
of effective democratic governance is harder, not easier, than it once was. This is
partly because of globalization of many issues, which requires that national policies
take into consideration global responsibilities and commitments. But in addition, the
communications and information revolutions have made governing more complex
and challenging than ever before. Moreover, in spite of many reforms, delegates
reported that government itself is being criticized in many of their countries as being
wasteful, expensive and unresponsive to the demands of the citizens. The challenge
of responding to these criticisms is complicated, many felt, by the need to protect the
broad public interest. In this regard, they stressed the need to view individuals as
citizens with rights and obligations as well as consumers
of
government services.
‘We
are
not alone’
The world is changing-and shrinking-at an astonishing pace. Demographics,
science and technology, dealing with the global information society and the demands
for openness are profoundly altering the provision of service to the public. These
developments are forcing, as well as enabling, changes in the structure and
boundaries of government. There has long been a debate about the size of
government, as well as whether to centralize or decentralize. Yet today we are in a
different world. Something new is going on! We must now be willing to move in both
directions, decentralizing some functions while centralizing other critical policy-
making responsibilities. Such changes are underway in all countries. In some, such
structural change may be aimed at reducing the role and size of government. In
others, it may be aimed at defending and enhancing the public sector.
CCC 0271/96/03028145
0
1996 by John Wiley
&
Sons,
Ltd.
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