Public Sector Development

Information Brief

The Commonwealth Secretariat serves the institutional and capacity development needs of governments in member countries. Its aim is to strengthen governance as a prerequisite to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Public sector development (PSD) promotes synergies between governance and development.

This information brief is for policy-makers and advisers of member countries, stakeholders and partner organisations that collaborate with the Secretariat on common interests in PSD. It features articles on:  

• The Commonwealth Advantage
• Member Country Consultations
• Commonwealth Good Practices

Download PDF

Objective

The Secretariat�s work in public sector development aims to help governments improve their ability to run public services and work with public institutions to strengthen their delivery of key responsibilities.

Relevance

Many of the Commonwealth member countries are grappling with weak public service institutions as well as human resource and knowledge constraints limiting their capacity to sustain development, reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

We work to meet these challenges through advancing good governance and building institutional capacity. This is done by assisting governments to enhance the ability of the Public Service to function effectively and efficiently and improve the quality of their services delivered to the general population.

Impact

The Programme promotes a �public service� ethos in the Commonwealth and works to facilitate:

• Trained professional public servants, capable of implementing programmes and providing efficient and effective services.
• Capable and well-functioning public sector training institutions and professional public sector bodies and associations.
• Robust, independent constitutional bodies that monitor the work of governments and public administrations, and act as avenues for citizen redress.
• A predictable and transparent regulatory environment conducive to private sector development and good corporate governance.
• Development of e-governance strategies as a means to deliver the effective delivery of services.
• A better informed civil society actively participating in the business of government and public administration.
• Alongside many other donors active in this field, the Commonwealth Secretariat is able to offer a comparative advantage as:
• We provide a unique mix of expertise by drawing on both in-house advisers and providing south-south co-operation as well as a broad range of specialists from Commonwealth member countries. See �Our current experts across the Commonwealth�. 
• We deliver quick, flexible services with appropriate sensitivity to countries.
• Our assistance to member countries is not tied to the strict conditions of some donors.
• Our work, which builds on countries ability to perform, fills gaps that some large donors may overlook.