“The Future is Now: Accelerating Public Service...

“The Future is Now: Accelerating Public Service Innovation for Agenda 2030”

Report of the 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum

The Hague, The Netherlands

22– 23 June 2017

United Nations

New York, September 2017

Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Public Administration and Development Management

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DESA

The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which Member States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint course of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national capacities.

Note

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The designations “developed” and “developing” economics are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily imply a judgment about the state reached by a particular country or area in the development process.

The term “country” as used in the text of this publication also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas.

The term “dollar” normally refers to the United States dollar ($).

The views expressed are those of the individual authors and do not imply any expression of opinion on the part of the United Nations.

Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ 2

Declaration of the Youth for the Future .................................................................................... 3

Part I: Overview and Key Messages of the UN Public Service Forum and UN Public Service Day ......... 5

1. Background .................................................................................................................................... 6

2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 7

3. Thematic Focus .............................................................................................................................. 8

4. Key Policy Messages and Lessons Learned .................................................................................... 9

Part II: Public Service Innovations From Around The World: Future-Proofing Government To Leave No One Behind ................................................................................................................ 13

1. Job Creation and Prosperity ........................................................................................................ 15

2. Excellence in Delivering Health Services ..................................................................................... 23

3. Partnerships for Sustainable Energy ........................................................................................... 29

4. Cooperative Management of Increasing Water and Sea Levels ................................................. 33

5. Enabling Children and Youth to Achieve the Agenda 2030 ......................................................... 37

6. Unlocking the Potential of the Furthest Behind .......................................................................... 43

7. Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Cities .......................................................................... 51

8. Circular Economy: Sustainable Management of Resources ........................................................ 57

Part III: Drivers of Innovation in Public Service to Advance Agenda 2030 ....................................... 63

1. What is Driving Innovations in Public Service? ............................................................................ 64

2. How to Accelerate Innovations in Public Service? ...................................................................... 69

Annex I: Programme at a Glance ............................................................................................. 72

Annex II: Opening Statements ................................................................................................74

Annex III: List of 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winners ...........................................85

Annex IV: Contact Details of Innovative Practices ......................................................................89

Annex VI: Results of Parcitipants Evaluation Survey ...................................................................95

Annex VII: List of Participants ............................................................................................... 101

Acknowledgments

This publication contains the key lessons learned and findings of the 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum (UNPSF) held in The Hague, the Netherlands from 22 to 23 June 2017. The Forum was organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM). At the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations, Elaine de Boer was the program manager of the organization of the UN Public Service Forum while Lotte Nijland was responsible for its content management. H.E. Mr. Karel J.G. van Oosterom, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, and Mr. Gerben Planting, Counselor, Budget & Management from the Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN, were also closely engaged in preparations. Substantive inputs to the preparation of relevant documents contained in this report were also provided by Kim van Es, Maarten van Zaane, and Lisa Mengerink.

The Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. WU Hongbo, oversaw the preparations of the UNPSF and the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in UN DESA, Mr. Thomas Gass, represented the United Nations at the Forum. The report was prepared by UN DESA under the leadership of Marion Barthélemy, Director of DPADM. The Report was coordinated by Adriana Alberti, Senior Governance and Public Administration Officer, who was the team leader in UN DESA responsible for the substantive and organizational aspects of the Forum. DPADM’s Project Office on Governance (UNPOG) organized two tracks, namely “Job Creation and Prospoerity” and “Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Cities”, under the guidance of Mr. Chae Gun Chung, Head of UNPOG. Substantive contributions were also provided by DPADM professionals, including Keping Yao, Alexandra Bettancourt and Nosipho Dhladhla on job creation and prosperity; Stefanina Senese and Deniz Susar on excellence in delivering health services; Simen Gudevold and Wai Min Kwok on partnerships for sustainable energy; Anni Haataja on cooperative management of increasing water and sea levels; Peride Blind on enabling children and young people to achieve Agenda 2030; Arpine Korekyan on unlocking the potential of the furthest behind; Keping Yao, Chang Rok Yun and Yeh-Jin Suh on inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities; Arpine Korekyan and Mi Kyoung Park on circular economy: sustainable management of resources. Yu Jung Kim, Stefania Senese, Alexandra Bettencourt, and Mi Kyoung Park contributed to the reflection sessions. Peride Blind coordinated the Ministerial conversation and was instrumental in revising relevant documents. Stefania Senese prepared the winners' case studies of the 2017 UN Public Service Awards, which she coordinated under the guidance of John-Mary Kauzya, Chief, Public Administration Capacity Branch (PACB) of DPADM, with the assistance of Flor Velazco-Juarez. Said Maalouf provided support in the administrative preparations of the Forum. Benedicte Niviere, Rosanne Greco, Tiblet Kelemwork and Stella Simpas also supported the event. DPADM interns provided invaluable support, i.e. Huiwen Tan assisted with a number of preparatory tasks and helped to finalize the report together with Tianyue Xu who designed its lay-out.

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Part I

Overview and Key Messages of the 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum and UN Public Service Day

The Future is Now: Accelerating Public Service Innovation for Agenda 2030

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1. Background

The United Nations Public Service Forum took place from 22 to 23 June 2017 in The Hague, the Netherlands, under the theme “The Future is Now: Accelerating Public Service

Innovation for Agenda 2030”. The Forum, which is held in honor of the United Nations Public Service Day, was organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, through its Division for Public Administration and Development Management. The event was opened by H.E. Mr. Ronald Plasterk, Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations, and Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs.

In 2003, the General Assembly decided “that 23 June would be designated United Nations Public Service Day”1. In 2015, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General “to continue to provide assistance, in particular to developing countries, at their request, in their efforts to strengthen public institutions and public services for sustainable development by, inter alia, fostering information-sharing and the exchange of experience, lessons learned and best practices, as appropriate, including through the United Nations Public Service Day and the United Nations Public Service Awards by providing assistance in institution-building and improving the integration and coordination, as well as the innovation, of public sector initiatives and activities in sustainable development”2.

Over the two days, participants discussed some 40 innovative initiatives from a range of countries, in eight areas (job creation and prosperity; excellence in delivering health services; partnership for sustainable energy; cooperative management of increasing water and sea level; enabling children and young people to achieve agenda 2030; unlocking the potential of the furthest behind; inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities; circular economy: sustainable management of resources) and reflected on their policy implications as well as on the key factors driving innovation (such as leadership, technology, cooperation or transparency). Ministers had the opportunity to discuss these and other issues during a ministerial roundtable.

549 participants from approximately 80 countries participated in the Forum, including a dozen Ministers. There was a mix of officials in charge of public administration and planning, sectoral and other ministries. Local government officials, representatives of civil society, Institutes and/or schools of public administration and the private sector also attended. International and regional organizations also participated in the event, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Union (EU), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Office for Disaster Risk

1. A/RES/57/277 on Public Administration and Development 2. A/RES/69/327 on Promoting inclusive and accountable public services for sustainable development adopted in September 2015


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Reduction (UNISDR), UN-HABITAT, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UN-ESCAP), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), among others.

The Forum provided a platform for decision-makers to share successful strategies, innovative approaches and lessons learned on how to rally public servants to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leave no one behind. It also offered the opportunity to promote international and regional cooperation through peer-to-peer learning and sharing of innovative practices. By hearing from their peers on how they addressed the challenges related to designing and delivering services, Government officials bolstered their capacity to respond to the 2030 Agenda.

The Forum concluded with the UN Public Service Award (UNPSA) ceremony, which was held on the occasion of UN Public Service Day. The purpose of the UNPSA is to promote and reward innovation and excellence in public services for sustainable development in support of the realization of the SDGs3 and the principle to leave no one behind. In 2016, the UNPSA was reviewed in order to be aligned with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. In 2017, the awards were given in three categories:

1. Reaching the poorest and most vulnerable through inclusive services and participation 2. Promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in public service 3. Innovation and excellence in delivering services in health

The concern for achieving gender equality and gender sensitive delivery of services was assessed under each category. Awards were given to 12 public institutions (1st place winners from India, Argentina, UK, Colombia, Australia, Mongolia, Armenia, Ecuador and 2nd place winners from Botswana, France, Thailand, Colombia) (see Annex III). The feedback of participants on the organization of the Forum is presented in Annex VI

2. Introduction The United Nations Public Service Forum took place when the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reaches its second year. Many Governments are in the process of adapting their institutions and trying new approaches for realizing the ambitious SDGs that are at the heart of this Agenda. A resounding message of the UN Public Service Forum was that governments have a critical role for delivering the SDGs. This relates not only to launching the adaptation and integration of the SDGs in national strategies; but also to their role in delivering public services.

At the same time, in order to support the implementation of the SDGS, we need a new kind of governance. Governments have to reinvent the way they work so that policies take into account

3. E/Res/2016/26


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multiple dimensions and inter-linkages among the SDGs targets. They must address the constraints that keep many people behind. Governments have to “future proof” their policies and reach out to multiple partners. Mobilizing the energy, creativity and innovative power of the public service is vital to improve people’s lives all over the world.

Progress towards achieving the SDGs requires long-term vision and immediate action. To solve complex challenges, governments will need to accelerate innovation. They need to act with utmost urgency and take the kind of actions that will shape the government of the future.

Innovation is an on-going feature of public service, spurred by the need to remain relevant and responsive to the needs of people. Yet, realizing the vision of the 2030 Agenda calls for a much more transformative, and fast paced change and innovation. Thus, the role of effective, inclusive and accountable public services has never been more important than it is today.

3. Thematic Focus The Forum provided the opportunity to discuss public administration innovations in key SDGs areas from a public administration perspective, notably through the following four sub-themes:

(a) Leadership and capacities for innovative government

Today’s governments are faced with rapid and unprecedented changes. They have the key responsibility to lead the implementation of the SDGs. This calls for new knowledge, skills and behaviour of the public servants. Public servants are becoming agents of change and need a renewed sense of purpose, new capacities, collaborative and consultative mindsets, and a motivation and capacity to innovate and try new approaches.

(b) Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions

A stable and open society needs a stable and open government that engages people in decision making, as called for by the SDGs, and understands their needs. To empower people to fulfill their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment, the decision making and decisions of government must be transparent and informed by a keen understanding of people’s aspirations and needs. Various mechanisms, institutions and processes must be in place to ensure people’s participation. Access to information collected and generated by governments is also an important pre-requisite to the exercise of fundamental rights, including the right to fully participate in the political process. Public administrations need to be open to people’s opinions; creative in seeking suggestions and feedback; and prepared to work in an inclusive manner. A government that leaves no one behind.

(c) Overcoming challenges through technology

Digitalization and new technological developments, like robotics and big data analysis, are making a major difference in society. On the one hand, ICT creates major opportunities for developing public services and their impact and accessibility. On the other hand, some ICT developments raise


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the question of how to make sure that socio-economic differences, and critical threats such as security and privacy, are not widening.

(d) Policy coherence and integration

Policy coherence or “Whole of Government” integrated approaches are critical to realize the SDGs and national development priorities. They can be defined as consistent efforts across all government departments to achieve shared goals. However, this is difficult and complex to achieve.

4. Key Policy Messages and Lessons Learned For two days, participants debated how innovative policies can be fostered to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development even when resources are scarce, objectives are highly ambitious and interests are disparate. They focused on ways to channel the efforts and creativity of Governments into effective implementation of the SDGs in areas as diverse as children and youth, health, sustainable cities, leave no one behind, circular economy, and sustainable energy, among many others. A wealth of lessons learned was exchanged based on existing initiatives. The Forum underscored that governments have a key role in realizing the SDGs and that successful implementation will hinge in major ways upon the effectiveness, professionalism, commitment and ethics of public servants in carrying out their roles and responsibilities - from formulation of key policies and strategies to implementation, monitoring and assessment. The extensive reach of the public services in people’s daily lives underscores the critical role of public institutions in realizing sustainable development. Public servants are also key to promoting good governance and sustaining accountable institutions, maintaining an open, collaborative and inclusive decision making process and forging effective partnerships between the public and private sectors and the civil society for the achievement of SDGs. In particular, local public servants have a critical role as many of the basic services are dealt with at the local level.

