This is a synopsis of the report on the inaugural conference of CAPAM, the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management. Held in Charlotte, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in August, 1994, Government in Transition was the first gathering of public administrators from the 51 nations that comprise the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has a population of 1.5 billion and is experiencing unprecedented political and social transitions: from single to multi-party systems, from national to regional sovereignty, from closed to open economies, from decreasing to exploding populations, and from apartheid to democracy. Despite the diversity of Commonwealth countries, there is a pattern in their responses to changes. CAPAM believes that these patterns and transitions represent a new paradigm in public administration and hold the promise of greater freedom of political expression and improved material well-being.

...There are, however, some lessons learned about the organizational dynamics that are
necessary to governmental reform. Among them:

° Some kind of shock may be needed to force change.
° High level support is necessary to implement reform.
° Reform programs need clear visions, objectives and priorities.
° The organization needs its most capable people in charge, all of its employees --
and its clients -- involved.
° Technology is not a panacea; it is a tool.
° New systems should be tested before they are implemented.

...The report goes on to discuss the societal context of public management. Are successful reform initiatives replicable across a variety of societies? Using the OECD countries, the Asian tigers (Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong) and the developing countries, the conference participants examined those issues.

In the OECD countries, economists and politicians were the driving force for public management reform. Their policies -- particularly the use of market mechanisms and the increasing role of the private sector -- remain controversial in the public management community. The three countries that have most fervently embraced these new paradigms are now rediscovering the virtue of old values. Australia is now implementing a "new professionalism" in its civil service. New Zealand has reiterated the collective interest of government relative to departmental autonomy and the UK has reasserted the importance of the civil service's role as policy advisor.

OECD's origins

The forerunner of the OECD was the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was formed to administer American and Canadian aid under the Marshall Plan for reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Since it took over from the OEEC in 1961, the OECD vocation has been to build strong economies in its member countries, improve efficiency, hone market systems, expand free trade and contribute to development in industrialised as well as developing countries.

After more than three decades, the OECD is moving beyond a focus on its own countries and is setting its analytical sights on those countries-today nearly the whole world - that embrace the market economy. The Organisation is, for example, putting the benefit of its accumulated experience to the service of emerging market economies, particularly in the countries that are making their transition from centrally-planned to capitalist systems. And it is engaging in increasingly detailed policy dialogue with dynamic economies in Asia and Latin America.

But its scope is changing in other ways too. The matrix is moving from consideration of each policy area within each member country to analysis of how various policy areas interact with each other, across countries and even beyond the OECD area. How social policy affects the way economies operate, for example. Or how globalisation will change the world's economies by opening new perspectives for growth, or perhaps trigger resistance manifested in protectionism.

As it opens to many new contacts around the world, the OECD will broaden its scope, looking ahead to a post-industrial age in which it aims to tightly weave OECD economies into a yet more prosperous and increasingly knowledge-based world economy.
 

CAPAM was established in 1994 to facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge on
public administration among Commonwealth countries and beyond. The origins of CAPAM lie
in the initiative to define and promote the practical requirements of good governance, just and honest government and the fundamental political values outlined in the Declaration of the Commonwealth Heads of Government at its meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1991.

At CAPAM's inaugural conference in Charlottetown, Canada, in 1994, founding Chair Sir Kenneth Stowe said: "CAPAM owes its origins to then Commonwealth Secretary-General, H.E. Chief Emeka Anyaoku's initiative in proposing the formation of what is now an independent
self-supporting body comprised of both elected and appointed officials, and institutions they
serve, as members committed to professional development of just and honest government."

 
  PUMA, which was formally established in 1990, stands for both the Public Management
Committee and the Public Management Service. The Committee shapes and directs the PUMA work programme and meets every March and October. The work programme is carried out by the PUMA Secretariat in collaboration with specialist groups of senior managers who meet once a
year on average.

  PUMA has fast gained recognition and momentum: Ministerial meeting in 1996; "flagship"
report on Governance in Transition; Council Recommendations on principles for managing ethics (1998) and regulatory quality (1995); new-style survey 1997.

  PUMA is a unique forum for top officials responsible for the central management systems of government -- budgeting and financial management, policy-making, regulation, performance management, human resources, public pay, and ethics.

  We deal with the administration; but public management also covers how policies are formulated, who implements, how resources are allocated.

  Increasingly, we deal with major issues of governance: renewal of the institutions of State,
their interrelationships, globalisation, accountability, consultation, transparency, and ethical standards.

When policymakers gather this coming weekend for the Group of Seven Ministerial Conference on the Information Society, their very presence in Brussels will send an important message to the rest of the world: Governments understand that they have a key role to play in facilitating the development of a global information infrastructure (GII).

In many respects, tomorrow's information highways are already here. On the campuses of major corporations, large research universities and government laboratories, broad-bandwidth pipelines for carrying digitized information are already commonplace.

To build on these technological developments, I believe that the public and private sectors must jointly address a number of challenges at the first-ever meeting on the information society.

How do we transform this sprawling network of networks into a global information infrastructure? And, more importantly, how do we become a "true" information society where the benefits of technology can be enjoyed by all?

The potential benefits of creating a GII are enormous. As this infostructure evolves, there will be increased jobs, productivity and competitiveness. As information technology becomes ever more widely available and accessible, a better standard of living will be realized.