The Forum underscored that a major effort is therefore needed to rally public servants around the SDGs. Another key message was that at a time of great change, government needs to work differently, harness the enormous potential of public administration and mobilize all actors towards a more effective, inclusive and accountable governance, as envisioned by SDG 16. Synergies with the other Goals and Targets of the Agenda 2030 and actionable strategies on how to translate them into integrated and effective policies took centre stage in the discussions. Many public institutions have been experimenting with innovative approaches in areas related to the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a clear roadmap with measurable and adaptable targets to realize an ambitious vision. It is the responsibility of governments to integrate sustainability, transparency and inclusivity in future policy solutions to regional and global challenges. It is also clear that innovation is occurring within the areas associated with each SDG, as members of the public service across the globe are carrying out original ideas and launching pilot initiatives to tackle longstanding issues, such as inequality, climate change, issues linked to rural development, water management, and unemployment. A number of key lessons learned were highlighted. Firstly, impactful development initiatives must be owned and molded by each nation to meet their respective objectives and aspirations. This encourages home-grown sustainable development that is rooted in competent leadership and capable institutions. Secondly, because development does not occur within a


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vacuum and is thus influenced by external circumstances and actors, governments, stakeholders, organizations and citizens must have a voice in sustainable development and collaborate through participatory development. Thirdly, as we live in a world driven by technology and rapid scientific advancement, governments must utilize science, research and development to their full advantage by offering unconventional but effective solutions. They also need to collect the necessary data to evaluate their initiatives. Lastly, development cannot take place without cohesion and integration, thus integrative policy-making is essential to addressing the complex nature of sustainable development. Despite the current progress made and achievements reached, policy-makers and practitioners should bear in mind that absolute decreases in poverty do not equate to shared prosperity. Therefore, development policies and actions should make stronger efforts to build the resilience, empowerment and voice of marginalized sectors of the population. The 2030 Agenda has redefined the meaning of sustainability to encompass the advancement of all economic and social groups, notably the poorest and most vulnerable, and those who are being discriminated against.

As mentioned above, future actions to improve the public service and achieve the SDGs should take into account four cross-cutting dimensions: (1) leadership, institution building, and capacity development; (2) transparency, accountability and participation; (3) technology; and (4) policy coherence and integration.

The eight parallel tracks that were held during the Forum resulted in a number of key recommendations and lessons learned. Within the realm of employment and job creation, employment policies linked with social protection can bolster economic growth and raise the standard of living. In an effort to facilitate decent and secure work, maintain livable income, empower people, policies that encourage job creation must be part of a broader set of actions taken to realize the SDGs. In regards to health service delivery, all humans have the right to the highest quality of healthcare, and it is clear that effective healthcare delivery is an essential component to reducing inequality and realize all SDGs. In order to improve the standard of healthcare for all, governments must take the necessary steps to provide access and integrate their healthcare systems. Also important is to use e-health and data analytical platforms to examine and quickly respond to health trends in real-time.

As the world attempts to step up its use of renewable energy, it is evident that the spill-over effects of switching to green energy will ultimately improve the wellbeing of societies. This energy transition, however, encompasses more than just a move away from high carbon-emitting methods. Rather, it is an attempt to achieve sustainable and renewable energies for all to use, not just for those who can afford to transition. Relevant to the pursuit of renewable energy is the improved management of resources, including water. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have disproportionately suffered from the consequences of increasing water and sea levels. Addressing climate change and implementing the climate change agreement is urgent. Stronger water management and infrastructure policies are also necessary in the near future to mitigate the potential crises that SIDS may face should circumstances worsen.


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Children and youth are increasingly recognized and valued as both priorities when creating development policy, and as energetic, determined and original voices that can and should contribute to decision-making mechanisms. Countries and organizations must do more to address the concerns uniquely faced by youth, provide them fair and equal opportunities, and include them in public governance. Related to this concept is the need to empower the most vulnerable sectors of the population, including but not limited to women and girls, racial, ethnic and religious minorities, those in lower socioeconomic classes, migrants and refugees, and other marginalized groups. Through collaboration between different levels of government and partnerships with local NGOs, support systems and frameworks must adapt to each particular circumstance to unleash opportunities for the most vulnerable. They should identify specific vulnerabilities and provide inclusive and participatory approaches, so that the needs of the most marginalized are both heard and addressed.

As most countries continue to undergo rapid urbanization, it is imperative that countries ensure sustainable urban development through interlinked policies and local service delivery mechanisms that prioritize accessibility, inclusiveness and justice for all. Participatory urban governance and budgeting can be facilitated through more effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT can support innovations within public service delivery and help create more inclusive cities.

In regards to circular economies, further emphasis on the need to “reduce, reuse and recycle” is instrumental for sustainable resource management and more environmentally-conscious living. Creating circular economies will involve major shifts in the behavior of producers and consumers and the pursuit of strategic partnerships. Nonetheless, all economies must engage in this transition in order to move forward together.

The key message of the 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony is that innovation is required to deliver the SDGs. In order to achieve successful innovation, however, governments must play a key role in mobilizing partners to consult and act cohesively, as well as encourage public servants to innovate themselves and take risks. All actors, including public servants, private sector and NGO representatives, and members of academia, must reflect on how to move on from the Forum, and what actions are necessary to accelerate innovations in public service. While there are no simple responses to these questions, the wealth of solutions, ideas and perspectives discussed at the Forum may help to shed light on options for each participant to address his/her challenges.


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Part II

Public Service Innovations from Around the World: Future-proofing Government to

Leave No One Behind

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The number of the unemployed is

forecasted to exceed 200 million in 2017 with an additional 2.7 million expected in 2018, as labour force growth outstrips job creation rate1. Precarious and low-paid jobs still account for over 46 per cent of total employment globally, affecting nearly 1.5 billion people across the world 2. In the developing world, the majority of workers are trapped in informal and vulnerable jobs. Social discontent, poverty, inequality and political malaise often are the corollaries of unemployment and precarious employment. The period between now and 2030 is expected to be marked by continuing issues related to the quantity and quality of jobs, as a result of economic fluctuations, demographic changes, technological innovations, urbanization and other factors. Some studies predict that by 2050, half of the jobs as we know them today could be performed by robots or machines. Other studies estimate that some 470 million new jobs will have to be created from 2016 to 2030 in order to effectively manage and keep pace with the implications of these technological and demographic changes, among other things.

Women, youth, and the most disadvantaged groups on the labour market such as minority ethnic groups, migrants and persons with disabilities are particularly challenged by employment and the quality of jobs. Youth unemployment reached 13.1 percent in 2016, up from 12.9 per cent in 2015 which has been at about the same levels or lower since the 1990s3. 16 per cent of all employed youth were living below the poverty line in 2015, compared to 9 per cent of working adults. Women are underrepresented in wage employment in most regions and often bear the burden of unpaid care work 4.

Against this backdrop, this track examined the innovative policy strategies, programmes, measures and institutional mechanisms through which governments promote decent jobs towards enhanced prosperity for all.

Overview

1 World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2017, ILO, 2016 2 Idem. http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_443500/lang--en/index.htm 3 http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/08/global-youth-unemployment-rise/ 4 OECD 2016. Available at http://www.oecd.org/gender/data/balancingpaidworkunpaidworkandleisure.htm and

http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54757

1. Job Creation and Prosperity

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_443500/lang--en/index.htm

http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/08/global-youth-unemployment-rise/

http://www.oecd.org/gender/data/balancingpaidworkunpaidworkandleisure.htm

http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54757


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Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions

Public governance is important for employment and decent work. Rule of law, sound institutions, policy coherence, and collaboration across sectors and between the local and national levels of administration are all vital for job creation and prosperity. Effective grassroots participation in policy design, implementation, and review can contribute to sustained job creation and decent work.

Leadership and capacities for innovative government Addressing labour market challenges and creating quality jobs for all requires commitment and collaboration among all stakeholders, notably governments, civil society and the private sector. Digitization is changing the labour market with some jobs being lost while others are created in the digital economy. Leadership as well as strengthening government capacities is critical for effective policy formulation and innovation to promote job creation, especially by unlocking the potential of the private sector, and creating new business models.

Policy coherence and integration Growth oriented policies must be coupled with social policies that can harness the positive impact of economic policies in generating more and better quality jobs for different population segments. It is thus necessary to support improvements in wages, working conditions, labour institutions and employment standards in the context of the structural transformation of an economy. Social protection programmes that respond to the needs of vulnerable groups are also important. Employment and decent work are supported by policies aimed at mobilizing investment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Overcoming challenges through technology Public administrations worldwide are adopting various ICT tools and strategies for promoting entrepreneurship, creating decent work for youth, women, persons with disabilities and others including people living in poverty-stricken or conflict areas.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Job Creation and Prosperity


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Innovative Practices from around the World

UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran

UN Photo/John Isaac

“Promoting Better Jobs in Rural Areas by Using ICTs” Initiative: Agtech Program Institution: Ministry of Information and Communications Technology Country: Colombia The Agtech Program of the Information and Communication Technologies Ministry (MINTIC) of Colombia promotes ICT research, development and innovation in the agricultural and rural development sector. It utilizes tools that help to reduce the risks that are inherent to agricultural activity (climate, production, management, environment etc.) through its initiatives, MINTIC supports more effective agricultural production processes, technical assistance and marketing. It increases production margins and profits and helps to close the digital gap in the rural areas of the country. All the activities are carried out in partnership with the various actors of the agricultural sector. Multiple stakeholders are involved in supporting the public policy planning processes, research and ICT implementation through the Strategic Information Technology Plan (PETI) of the agriculture sector. MINTIC also implements the Strategic Plan for Science, Technology and Agricultural Innovation (PECTIA). “Creating New Jobs despite Slower Growth through Sharing Economy” Initiative: The “Internet +” Institution: The State Council Country: People’s Republic of China With a declining working-age population and an increase in the population dependency ratio, China’s potential growth rate is slowing down due to the disappearance of the demographic dividend. Nonetheless, China's total employment will still be high because of the changing structure of its economy. Reducing excess capacity in overcapacity industries, causes brown job losses while green job creation in the manufacturing and service industry compensates for the brown job losses. “Internet +” is one of the initiatives that is aimed at promoting green jobs by leveraging the potential of platform and sharing economies. In 2016, more than 60 million people provided services through sharing platforms. The Internet+ requires that large internet and telecom enterprises share and open their information to small and micro businesses to promote job creation. The government has also expanded these opportunities to vulnerable groups such as migrants workers. Thanks to this initiative, 5.7 million rural Chinese have returned from cities to their home towns to start their own businesses.


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“Supporting the Development of Family Businesses through Social Innovation” Initiative: ABAD-ASAN Support to Family Businesses Institution: State Agency for Public Service and Social Science Country: Azerbaijan Website: www.abad.gov.za The innovative initiative of the Government of Azerbaijan on fostering the development of family businesses, namely the “ABAD” initiative (“ABAD” in Azerbaijani stands for ASAN Support to Family Businesses), was established in September 2016 by its State Agency (ASAN Service). Its main objective is to provide various services to families and promote production and consumption of quality products in line with customers’ needs and market demand. “ABAD” supports the expansion of community and family-based initiatives using a value chain approach in the areas of agriculture, agro-processing, handicraft and tourism. The initiative promotes a professional approach and innovative methods throughout the entire business process.

“Enhancing Employability of Graduates to Secure Good Jobs” Initiative: Skim Latihan 1Malaysia Institution: Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office Country: Malaysia Website: www.epu.gov.my/en/sl1m/introduction The Skim Latihan 1Malaysia (SL1M) programme was launched on 1st June 2011 by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia. It is a training programme that aims to help young graduates who are still unemployed, to enhance their “marketability” by providing them with appropriate skills, knowledge and working experience through targeted training courses. The programme engages Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) and private companies using the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The objective of the programme is to improve self-confidence, personal development and to boost the marketability of graduates so that they may find decent jobs. SL1M target groups include graduates who are unemployed, graduates who are underemployed (where qualification does not match type of employment and/or salary) and underprivileged graduates from poor family backgrounds or rural areas.

http://www.epu.gov.my/en/sl1m/introduction


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“Empowering Potential and /or Returning Youth Migrants by Improving their Employability” Initiative: The Gambia Youth Empowerment Project Institution: European Union and the International Trade Centre (ITC) of Gambia Country: Gambia Website: http://www.intracen.org/yep/ The Government of Gambia, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the European Union (EU) have launched a four-year project to contribute to job creation and entrepreneurship of the Gambian youth. Young people are critical to the country’s economic development, but have been prone to migration. Funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the project aims to improve the employability and self-employment opportunities of potential and/or returning youth migrants. It supports the development of the local economy, particularly by focusing on vocational training and the creation of micro and small-sized enterprises. It also aims at improving employment opportunities in selected sectors, such as agriculture, service industry and tourism.

“Addressing labour Market Changes by Providing a Basic Income” Initiative: Basic Income Experiment Institution: National Social Insurance Institute (KELA) Country: Finland Website: http://www.kela.fi/perustulokokeilu-2017-2018 The Government of Finland is testing a guaranteed basic income scheme for 2017 and 2018. A working group of researchers from a range of organizations, under the aegis of the National Social Insurance Institute of Finland (KELA), was set up to explore how to carry out this basic income experiment. During the experiment, a total of 2,000 unemployed persons between 25 and 58 years of age will receive a monthly payment of €560, unconditionally and without means testing. The experiment will run for two years. The purpose of this initiative is to allow the unemployed to reduce the work involved in applying for subsidies and to free up time and resources for other activities such as starting a business, taking care of the families or applying for jobs. It aims to reshape the social security system in response to changes in the labour market. The experiment also explores how to make the system more empowering and more effective in terms of providing incentives for employment. Further objectives include the reduction of bureaucracy and the streamlining of the welfare system.

http://www.intracen.org/yep/

http://www.kela.fi/perustulokokeilu-2017-2018


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“Promoting the Exchange of Employees between the Public and Private Sectors” Initiative: Partnership for Change Programme Institution: Ministry of Public Administration Country: Slovenia Website: http://www.en.partnerstvozaspremembe.si/

Governments across the globe face challenges that are growing in complexity. Slovenia is also facing new challenges, which require public administration to be more open and inclusive. In an effort to respond effectively to citizens’ increasing demands for quality services and to maintain trust in government, Slovenia has launched the “Partnership for Change” programme. This initiative promotes the exchange of employees between the private and public sector to break down silos and to help boost employees’ soft skills emotional and intelligence through learning from each other.

“Increased Local Tax Revenues to Finance Sustainable Services” Initiative: Improve Local Tax Revenues Institution: VNG International (The Netherlands) Country: Ghana Website: http://www.vng-international.nl/blog/knowledge-exchange-on-local-tax-initiatives-elmina-ghana/ Many cities around the world are facing challenges in delivering basic services. In Ghana, one of the main challenges is poor fiscal performance. 97% of tax revenues were not being collected, negatively affecting the delivery of public services. To address this problem, the government of Ghana launched an initiative to exchange knowledge with the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VGN International) on how to improve local tax revenues. The initiative helped local governments to better prioritize the services to be delivered and to engage people in city planning through constructive dialogue. The initiative’s team worked with local government staff to design and implement better fiscal procedures. It also helped to involve citizens in the implementation of the initiative. As a result, the income collected doubled, freeing up resources to deliver essential services.

UN Photo/Martine Perret

http://www.vng-international.nl/blog/knowledge-exchange-on-local-tax-initiatives-elmina-ghana/

http://www.vng-international.nl/blog/knowledge-exchange-on-local-tax-initiatives-elmina-ghana/


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“Addressing Youth Employment through multiple Measures” Initiative: Youth Employment and Development Programme Institution: Civil Service Commission Country: Timor-Leste Since 2002, Timor-Leste has developed specific programmes to address youth development and employment, such as the Human Capital Development Fund and the Civil Society Organization Fund. These programmes included youth training and development; technical-vocational education system; an entrepreneurship training programme for out-of school youth; support to small innovative businesses; Government to Government (G2G) co-operation for youth training and employment; as well as public and private partnerships for training and employment opportunity development. The government also established training centers for the youth, unemployed people and community tourism initiatives. In addition, it implemented rural development programmes with locally employed youth and unemployed local community. It also promoted sectoral specialized training in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, handicraft, small business and entrepreneurship, mega-projects for long-term investment for future economic development. The challenges ahead include how to stimulate and strengthen public – private partnerships to invest in local development, targeting jobs for youth and unemployment. Other challenges include the lack of youth’s entrepreneurial spirit and a mismatch of skills demanded by the labor market. There is also a need to change the public service traditional role as employment generator to that of employment facilitator, leading to job creation, and opening up greater opportunities to establish new businesses. This will require the design of relevant policies, programmes and legal frameworks.

UN Photo/Martine Perret


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• There is an ongoing paradigm shift to promote inclusive decision-making processes that give voice to those who are impacted by labour challenges.

• As countries and governments look towards future innovative solutions to job creation, particularly those that use the latest technologies, it is imperative that such solutions are environmentally sustainable and viable to ensure long-term sustainable development.

• While there is no one size fits all

solution, the role of government in providing access to quality education and training is essential. An active labour market means that the delivery of training services must adapt to the needs of the market and employees.

• As job creation programmes and

policies continue to be implemented, good solutions should be institutionalized, so long as they prioritize the needs and interests of citizens.

• While governments cannot always

capture all labour trends, the private sector and NGOs should also collect data to identify employment trends, using the technology at their disposal to encourage innovation and track demographic changes.

• As rural areas face increasing challenges in terms of employment, governments can provide incentives to create decent jobs for the inhabitants of these areas.

• The refugee and economic migrant

crisis will continue to affect employment trends. Whenever possible, governments must pursue innovative solutions, such as pilot programs that assist refugees gain skills through training.

• High quality jobs should be made

available to both men and women. Further efforts must be made to close the gender gap.

• Governments and the private sector

must also ensure the elimination of social and cultural barriers that impede women and vulnerable groups from entering the labour market.

Key Messages and Recommendations


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Overview

he Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution 1

refers to “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.” The right to health, as also enshrined in the said Constitution, includes access to “timely, acceptable and affordable health care of appropriate quality”2. Without effective provision of health services, neither the SDGs nor the principle of leaving no one behind can materialize. Great strides have been made in increasing life expectancy worldwide and reducing the occurrence of several diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio and HIV/AIDS, as well as in slashing premature deaths caused by preventable and treatable diseases. This has gone hand in hand with notable advances in access to clean water and sanitation by all including vulnerable groups. However, challenges remain and “universal health coverage based on strong primary care is the best thing we can do to make sure no one is left behind” (WHO, 2016). Governments are looking for innovative and effective ways to address today’s complex health challenges. Achieving that while ensuring a healthy population requires integrated policies and strategies that focus on economic, social and environmental determinants of health. Those need to address issues related to food and

nutrition, water and sanitation, employment, transportation and other sectors reflected in the targets under the SDGs. Also important is mobilizing innovative ICT practices and partnerships as they are critical to improving the health of populations across the world. The track on “Excellence in Delivering Health Services” exchanged ideas on innovative approaches in public health and how to improve the delivery of health services. It also discussed ways to strengthen public administration capacities for ensuring effective, efficient, responsive, equitable and accountable delivery of public health services within the context of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

T

2. Excellence in Delivering Health Services

1. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs323/en/

2. Idem.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs323/en/


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Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to the Delivery of Health Services

Leadership and capacities for innovative government There is a great need for effective leadership and human capacity within governments, particularly with regard to health and related systems, processes, institutions and services. Public managers have a leading role in initiating and driving the implementation of sustainable health policies by prioritizing sectors, areas, goals and targets in line with the needs of populations, driving new and innovative approaches and ensuring that the quantity and quality of the health services and their delivery are compatible with realizing the SDGs. Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions As documented by the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health3, there is a strong link between socioeconomic factors and health. The vast health inequalities within cities and between them and suburban and rural areas are rooted in differences in social status, income, ethnicity, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Likewise, health inequalities can present serious risks for the socioeconomic stability of countries, and ultimately for the world as a whole. It is therefore important to eliminate health inequalities within and across countries, making health services more accessible while improving the health of all, particularly the populations at risk. Governments must provide an enabling environment where formal and informal mechanisms for inclusion and participation in public health are available, transparent and open in such a way as to leave no one behind. Overcoming challenges through technology In-depth studies and disaggregated data can help design and implement effective health policies. Effective use of ICTs can support sustaining healthy lives and promoting well-being by reducing costs of access to care. ICTs can also be pivotal in improving the quality of data gathering, analysis, monitoring and evaluation, enabling information-sharing and collaboration in health systems and beyond, training health professionals and in generally improving efficiency and accountability. At the same time, governments face other difficult challenges such as high health care costs, limited resources, inadequate health workforce, poor data and monitoring systems, as well as the need to use and keep up with the latest technologies.

Policy coherence and integration Ensuring access to good quality health services and making coherent and integrated public health policies requires a buy-in from all governmental entities and all governance actors at all levels, including the private sector, civil society, NGOs, and the grassroots. This calls for cross-cutting public health systems based on mutual dialogue among all relevant entities and actors and adopting multi-sectoral approaches to problem-solving, including effective resource mobilization, people empowerment and public-private- people partnerships.


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UN Photo/Armando Waak

Innovative Practices from around the World “Ensuring Quality Health Services for All through an Integrated Health Network” Initiative: Integrated Network of Health Institution: Ministry of Public Health Country: Ecuador 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner In Ecuador, there was a severely fragmented and neglected healthcare sector and most of the specialized personnel was concentrated in urban areas. With only 21% of the population having some type of health insurance, the majority of people had difficulty accessing public health services, which perpetuated inequality and social exclusion. Thus, the government enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador that health was a fundamental human right. The constitutional amendment stated that healthcare should be free and access should be guaranteed through the National Health System Organization. This led to the creation of the Comprehensive Public Health Network, operated in collaboration with private sector providers. As a result, more than 8,000 health care services are now provided in public and private networks, guaranteeing access to high quality health services to all social groups.

“Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV to Strengthen the Healthcare System” Initiative: Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (EMTCT) Institution: National Center for AIDS Prevention, Ministry of Healthcare Country: Armenia Website: http://www.moh.am/#1/621 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner In Armenia, the absence of mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention (PMTCT) affected 45,000 pregnant women annually. This could have resulted in up to 45% of children born, without prophylaxis, to HIV positive mothers, therefore needing lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART). In response to this challenge, the National Center for AIDS Prevention of the Ministry of Healthcare put in place large scale measures to systematize and coordinate the national AIDS response. It also established the HIV testing and counselling system. It provided the regulatory basis and mechanisms to ensuring universal access to PMTCT across the country. This was possible thanks to the design and implementation of a sustainable plan to strengthen the health care system, improved capacity and increased resources. The initiative allows expecting mothers to receive at no cost HIV testing and PMTCT when needed. Moreover, 10 regions countrywide and the capital have been given the necessary infrastructure to provide HIV tests to all vulnerable groups. WHO targets on EMTCT have also been achieved. In addition, there are now trained HIV personnel available in all antenatal clinics. This initiative has resulted in decreased stigma and discrimination, and has strengthened human rights protection of people with AIDS.


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“Caring for Older Persons through a Community Network” Initiative: Excellent Happy Home Ward Institution: Khaoprangam Municipality Country: Thailand Website: http://www.khaoprangam.go.th/ 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner Due to the growing number of uncared-for senior citizens in the community of the Khaoprangam Municipality in Thailand, local elders began visiting hospitals often in the hopes of receiving long-term care and support rather than seeking direct medical attention. This began to directly impact hospitals, who suffered from a decreased number of available beds. The Khaoprangram Municipality launched the “Excellent Happy Home Ward” Programme, which led to the establishment of a multidisciplinary team, with families and communities that provides services and support at home for citizens with chronic illnesses. This programme is open to all older persons regardless of social class. The Excellent Happy Home Ward helps to enhance understanding of older person’s needs and increases the involvement of communities, families and of the patients themselves in a network of support and social care.

“Providing Quality Health Care to Rural Areas by Connecting Local and National Doctors” Initiative: National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH) Country: Mongolia Website: www.ehemut.mn 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner With a population of 3 million people living within 1.56 million square kilometres, Mongolia remains the least densely populated country in the world. The sparse distribution of people makes it challenging to deliver health care services to rural and remote areas of the country. This issue is exacerbated by the lack of quality specialist care facilities and qualified human resources, largely affecting the nomadic communities who make up 38% of the total population. By connecting every provincial hospital in the country with experts at the National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH) located in the capital of Ulaanbaatar, rates of perinatal and early new-born mortalities dropped from 15.4 and 8.4 respectively to 12.9 and 6.8 per 1000 live births between 2011 and 2016. This innovative system also offers di l i d di l i i i f

UN Photo/Kibae Park


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“Interconnecting Health Records to Enhance Quality of Health Care” Initiative: The National e-Health Services Institution: Directorate of Health Country: Iceland Website:http://www.landlaeknir.is/servlet/file/store93/item28955/National_eHealth_Strategies_January_2016_final.pdf Iceland boasts a small population of 300,000 inhabitants, with high life expectancies of 83.7 years for men and 80.7 years for women. The infant mortality rate is 0.7 infants per 1000 births. The eHealth Services aimed to provide both health professionals and citizens access to patient records, and interconnect health records across multiple healthcare institutions. The eHealth Services include interconnected electronic health records (EHRs), pharmaceutical and immunization databases, and a citizen health portal. Within the interconnected EHRs, health professionals can access important patient information, such as their allergies, medication history, diagnoses, hospital admittances, and vital signs. Within the Citizen Health Portal, they may view similar, personalized information, in addition to when their e-Prescriptions are ready.

The benefits of the eHealth Services are that it offers secure access to patient information for professionals and clients in a seamless fashion. Because it is online, it can be easily updated and quickly accessed.It has directly improved collaboration, reduced patient’s records duplication and increased the quality of care. According to the Directorate, a successful implementation of eHealth Services, however, requires a multitude of critical factors. There must be national coordination in regards to policy and law, a shared vision, an appropriate allocation of government financing and support, as well as well-thought out technology and interfaces to make the program easy to use. These factors may also present themselves as challenges when there is not enough support from the administration and the government, which ultimately fails to encourage innovation within healthcare. As the Citizen Health Portal continues to grow, it will seek to encompass even more services for citizens and improve implementation of healthcare services.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe


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• Universal access to health services is a right which is enshrined in the UN charter and the SDGs. The right to health establishes the right of everyone to access the best level of care. This requires an efficient health care system that is able to meet the growing demand for health while respecting human rights. Providing excellent health services will help to address the social determinants of inequity, and ensure that no one is left behind. • Transformational and service driven leadership is key to ensuring change towards an effective delivery of health services for all. • Coherent and integrated national health plans are needed to realize the 2030 Agenda. Only with effective joint strategies aimed at reducing inequalities, real health benefits can be achieved at a sustainable cost. Governments can significantly improve health and well-being for all by devising common objectives and making joint investments between the health sector and other sectors. However, this requires stronger collective efforts and more accountable governance systems. Health is promoted more effectively when there is political cohesion and integration of the different areas that have to work together and learn from one another to ensure health for all. Health policies have a direct impact on communities’ health, work, education, culture, and environment. • National health information systems should be strengthened by improving multisectoral data collection and review mechanisms. In-depth studies and disaggregated data can help design and implement appropriate and effective health policies. Governments need to put in place strengthened capacity for analysis, management and monitoring of information and data for decision-making. Therefore, national statistical capacity as well as research and development should be bolstered.

• Governments should promote the empowerment of the most marginalized groups, especially through education, which can influence the lives of many people. • Enhancing connectivity and the use of the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is essential to the effective delivery of health services. Technology provides great opportunities for improvement in the healthcare system, especially in contexts with limited resources. eHealth is a key enabler for strengthening health systems. It is also important to promote e-learning practices, ongoing training, telemedicine and the use of mobile technologies (such as geolocation). Reliable information and effective communication are crucial elements in public health practices. The use of appropriate technologies, such as mobile and wireless technologies, can considerably improve the delivery of health care and have the potential to transform the make-up of health service delivery across the globe. • Public-private partnerships are critical to improve global health and ensure sustainable health interventions, especially for vulnerable populations.

• North–South, South–South and triangular regional and international cooperation on access to health should be strengthened.

• Creating an ecosystem where a healthy lifestyle is reinforced through prevention programmes and initiatives can greatly help reduce the incidence of diseases and the unnecessary strain on healthcare systems.



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Overview

nergy is closely related to many challenges the world is facing today, such as climate change, employment,

economic growth, income levels, food production, health and security. Sustainable Development Goal 7 committs to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. The well-being of people, the strength of the economy and the health of the environment depend on it. The technological progress and innovative trends in renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and bioenergy are vital for improving energy efficiency. Since energy consumption is one of the dominant contributors to climate change, accounting for more than 70 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the carbon intensity of energy is a key objective in achieving the long-term climate change objectives included in the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development1 Energy connectivity is also critical and requires continued investment in the energy sector. Depending on the country context, measures may range from reducing the use of fossil fuels, or phasing out fossil fuel subsidies increasing energy efficiency to reducing energy intensity of economies, promoting new ways of generating energy

1 http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/energy/

(substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in national and by extension the global energy mix) and improving resilience of energy infrastructures, or mobilizing investment for increasing access to electricity, clean fuel and devices for cooking and heating. Main topics in this track ranged from the extensive use of statistics for large scale and individual analysis of the use of sustainable sources of energy, partnerships between public organizations and non-public organizations, the use of statistics for a more data-driven decision making process, and projects implemented by national governments with the aim of setting the course towards sustainable energy for all.

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3. Partnerships for Sustainable Energy


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Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions There is a need for transparent, accountable and participatory institutional arrangements within and across public administrations, highlighting the role of partnerships with all relevant stakeholders, and designing effective solutions for the multi-faceted challenges faced. Government organizations need to be equipped for engaging in fruitful partnerships with other government organizations and other actors and partners.

Leadership and capacities for innovative government Leadership in public administrations is instrumental in translating vision into action and driving change. To do that, effective leadership must be intertwined with efforts to build and harness institutional and individual public sector employee capacity. Leaders of public organizations can have a very important role in accelerating positive developments in promoting sustainable energy. The extent to which they are involved may be crucial for the effectiveness of the implementations and changes made.

Overcoming challenges through technology Technology is an important feature in promoting sustainable energy. For example, it helps through open data which is collected, analysed, harnessed, monitored and evaluated for effective decision making.

Policy coherence and integration Energy is closely interlinked with many challenges that the world is facing today. Long- term outcomes in climate change, employment, economic growth, income levels, food production, health and security all depend, in no small part, on the course of action taken on energy today. To meet this multi-faceted challenge of reducing carbon intensity while ensuring energy availability to all innovative approaches and cooperation with all relevant stakeholders are required.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Sustainable Energy


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“Making Better Decisions through Collaborative Data Collection and Analyses” Initiative: CBS Urban Data Centers Institution: Statistics Netherlands (CBS) Country: The Netherlands Website: https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb Statistics Netherlands (CBS) enables people and organizations to have debates and make decisions on social issues on the basis of reliable statistical information. CBS Urban Data Centers are helping to create cleaner cities and reduce environmental pollution. The mission of CBS is to publish reliable and coherent statistical information which responds to the needs of the Dutch society. The responsibility of CBS is twofold: firstly, to compile (official) national statistics and secondly to compile European (community) statistics. One way of realizing this responsibility is building Urban Data Centers. An Urban Data Center (UDC) is collaboration between CBS and a local government /municipality or a cluster of municipalities. A UDC combines the knowledge of CBS about data infrastructure, data processing and privacy with the ambition of the local government to develop itself towards a data driven smart society. The translation of national statistics to the regional level has already been happening for a long time. A big breakthrough was making the connection between two government agencies in the application of statistics in decision-making. Key to success is working together in order to achieve concrete results.


https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb


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• Promoting energy efficiency, global leadership in renewable energies and providing fair deals for consumers are key to sustainable energy.

• As countries are currently experiencing an energy transition, decarbonizing and increasing people’s access to energy should be considered together.

• The role of IT is important.

• Policy coherence is important in the context of promoting green energy for

citizens, energy consumers, and investors.

• Public interventions are needed to regulate waste energy.

• Since most people in the world will live in cities, governments should pay particular attention to building green smart cities.



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Overview

anaging and responding to sea and water-level rise requires a public administration that is resilient and

innovative. Sea level rise has been larger since 1850s than the average rate during the 2000s, the rates increasing from 1.3-1.7mm of rise per year to 2.8-3.6mm over much of the 20th century. Rates of sea level rise of up to four times the global average have been reported in Small Island Developing

States (SIDS). As the 2030 Agenda states “survival of many societies, and of the biological support systems of the planet, is at risk”. The Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction are instrumental in jointly addressing sea and water-level rise.

The negative impacts of sea and water-level rise can be mitigated by early planning and well-designed adaptive responses such as land use plans, ecosystem conservation policies, public facility and infrastructure investments, coastal management and beach preservation, and post-disaster redevelopment planning. Coastal areas, SIDS and low lying territories in particular need to effectively prepare for sea and water-level rise by ensuring that adaptation occurs in a way that coastal resources are protected and public safety is ensured while supporting sustainable economic growth.

Proactive adaptation strategies fall into three main categories: protect, accommodate and retreat. Protection strategies often involve the construction and use of engineered or natural infrastructures, such as a seawall, revetment or bulkhead in the case of engineered infrastructures, and beaches, dune systems or wetlands in the case of natural structures. Accommodation strategies employ

methods that modify existing developments or design new elements such as elevating structures and measures including through diverse policies related to land use designations and zoning ordinances. Retreat strategies include relocating or removing existing developments out of hazardous areas. Different types of strategies are appropriate in different contexts and often hybrid approaches are necessary.

Many of the issues that impact oceans and water go beyond national borders, hence the indispensability of national, regional and international collaboration. Usage and investment in water infrastructure provide a mix of public and private benefits. A dam, for example, provides public benefits such as flood protection, but also stores water for individual households or businesses to use. Given the array of variables involved, policy-makers need to partner with the civil society, scientists, indigenous communities and coastal communities, to most effectively address the ocean and sea-level rise related issues. This will strengthen the sustainability solutions.

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4. Cooperative Management of Increasing Water and Sea Levels


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As a consequence, the Dutch society and government have worked together for centuries to manage water levels. “Water Boards1” are the oldest government organizations, for instance.

Water Boards are co-dependent on each other; and rivers flow consequently through different Water Boards. This track reflected on how public administrations can address the challenges related to sea and water-level rise. It explored innovative practices from around the world in mitigating the impacts of sea and water-level rise and protecting communities and livelihoods. It also depicted the approaches and strategies of the Dutch water sector on managing the water levels in partnerships on a day to day basis. Participants were invited to bring their own approaches and case studies, including any technical or administrative question.

1 Dutch Water Boards (waterschappen) are regional government bodies charged with managing water barriers, waterways, water levels, water quality and sewage treatment. For more, see https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=1969661048

3848799b141caf6e6a041a or http://www.dutchwaterauthorities.com/about-us/

https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=19696610483848799b141caf6e6a041a

https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=19696610483848799b141caf6e6a041a

http://www.dutchwaterauthorities.com/about-us/


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Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions The value-added of developing and maintaining partnerships with all relevant stakeholders including through people-private-public partnerships (PPPP) has proven to be a crucial factor for success. The importance of developing and implementing joint agendas for change at local, national and community levels should not be underestimated particularly for large scale interventions in water management.

Overcoming challenges through technology In water management projects, the technical aspects are important for the implementation process. It has to be said that technology will only work if all the partners are working together. It is relatively easy to just put large scale infrastructure in place, to do so with broad support from all partners involved is a whole different matter.

Policy coherence and integration Inter-institutional coordination and cooperation are key factors for success. Large scale infrastructural interventions can impact social cohesion as much as they influence agricultural production, land ownership and drinking water. They can also foster social innovation.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Managing Increasing Water and Sea Levels

Leadership and capacities for innovative government Commitment by high-level government officials, both at international, national and local levels of governance, is important for the successful implementation reforms and innovations in managing sea and water level rise. Both ownership and leadership in this area shown by local level public administrators, NGOs and civilians have been particularly essential for successful strategies and results.


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“Effective Management of Water Resources in ‘Coastal Chars’” Initiative: Char Development and Settlement Project (CDSP) Institution: Government of the Netherlands (GoN), Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Country: Bangladesh Website: http://www.cdsp.org.bd/ The goal of the Char Development and Settlement Project (CDSP) is to reduce poverty and hunger in the ‘coastal chars’ of Bangladesh through effective management of water resources, protection against tidal and storm surges, improved drainage systems; climate resilient internal infrastructure for communication, cyclone shelters, provision of potable water and hygienic sanitation. It also ensures the provision of legal titles to land ownership within an overall institutional reform programme to improve household resilience and livelihood, to create an enabling environment for effective and participatory water management and to ensure continuity of the acquired knowledge by undertaking and disseminating surveys and studies. This project is co-financed by the Government of Bangladesh, the Government of the Netherlands, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

UN Photo/ Kibae

“More Space to Rivers in the Dutch Delta” Initiative: Room for the River Institution: Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment Country: The Netherlands Website: https://www.ruimtevoorderivier.nl/english/ The goal of the Dutch Room for the River Programme is to give more space to all the rivers located in the Dutch delta in order to be able to manage higher water levels. Measures have been taken on more than 30 locations to give the river enough space to prevent floods and ensure its smooth flow. Some twenty national and regional authorities as well as the concerned communities and businesses have cooperated in the planning, implementation and the control stages of the project.

UN Photo/ Marco Dormino


http://www.cdsp.org.bd/

https://www.ruimtevoorderivier.nl/english/

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Overview

ublic policies and decisions often have long-lasting effects on the lives of the current and next generations and influence the

sustainability of our world for decades to come. Peaceful and inclusive societies are societies that ensure that future generations have the capacities to meet their needs and build their own and their children’s lives. The vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development consists of a world which invests in its children and young populations who grow free from violence and exploitation.

UNICEF estimates that children make up nearly half of the 900 million people living on less than US$1.90 a day. Many are deprived from basic health care and lack adequate nutrition. About 124 million children and adolescents do not attend school, and two out of five leave primary school without learning how to read, write or do basic arithmetic. This challenge is compounded by the fact that one out of every four children in the world lives in a country affected by conflict.

A critical challenge for the years to come is to empower young people, increase their participation in society and their access to education, training and jobs. What does it take for communities to ensure health, education and

security for current and future generations? Clearly, governments have a major responsibility in this regard. What are the challenges for the public administrations? How can the public sector engage in partnerships with communities and various actors of governance to give all children and youth good opportunities in life, and to make societies peaceful, safe and inclusive?

This track examined public policies and innovative actions and services for improving the lives of children and youth, notably by working to eradicate poverty and illiteracy, promoting health, employment and decent work and ensuring the safety and security of children and youth. This track put particular attention to education, child security and protection and the creation of safe communities. It reflected on the latest trends in policies and initiatives. It helped to better understand how user-tailored and people-centered governance processes can enhance public policies and service delivery.

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5. Enabling Children and Young People to Achieve Agenda 2030


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Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions Working together in joint partnerships with all the organizations and individuals involved is a necessity for achieving the SDGs notably those related to children. How do stakeholders influence the way a public organization functions? How can we learn from stakeholders while preserving the mandate and core competences of an organization?

Leadership and capacities for innovative government Public administration systems and institutions are re-examining challenges related to children and youth from a user- oriented perspective. By focusing on the public value connected to specific policy issues, systems approaches can help un-pack and re-orient government decision making that can help promote the well-being of the youth. Sustainable transformation derives from focusing on the outcomes rather than process improvements.

Overcoming challenges through technology Participants were invited to learn from experienced change managers in the public sector and stakeholders about transforming an organization to make it more people-centred and responsive to the needs of children and those who care for them.

Policy coherence and integration Participants were allowed to take an in-depth look at the role of technology in improving access to education and other public sector areas of vital importance to children and the youth.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Children and Young People

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“Involving the Youth in Managing Resources through the School Comptroller at the Local Level” Initiative: Schoolchildren Comptroller Institution: Contraloría General de Medellin Country: Colombia 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner In 2008, the General Comptroller of Medellín carried out training activities on the fiscal control of educational institutions in the city, using students as the auditors. At the time, there were no mechanisms for youth to democratically participate in discussions surrounding the use of public resources in their schools. By creating the role of the School Comptroller, students are able to promote transparency and greater public control in the management of public resources in educational institutions. The program has been replicated in other regions and an agreement was signed between the General Comptroller and the Court of Accounts of the Republic of El Salvador, where the program has already been transferred to over 50 Salvadoran educational institutions.

“Policing through Cooperation” Initiative: Innovative Form of Policing in Corps Dublin Institution: A Garda Síochána Country: Ireland Website: http://www.garda.ie Society is changing rapidly, in all its aspects. Policing is also changing: from the more traditional style of policing to a more cooperative form. This requires a change of culture within the police force, including a change in leadership style. The Dublin Police has explored ways of achieving this new form of policing. With responsive and responsible policing models based on data, accountability and community engagement, the Dublin Police has gained greater capacity in addressing new problems dogging children and youth such as radicalization. “Providing Safe Communities for Future Generations” Initiative: Every Child Safe Institution: Youth Protection Agency Amsterdam Country: The Netherlands Website: https://www.jeugdbescherming.nl/ The Winner of the Dutch Governmental Organization of the Year 2014 and European Public Service Award 2015, “Every child Safe” was launched by the Youth Protection Agency of Amsterdam to overcome major financial deficits and ensure more effective services. Today it is putting the interest of children at the core of its actions, with a model that focuses on close cooperation with partner organizations and stakeholders, successfully providing safe communities for future generations.

http://www.garda.ie/

http://www.garda.ie/

https://www.jeugdbescherming.nl/


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• Every child and young person deserves care and protection as well as fair opportunities in life. This means a safe environment, quality education, health care, adequate nutrition, access to quality employment and social integration based on cultural and spiritual development.

• Upholding the rights of children and youth is directly relevant to and is supported by the SDGs. Policies should focus explicitly on social protection and empowerment programs based on whole-of-lifecycle approaches and on protecting children from poverty (SDG 1); eradicating malnutrition ensuring access to food (SDG 2); ending preventable deaths (SDG 3); and diminishing youth un- or under-employment, and promoting education and training (SDG 8), and providing access to green spaces (SDG 11).

• Registering children at birth with the

appropriate public authorities is an important step towards safeguarding their individual rights and ensuring access to justice (SDG 16).

There is a need to rethink how youth can be involved in development and governance. Their potential can be realized through a strong and explicit focus on accountability. Young people should be made a more integral part of public decision-making processes, particularly on issues with impact on youth.

• Responses to community-oriented policing should include innovative police engagement modalities which involve families in addressing the problem of youth radicalization.

• Senior management must be fully brought in to ensure transformative public service, including based on targeted and data-based analysis people’s needs.

• Energy harnessed through the social media

should be turned into real action and be part of an overall strategy of child and youth development.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas


“Achieving Equality and Excellence in Education” Initiative: Publicly Funded Educational Systems Institution: Embassy of Finland Country: Finland Website: http://minedu.fi/en/frontpage The Finnish strategy for achieving equality and excellence in education has been based on constructing a publicly funded comprehensive school system without selecting, tracking, or streaming students during their common basic education. Part of the characteristics of the Finnish education system is the absence of tuition fees, and the offering of fully subsidised meals served to full-time students. Inclusive special education within the classroom and instructional efforts to minimize low achievement are also typical of the Finnish, and by extension, the Nordic educational systems.

http://minedu.fi/en/frontpage

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• Young people and youth organizations should be trained, particularly in the legal field to better grasp how they can use their activist energy legitimately. They should also be provided with career training opportunities to learn about how to conduct effective job searches.


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Overview

he 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets the ambitious overall objective to free the human race from the

tyranny of poverty and shift the world development on to a sustainable and resilient path by 2030. It establishes that no goal should be met unless it is met for everyone, and calls for leaving no one behind. World Leaders agreed to reach the furthest behind first and pay special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations -- such as children, youth, persons with disabilities (of whom more than 80 per cent live in poverty), people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons, indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons, migrants as well as the poorest of the poor. All Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets have to be pursued with the objective to Leave No One Behind. At the national level, innovative public policies harnessing the enabling power of technology and the mobilization of adequate financial resources can help in improving the lives of the furthest behind and unlocking their potential. Some policies such as those aimed at promoting economic growth need to be supplemented by others to address poverty and inequalities as well as social inclusion, social justice and empowerment.

The 2030 Agenda stresses the importance of quality disaggregated data to understand who is at risk of being left behind and spot the key needs and vulnerabilities of these segments of populations. This calls for a major effort to build statistical capacities. Globally, a critical component for leaving no person and no country behind is the commitment of the UN Member States to renew and strengthen global solidarity, cooperation and partnerships to effectively address the special

needs of the least developed countries and countries in special situations.

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6. Unlocking the Potential of the Furthest Behind


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Overcoming challenges through technology The 2030 Agenda stressed the great potential of information and communication technology (ICT) and global interconnectedness to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies. Likewise, it underscored unique opportunities that scientific and technological innovation across areas as diverse as medicine and energy provide in advancing sustainable development and reaching out to the most vulnerable. When employed wisely, technological advancement can help reach marginalized and vulnerable groups and can make public services delivery more efficient, transparent, inclusive and participatory.

Policy coherence and integration

The role of public administration and policy-making cannot be understated in reaching out to the most vulnerable population groups and in targeting development policies to their needs. Often the most vulnerable groups have the least voice and leverage to influence positive changes. Adopting whole-of-government approaches to development at all levels of government is key to address the multi-faceted aspects of poverty and to address the challenges faced by vulnerable groups.

Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions The efforts to leave no one behind need to be informed by participatory and inclusive decision-making processes. This creates also transparency in policy-making and enhances accountability in delivering equitable public services to all.

Leadership and capacities for innovative government

When adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development the UN Member states acknowledged that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development. At the same time they also stressed that the role of national policies and development strategies cannot be over-emphasized. Cohesive nationally owned sustainable development strategies, supported by integrated national financing frameworks, are the heart of the Agenda 2030 and can be achieved only by sustained political will and visionary leadership. Establishing and implementing policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development, for gender equity, reaching out to the most vulnerable population groups, and providing equal opportunities for all require capable and innovative government and agile public administration equipped to call to life the Agenda 2030 vision.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Leaving No One Behind

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“Partnering for Early Childhood Education” Initiative: Municipal Early Childhood Educational System Institution: The Municipality of Santa Fe Country: Argentina 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner In the city of Santa Fe, until 2011, access to early childhood education (45 days to three years old) was concentrated in private institutions located in the historic and commercial center of the city. According to census data for 2010, only 12% of children under four years old attended the early childhood educational system. The families of the most vulnerable sectors suffered from lower participation rates. The creation of the Municipal Early Childhood Education System (SMEI) and the implementation of a comprehensive and inclusive public policy for early childhood education were based on the right of education for children from vulnerable communities. Mechanisms and forms of management were jointly created by the provincial state and civil society organizations to avoid duplication and standardize education quality.


“Preventing Older Persons Fraud by Providing Safeguarding Services” Initiative: The Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT) Institution: Avon and Somerset Constabulary Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT) Country: United Kingdom Website: http://sclt.us/ 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner

The Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT) was created to address the issue of senior fraud. Studies in the United Kingdom identified that 53% of the people surveyed (aged 65 years and above) have either been victims of fraud, or have been targeted with fraudulent money schemes. The fully volunteer-run team provides a host of modified safeguarding services, designed to protect vulnerable senior-citizens from financial abuse. The implementation of SCLT strategies showed a decrease of 56% in offenses targeting senior-citizens.

http://sclt.us/


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UN Photo/Kibae Park

“Providing Services to Disadvantaged Groups through a Digital Participatory Budgeting Program” Initiative: Fund My Community Program Institution: Department of the Premier and Cabinet Country: Australia Website: https://yoursay.sa.gov.au/fmc_rounds/fund-my-community-2017 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner Each year, Fund My Community involves the community into deciding how AUD$1 million can be used to improve the lives of disadvantaged, isolated or vulnerable South Australians. As a digital participatory budgeting program, Fund My Community invites South Australian citizens to take part in a “community assessment,” reviewing the applications and allocating the funding to the projects or services that they believe will have the biggest impact. Fund My Community contributes to the SDGs by building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Evaluation has shown that this participatory approach has multiple benefits for government, non-government applicant organisations and the community.

“Freedom of Information for the Vulnerable Children and Adolescents” Initiative: Queremos Saber-“We Want to Know” Initiative Institution: Government of Uruguay Country: Uruguay In Uruguay, a number of initiatives aimed at expanding the reach of and equal access to ICTs proved to be effective in dramatically increasing access to computers and the Internet. They also became a key ingredient in sustaining other programmes aimed at vulnerable populations, such as young people from deprived neighbourhoods. The “Queremos Saber” initiative implemented by the Government of Uruguay in 2016, used the right to freedom of information to help improve children's well-being by giving them access to government data on availability of otherwise abandoned public spaces close to their school and utilise these spaces for their extracurricular activities and needs.

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“Improving Community Life through Better Waste Management” Initiative: Social Upliftment through Waste Management Institution: Ghanzi District Council Country: Botswana 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner The small population and sparse distribution of people in the Ghanzi District of Botswana has resulted in a lack of available resources, contributing to its limited development and high levels of unemployment. One reoccurring problem within the Ghanzi District is the proximity and large amounts of uncollected waste, exacerbating the harmful living conditions and health implications to its people. As a tool to combat the issue of waste management and unemployment, community members were provided with donkey carts and were contracted to collect waste within their settlements. In doing so, beneficiaries are able to provide for their families and improve the living conditions of their communities. Due to the initiative’s ability to reduce waste collection costs, the government was also able to provide stronger safety nets for the community, increasing the standard quality of living.

“Digital Money for Refugees and Migrants” Initiative: The EyeCloud Innovation Institution: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (Jordan), CairoAmmanBank, IrisGuard Country: Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon The use of digital technologies helped UNHCR partner with CairoAmmanBank, IrisGuard and the government of Jordan to provide migrants and refugees with digital money deposited on e-cards to access food and basic public services. The project aims at alleviating poverty by providing cash grants and other development interventions to create a positive impact on refugees’ lives. The system is available for families registered under the Social Safety Net Programme and gives priority to those identified as abject poor. It replaces food and cash assistance distributed to beneficiaries and allows the refugees to choose their food according to their individual needs.


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“Empowering Adolescent Girls from Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Families (Conditional Cash Transfers)” Initiative: Kanyashree Prakalpa (KP) Institution: Department of Women, Child Development and Social Welfare, West Bengal Country: India 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner Each day, child marriage affects more than 41,000 girls globally. Using Conditional Cash Transfers, Kanyashree Prakalpa (KP) aims to improve the status of adolescent girls from socio-economically disadvantaged families in West Bengal, India. Two conditional cash transfers are provided - an Annual Scholarship of Rs. 750/- to girls between the ages of 13 and 18, and a One-Time Grant to girls who have reached age 18. The cash transfers are contingent upon the girls being enrolled in education and unmarried at the time, and are only given to girls from families whose annual income is not more than Rs. 1,20,000/-. Increased educational attainment, prevention of child marriage and financial inclusion are the scheme’s objectives. Simultaneously, through public advocacy and social behavior change communication, Kanyashree works towards creating a supportive environment in which girls are encouraged to express their full potential and are free to become architects of their own lives.

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• There are not only social and moral aspects of unlocking the potential of vulnerable people, but also economic aspects linked to market failure in leaving them behind. Investing in women’s empowerment and adolescent girls’ education through conditional cash transfer programs benefits the society in the long run with more productive labour force, better maternal and child health outcomes and overall family wellbeing. • Integrated policy responses to existing problems have positive spill-over effects. For example, providing childcare in vulnerable communities not only boosts early childhood development, but also allows young mother-caregivers to pursue their education further and to participate in the labour force. Such interventions have inter-generational effects and contribute to the wellbeing of various groups simultaneously.

• The most successful initiatives in leaving no one behind are those that create mechanisms to reach out to and hear the voices of all people.

• Technology can help to reach out to the most vulnerable in many ways. For example, it can help to support refugees and migrants with cash-aid by enabling their identification through eye-scans, especially when government issued paper-IDs may not be available. It also contributes to reducing corruption by switching to e-taxation systems. It is also a tool to engage younger generations in policy-debate and in shaping their future. Technology can help to reduce the costs of public service delivery. • Purposeful focus on and targeting of the most vulnerable groups, through specific public policies yield both short-term and long-term benefits for the entire society.



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Overview

n 2016, an estimated 54.5 per cent of the world’s population lived in urban settlements. By 2030, urban areas are projected to house

60 per cent of people globally and one in every three people will live in cities which will harbor at least half a million inhabitants. While cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically, there are some common urban challenges including the urban poor, impact of climate change, insufficient funds to provide basic services, healthcare and education, and declining infrastructure, which must be effectively addressed by all relevant stakeholders, including the urban actors, at all levels of governments as well as civil society and the private sector. Among all the challenges that cities face today, poverty, inequality and the lack of adequate public infrastructure and public services are among the most pressing concerns. 828 million people live in slums, and the numbers keep rising. The levels of urban energy consumption and pollution are also worrying. Cities occupy just 3 per cent of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 percent of carbon emissions. For the same reason, cities are also more vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Taking into account the important role of cities in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDG 11 related to urban

development specifically calls for making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The New Urban Agenda, which was adopted during the recent United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, also reiterates the importance of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

This track sought, inter alia, to build the capacities of public institutions and leaders on how to design policies, institutional arrangements, participatory processes and mechanisms to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

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7. Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Cities


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Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions

The SDG 16 calls for building effective, transparent, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. This is particularly important for SDG 11. Reducing corruption and entrenching dynamic, open, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making processes in cities are vital as is ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms. Local governments have led the way in experimenting with new and innovative forms of participatory decision-making as in participatory budgeting and planning. Overcoming challenges through technology ICTs have the potential to transform the way cities are managed. As is stated in the 2030 Agenda, “the spread of information and communication technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies, as do scientific and technological innovation across areas as diverse as medicine and energy1”. In particular, when adequately deployed, ICTs can help realize the principle of leaving no one behind in SDG implementation. They can help reach marginalized and vulnerable groups and can also make local governments more efficient, transparent, inclusive and participatory. Policy coherence and integration Multi-stakeholder partnerships are needed to promote sustainable urbanization, as no stakeholder alone can uphold or execute this ambitious vision. This implies the involvement of local, national and regional governments; large companies and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); financial institutions and philanthropists; civil society actors in the environment, development and social spaces;; trade and labour unions, universities and youth organizations, to name a few. The general public also needs to get engaged more so that people can play a constructive role as consumers, investors and drivers of urban transformation.

Leadership and capacities for innovative government Local authorities play a critical role in making sustainable cities, given their proximity to people and ability to grasp the needs of the city dwellers. Successful implementation of the Agenda 2030 will depend in no small part on local authorities’ actions and effective national-local collaboration and coordination. In order to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, local authorities and city governments will need to adopt a holistic approach for making policies coherent both horizontally across sectors and vertically across the different levels and layers of government.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Cities


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“Citizen’s Participation in Budgeting for Sustainable Development “ Initiative: Participatory Budgeting Project Institution: Participatory Budgeting Project (NGO) Country: United States of America Website: www.participatorybudgeting.org Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It involves an annual cycle of meeting and voting, and it becomes part of the broader budget decision-making process. The process of participatory budgeting generally, although it varies according to the specific needs of different entities and organizations, follows a number of steps: 1) establishing a steering committee, representative of the community, creating rules, in partnership with government officials, to ensure the process is inclusive and meets local needs, 2) enabling residents to share and discuss ideas for projects, through meetings and online tools, 3) ensuring volunteers develop the ideas into feasible proposals, which are then vetted by experts, 4) having residents voting to divide the available budget between the proposals, and 5) mobilizing the government to implement the winning projects. The government

UN Photo/Oddbjorn Monsen

“Quantifying the Impact of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) & Climate Change Adoption (CCA) Research“ Initiative: Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) Institution: Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development, Department of Science and Technology Country: Philippines Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) is an IT-based, e-governance tool and an operational disaster Research and development (R&D) programme that aims to improve the government and the Filipino people’s capacity to address the impacts of natural hazards, particularly extreme weather events, by providing high-quality information to support the country’s Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies. Project NOAH provides more Filipinos in the countryside with access to timely, accurate, and comprehensive weather information and their possible impacts, including flooding, storm surge, landslide, tsunami, earthquake, nuclear radiation— empowering the people to make informed decisions, as well as enhancing the efficiency and readiness of concerned agencies and local governments.

http://www.participatorybudgeting.org/


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“Improving Citizen-centric Service Delivery” Initiative: The National Digital Transformation Institution: Government Technology Agency

Country: Singapore Website: www.tech.gov.sg

The digital transformation in Singapore government services has focused on three dimensions: i) adhering to the citizens-first principle - inverting the paradigm of government service delivery from government-centric to citizen-centric; ii) setting the citizen-centric strategic platforms for the next stage of digital transformation; and iii) leveraging digital communities to serve and augment government services. i). Citizen-centric: Citizens are able to report municipal issues without having to know which agency will be handling the issue through OneService app. Another example is MyInfo, a digital personal data platform which helps citizens fill in digital forms automatically instead of doing so repeatedly for every transaction. ii). Government-as-a-platform: The government of Singapore is building the next-generation National Trade Platform, which will synergise the entire trade and logistics ecosystem - from Government to banks and insurance firms to logistics providers to businesses - and enable the sharing of data and applications for more streamlined processes. This will improve productivity. iii). Building Digital Communities: The Government Technology Agency worked with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to develop myResponder. First-aid trained citizens are able to sign up with the app which alerts users to medical emergency cases nearby. The app has since enlisted more than 17,000 volunteers to respond to emergency cases within 400m and saved several lives. “Resolving Urban Challenges and Improving Transparency of Seoul City through

Big Data” Initiative: Local Service Delivery based on Big Data Analytics Institution: Seoul City Metropolitan Government Country: Republic of Korea Seoul undertook to apply big data to a metropolitan-level city with over 10 million residents, to improve both the administrative efficiency, accountability and the daily lives of citizens. In 2013, for example, Seoul city decided to run its buses after midnight and leveraged big data to design optimized routes for post-midnight buses. First, Seoul city divided the city area into 1,252 hexagons and successfully optimized the routes of post-midnight buses by analyzing the mobile phone call data in each hexagon to predict the probability of citizens’ movement in post-midnight hours. The project was significant since it used the big data produced in a metropolitan city to address the daily issues of its citizens. In 2017, Seoul city built “Digital Citizens & Mayor’s Office, an interactive screen and visual data, to help the mayor and citizens comprehend the overall work of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Basically, Seoul structures and visualizes the city’s data, which is fragmentarily scattered across departments, through a big interactive screen in the Mayor’s Office and city homepage. By providing its citizens with the same data that the Mayor of Seoul sees to comprehend the overall work of Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Government gets better and more accurate feedback from its citizens and increases its transparency and accountability.

http://www.tech.gov.sg/


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“Guaranteeing Access to Water for All through a Public Management Water System” Initiative: Eau de Paris, a public water operator committed to general interest, sustainability and transparency Institution : Eau de Paris Country : France Website:http://www.eaudeparis.fr/uploads/tx_edpevents/Brochure_institutionnelle_ENG_2013.pdf 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winner The privatization of public services has become common across Europe. In Paris, from 1980-2010 communities saw an increase in water prices by an average of 7% annually due to the mismanagement of water services by private companies. As the inflated water rates negatively impacted the social welfare of communities, the Municipality of Paris took over its water service. In doing so, the aim was to ensure a transparent public water system that served the interests of people, while ensuring that water management was a democratic tool of open and participatory governance. Thus, Water from Paris, a public entity, controls the production and distribution of water in this fashion. The emergence of a public water management model has changed the production and distribution of quality drinking water and made it available at lower prices. As a result, the initiative has saved more than €30 million compared to the previous management method. Since January 1st, 2017, the price of water has dropped by 8%.

“Multi-level Partnerships for Better Cities” Initiative: European Union Urban Agenda Institution: European Union Country: European countries Website: www.urbanagendaforthe.eu The European Union’s (EU) Urban Agenda sets out new working methods to ensure maximum utilization of growth potential and to tackle social challenges. It aims to promote cooperation between Member States, Cities, the European Commission and other stakeholders, in order to stimulate growth, livability and innovation in the European cities. The EU’s Urban Agenda intends to strengthen the urban dimension in EU policies by increasing the involvement of cities in the EU policy making process. It comprises a multilevel and cross-sectoral working method, in which for the first time cities, Member States, EU institutions, European institutions and other stakeholders work together on urban challenges. In the framework of the UAEU, 12 thematic partnerships have been set up to address challenges ranging from urban poverty to energy transition. These partnerships will help provide answers to major transition questions and produce recommendations for better EU regulation, better access to EU funding and better knowledge exchange for European cities. As indicated in the Pact of Amsterdam, Urban Areas play a key role in pursuing the EU 2020 objectives and in solving many of its most pressing challenges. Urban Authorities play a crucial role in the daily life of all EU citizens. Urban Authorities are often the level of government closest to the citizens.


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• A holistic, innovative and inclusive

governance approach at the local level is key to SDGs implementation.

• No meaningful transformation will happen without changing public servants’ mind-sets, including their beliefs and attitudes. A new paradigm shift is needed on how people are perceived: from burden for government institutions to valuable agents of change. The government should see people as assets and part of solutions and therefore should take a people-centric approach to public service delivery.

• Participatory urban governance is critical for SDGs implementation. Promoting participatory governance is essential so citizens and their ideas, proposals and solutions are front and center of public decisions, e.g., participatory budgeting, or crowd sourcing. Participatory budgeting can empower citizens to have a voice in how a share of a city’s budget should be spent, e.g., New York, Paris. When planned and carried out in a collaborative manner, participatory budgeting can increase people’s participation in key public decisions on how to allocate resources. Participatory governance is important to promote shared ownership. It is also key to involve the youth as early as possible in making decisions in the public arena.

• ICT is an enabler for innovating public service delivery. For example, social media can improve interactions between government and people towards delivery of prompt public services. Mobile applications can help to direct public issues to the appropriate government agency. Using new technology such as open source and open code can better identify citizens’ needs and enhance government accountability as well.

• Solutions to public challenges need to be co-

created for example, by leveraging the power of data open data and big data analytics. At the same time, data protection measures should be put in place along with legislation for data privacy, consent and anonymization.

• Inclusion of vulnerable groups in

development planning and policy-decision-making process is critical to ensure that no one is left behind. Working with community-based organizations who might have relationships with the marginalized groups can help.



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Overview On 22 April 2016, the Paris Agreement was signed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The new agreement aims to reduce the pace and extent of climate change, and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future. Within this framework, Member States strive towards reducing energy waste and avoiding pollution with a new focus on what is defined as waste, and what waste management entails. Waste, seen under a different light, a primary source for a new product. In contrast to a ‘linear’ economy and its “take, make, dispose” approach to production and consumption, a circular economy is one where resource productivity is promoted through explicit efforts towards reducing waste and avoiding pollution, by design or by intention. In this respect, waste management is pivotal to the promotion, maintenance and strengthening of prosperity, both for current and future generations across the world.

This track of the UNPSF helped to better understand how system approaches can enhance public policies and service delivery through user-tailored and adaptive governance processes in waste management and circular economy. It discussed new approaches to production, emerging approaches to consumption as well as innovative procurement methods adopted by public organizations. Likewise, this track also shed light on good practices of public service innovation and collaboration methods of frontrunners in waste management as well as models of circular economy. This includedmodels with focus on partners, such as the private sector, civil society. The discussions engaged various champions of change in the public sector. Particular emphasis was placed on those who are often excluded from the labour markets including, for example, persons with disabilities, unearthing their role in circular economy and sustainable development.

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Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions Emerging approaches to networking and partnership-building at national, regional, international levels have proven to be important factors in promoting a circular economy.

Leadership and capacities for innovative government Large scale interventions to promote a circular economy call for courage and change management, especially in the public sector. Openness, transparency, and access to information require strong leadership, vision, and open communication.

Overcoming challenges through technology The vision for sustainable development in Agenda 2030 aspires to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature. There are examples of how scientific, technological and innovative capacities can be used to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production, which constitutes the basis of a circular economy.

Policy coherence and integration Identifying synergies and trade-offs among social, economic and environmental development aspects of the 2030 Agenda, and promoting integrated approaches in public administration and public management is paramount for sustainable resource management and sustainable development. In every policy area significant progress can be made in achieving a better reuse of resources. The challenge is to find efficient and effective ways of optimizing the reusability of resources thus realizing all SDGs faster and in an integrated fashion.

Public Administration Policy Issues and Trends Related to Circular Economy


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“Making the Procurement Process Circular” Initiative: Old Uniform Reusing Institution: Ministry of Defense Country: The Netherlands Website: www.defensie.nl/english The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands has fully focused on sustainable processes and social entrepreneurship. Used clothing (uniforms) is no longer burned, but is sorted out and reused. The process of parsing out takes place in a social facility where people with various disabilities are employed as integral partners of a circular economy. The Ministry of Defense does not burn all of the old clothes outright but makes a selection and clothes deemed to be reusable are sent to a separate facility where they are recycled. Thus firstly, all the fabrics of the old clothes are used again, and secondly, people previously excluded from the labour market, in this case persons with disabilities, are acquiring working experience in addition to increasing their self-confidence as new partners of sustainable production. This new process hinges on inter-agency collaboration. It also relies on the centralization of the management of the purchase of goods and services inside the government based on comparative advantage and specialization of each ministry. This innovative initiative is also linked to breakthrough approaches to public procurement and tendering. By consulting with the private sector about the possibilities that exist for reusing textiles, the tender itself was also better tailored to market needs.

UN Photo/ Ali Mustofa


“Removing Barriers between Governments and the Market” Initiative: Green Deals Institution: Government of the Netherlands Country: The Netherlands and Indonesia Citizens, companies, local councils and stakeholder organisations are continually finding ways to become more energy efficient and sustainable. However, these initiatives do not always get the right launchpad, perhaps because of the confusion about licenses, lack of collaborative partners, or ambiguous regulations. To help remove these barriers, the central government of the Netherlands promoted the so called ‘Green Deals’. One example is the Green Deal between the Netherlands and Indonesia. This relates to reducing single-use plastic packaging products. It aspires to explore and develop new market and governance approaches to respond commercially to the needs of low-income market segments. At the same time, it aims to drastically limit the environmental damage of single-use plastic packaging, its contribution to litter, marine debris, greenhouse gases and the costs of waste processing and clean-up.

UN Photo/ Sophia Paris

http://www.defensie.nl/english


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As part of the grant from the European

Union’s Horizon 2020 research programme, the OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation has developed a beta-model of skills for encouraging public sector innovation. The skills model is designed around six areas – iteration, data literacy, user centricity, curiosity, storytelling, and insurgency – which can enable a wider adoption of innovative practices and approaches within public institutions.

Iteration is about taking rapid and

incremental steps in developing projects, using prototypes to explore approaches, and conducting tests and experiments. It is important that failure is seen as an opportunity for public institutions to learn and achieve innovation by trying new things again and again.

Data literation is about public servants

using data to make decisions, providing data-driven public services, working with data specialists, and communicating data and results effectively.

Particularly, data-driven public services

can be effective in sharing problems with the public.

User centricity is aimed at providing

public policy and services that respond to user needs by focusing on users at every step, involving users in projects, and identifyingdifferent types of needs for different groups.

Curiosity means seeking out new ideas

and ways of doing things, reframing problems and situations, adapting approaches used elsewhere, and continuously learning.

Storytelling is about using narratives and

stories, telling the stories of users and citizens, working with multiple media and methods, and teaching lessons and sharing experiences. Storytelling is helpful for governments to effectively engage with peopleand get support from people. Yet, some remaining challenges may include generational and cultural gaps.

Insurgency is about challenging the

status quo, trying things out that might not work, building alliances for change, and working with different and unusual partners.

“How Do Government Officials Become Innovators?” Institution: Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OECD) Website: https://www.oecd.org/governance/observatory-public-sector-innovation/

https://www.oecd.org/governance/observatory-public-sector-innovation/

https://www.oecd.org/governance/observatory-public-sector-innovation/


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• Circular economy is more than just good waste management and doing good for the environment. It is more fundamentally about radically changing the economic system, changing behaviour of producers and consumers, promoting innovation and adopting strategic partnerships. Recycling and redesigning of products and services as well as focusing on innovation and smart collaboration in the supply chain are the first steps for a circular economy.

• In order to achieve circular economy, it is

crucial that people change their mind set toward waste and circular economy. Governments should start from small groups of entrepreneurs and gradually inspire wider groups. Teaching and challenging young designers and entrepreneurs is an example.

• Governments need to act as partners in

circular economy by effectively working together with diverse stakeholders – especially with the private sector. Maximum transparency and cooperation with the private sector are the two most important factors for the effective implementation of circular economy. It is important to note that transparency is crucial for both producers and consumers.

• While pursuing circular economy at the global level, governments need to actively work with local communities in order to identify their needs and find effective solutions to their problems.

• Governments should help to respond to the

different needs and difficulties confronted by different groups and businesses, and try to reflect them in government policies to ensure an effective and collaborative implementation of a circular economy.

• Government are encouraged to create an

inter-departmental programme on circular economy by adopting a holistic approach based on strong and effective collaboration of all relevant ministries and government agencies.

• In order to increase the level of innovation in

the public sector, government officials themselves need to become innovators, instead of simply relying on external specialists. Mainstreaming innovation skills such as iteration, data literacy, user centricity, curiosity, storytelling, and insurgency – would be a good start for public sector officials to become innovators.



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Part III

Drivers of Innovation in Public Service to Advance Agenda 2030


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esearch on what drives innovation in public service from around the world has shown that there are four important public administration dimensions that are essential for innovative governance. These include leadership and capacities for innovative government; transparent, accountable and participatory institutions; use of technology to overcome challenges, and policy coherence and integration. Following the thematic tracks organized on the first day of the Forum, four reflection sessions were held to discuss these factors in driving innovation in public service. The sessions utilised the buzzmaster system to collect feedback from participants4. 1- Leadership and Capacities for Innovative Government With reference to leadership and development, 49% of participants, who engaged in the session using the buzzmaster system, highlighted that “leadership and capacities for innovative government” are a critical factor for innovation, with “transparent, accountable and participatory institutions” following as the second-most popular answer. Ninety-four percent of people believed that public leadership is a useful instrument for their governments, and that the most important aspect of public leadership is integrity (43%), followed by cooperation (15%) and vision (15%). According to 78% of participants, experience is the best manner in which one learns to become a leader, and 75% fully agreed that leadership is necessary at all levels of government and public administration. Sixty-eight percent highlighted that civil servants should spend more than one week per year building their personal capacities, and that leaders should be evaluated based on how their work impacts sustainable development (77%). However, 51% of participants pointed out that leaders should not make any decisions without consulting other people and public servants; 49% disagreed with this statement, revealing a divergence of opinions in the room. However, participants were divided when asked whether today’s leaders are capable of building consensus: 46% agreed with the statement while 54% disagreed. Transparency and accountability were nonetheless seen as important for most people in their daily work, with an average of 4.1/5.0 on the 5-point scale. When assessing their own government’s transparency, the average score was 2.9/5.0, which shows a gap between how transparent people perceive themselves and their work in comparison to their government as a whole. Participants were asked to reflect on their own governments’ performance in implementing the SDGs, on a 5-point scale of commitment. The average score given was 2.7/5, revealing that participants felt their governments displayed a moderate or average commitment.

4 The buzzmaster is an innovative audience interaction system facilitated through a dedicated Wi-Fi spot for conferences or meetings. Once the audience has linked to the hotspot, session moderators can engage participants in real time by posing questions and polls where audience members use their mobile devices or tablets to provide their responses.

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What is Driving Innovations in Public Service?


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Most participants (82%) responded that local governments are better at involving society and stakeholders in the process. While 58% responded that their organization protects whistle blowers, 26% were not sure, 13% answered “possibly” and 3% said no. Sixty-two percent of respondents believe that they have adequate means and skills to enable public participation, and 92% agreed that it is possible to engage the poorest and most vulnerable people in decision-making on policies and public service delivery. Ultimately, these responses show that while there is a considerable agreement of what constitutes good leadership and/or transparent and inclusive organizations, there was disagreement on the current performance in this regard.

A number of key recommendations emerged from the presentations and discussions as follows:

• Government leadership should promote innovation policies; • Nurturing and motivating public servants, who are the change agents of the public sector, is

integral to innovation and effective delivery of services and SDGs in general; • Even if information about what has worked elsewhere can be very helpful, solutions should

remain local and not imposed; • It is important to use the best talent to engage and re-engage people in the delivery of the

SDGs; • Leaders must be evaluated based on results and on the impact that their actions have in

terms of SDGs implementation. 2. Transparent, Accountable and Participatory Institutions Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions are the backbone of a people-centred public service. Public servants must be clear about what it means to deliver people-centred services and be prepared to engage people in policy making and service delivery. Transparency: It is important that governments continuously strive to be transparent in all of their activities. Governments must promote transparency in order to keep the public informed, aware of what it does, and to help prevent acts of corruption. An open government and periodic disclosure of public service decisions, laws and other regulations have proven to be effective ways of keeping people informed and allowing for meaningful feedback and participation. When Governments are more accountable and responsive to the needs of society, trust in government increases. It also helps to enhance people’s interest in what their government does. Accountability: Accountability is complementary to transparency. By providing periodic public disclosure of their decisions, governments are answerable for how they implement the SDGs. Participants mentioned that participation is important for enhanced accountability. All resoundingly agreed that participation levels may differ depending on the geographical location and degree of development of the individual countries.

When asked to evaluate the importance of transparency and accountability in their daily work, most participants, who were from national or local governments, agreed that they must be accountable to the people.


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Participation: A participatory government allows citizens to feel heard, helped and supported across various public sector services. An effective participatory government allows vulnerable and marginalized groups to provide inputs to policies and to ensure that their needs are taken into account in the way services are delivered. Participation favors dialogue and helps to transcend the impression that government is bureaucratic and not transparent. By using the buzzmaster system, participants responded to the question: “What would be the greatest risk of practicing participatory government?” Forty-four percent of the participants believed that managing the expectations of people is the greatest risk of practicing participatory government. Thirty-six percent of respondents emphasized that balancing participation and reconciling diverse policy views was the greatest risk of practicing participatory government; while 20% of the participants indicated that “remaining objective as a government” is the greatest risk of practicing participatory government. However, participants highlighted that few citizens take advantage of participatory mechanisms, whether through formal or informal processes. A number of key recommendations emerged from the presentations and discussions as follows:

• Governments should establish feedback sessions where periodic disclosure of policy work by public sector institutions is undertaken to ensure greater transparency, accountability and participation.

• Seeking inputs of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in policy making decisions is essential to a more responsive government.

• Disclosing government information also helps people and other governments gain a better understanding of how the country is fairing in implementing the SDGs. This can help the government work together with different groups in society to raise the bar and learn from good practices.

• As governments continue to collect and sort data, it is vital that public institutions continue to promote the transparency of data and embrace the idea of an open and trustworthy government.

• Governments should continue to embrace a people-centred approach to service delivery and continue to self-evaluate their actions in order to make their work more transparent and accountable.

3. Overcoming Challenges through Technology The use of technology in government presents both opportunities and challenges. There are positive uses of technology data, but also risks, such as fake news. Technology can be used as an enabler and accelerator for SDG implementation, but it should not be seen as an end in itself. Technology can help support innovation in public service by facilitating:

• Collaboration • Deliberate design of services • Data-driven decision making


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Collaboration/Co-creation Technology can be effectively used to achieve the SDGs by providing responsive, needs-driven, and inclusive public services. Governments must ensure that no one is left behind in the process of adapting new technologies and driving innovation. Collaboration with the private sector as well as active engagement with diverse groups of people, including youth and people in rural areas, is vital for effective and inclusive service delivery. Many people in rural villages are not benefiting from digital developments as they do not have access to data and equipment such as smart phones. In this regard, policies should work to ensure that all people can fully benefit from the opportunities offered by ICTs. Governments also need to provide quality education to people as well as to public servants and equip them with digital skills, which are needed to effectively take advantage of new technologies. Deliberate Design Governments can improve innovation within the public sector by utilizing policy integration tools and promoting whole-of-government approaches. Innovation also relies on building institutional capacities through integrated knowledge and skills. Nature is one of the biggest innovators, and innovation should be fostered to complement environmental impediments; There is a need to continuously explore new ideas and continuous experimentation, without fear of failure, is needed; I Innovation in many cases depends on individuals rather than on systematic approaches. It is therefore important to promote institutional innovation; and Data is critical and data-quality is important as there is a need for more evidence based policies. Taking calculated risks and collecting better data are necessary to address many policy-related problems, including the difficulties in linking different policies. Data Driven Decision Making Data can be used to help public institutions better respond to people’s needs, be it for educational purposes or for forecasting future trends for better public service delivery. A number of e-government innovative solutions - such as e-health, e-learning, and e-pharmacy - are being implemented across different countries. Access to data gathered through technological means and ICT infrastructure, enables real-time interaction and information sharing amongst multiple partners. It also enables collaborative innovation. Digitalization and cloud computing facilitate interoperability of systems and connectivity, which are critical tools for public sector innovation. The Risks of Technology Governments should take into consideration the concerns and challenges that emerge with the advancement of technology-- such as the digital divide-- and mitigate the negative side-effects of using ICTs. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can also be disruptive to the job market and deprive people of their jobs. Unequal access to the Internet can deepen inequalities rather than reduce them. Lack of connectivity and interoperability of systems, particularly for rural communities, can also increase the problem of a digital divide. Technology can also be used to deceive people who can fall prey to scams when criminals pose as public servants. Therefore, governments need to fully understand the security issues that citizens may face and protect them from the possible technical and security challenges arising from the use of ICTs.


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A number of key recommendations emerged from the presentations and discussions during the Forum as follows: • Technology can be effectively utilized in achieving the SDGs by providing responsive, needs-

driven and inclusive public services. However, governments need to take into consideration the concerns, problems and risks that may arise along with the advancements of technology, including the digital divide.

• Governments need to ensure that no one is left behind in the process of adapting new technologies and driving innovation. In this regard, collaboration with the private sector and civil society, as well as active engagement with diverse groups of people, including youth and people in rural areas is vital to ensure inclusive societies.

• Policy integration tools and whole-government approaches can help to promote innovation in public services.

• Governments must work to keep people informed connected, and protect them against falling prey to scams and other risks

• Policy-makers must work with the new generations to create more technological opportunities across different sectors, ultimately helping the implementation of the SDGs.

• Governments must continue to promote e-services, while making sure their systems connect and work well with each other to avoid “automated inefficiency”.

• Promoting digital skills of people from all sectors of the population is vital to reduce the digital divide.

4. Policy Coherence and Integration Policy coherence and integration are essential to deliver on the SDGs, however, they require participatory leadership and involvement of all stakeholders. In addition, the approach to the implementation of the SDGs and to how policies are inter-linked should be country specific and nationally owned. International organizations can help to promote the exchange of good practices in the area of policy coherence among countries. The engagement of people in designing policies to implement the SDGs is vital to foster national and local ownership of the 2030 Agenda. Stakeholder engagement must be conducted efficiently through multi-channel mechanisms. Governments need to be transparent and participatory in order to ensure full information and disclosure of how policies are designed and implemented. Vertical and horizontal coordination among government institutions is extremely important to ensure effective implementation of the SDGs. Leadership at the highest level is critical for effective policy coherence across all government sectors and between all levels of government. For policy integration to be successful, policy makers from different areas should have a common understanding of the policies they are shaping. This can be done by fostering continuous interactions between/among policy makers from the very early stages of policy deliberation. Efforts need to be made to coordinate in order to ensure that policy makers are all moving in the same direction. Policy integration can also be facilitated by the use of technologies, including cloud computing and data sharing, as well as interoperability of systems and connectivity. Furthermore, it is important to promote more flexible arrangements so that public servants can move between departments in order to create a resilient government.


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A number of key recommendations emerged from the presentations and discussions as follows:

• Implementation of the SDGs should be country specific and nationally owned, using international organizations to help with the exchange of good practices;

• Governments should further reflect on how to ensure policy coherence in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda;

• Policy coherence and integration should be promoted not only at the national level, but also between central and local governments;

• Stakeholder engagement can be conducted efficiently through multi-channel mechanisms.

inisters from Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Central African Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Slovenia, South Africa and Zimbabwe discussed on the second day of the Forum how to accelerate innovation in public service. Country and public sector

representatives from Kenya, Oman, Samoa, Somalia and Timor-Leste also provided inputs to the discussion. The Ministerial conversation started with a Youth Declaration presented by UN Future. It involved youth from all regions of the world. Each representative highlighted key aspects related to sustainable development and the future of people, planet and prosperity. At the end of their presentation, a Youth Declaration was presented to the participants of the UN Public Service Forum and signed by Mr. Richard van Zwol, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Government of the Netherlands, and by Mr. Thomas Gass, UN Assistant Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs. The latter opened the conversation and emphasized that capable leadership, policy coherence and integration as well as proper use of technology are essential to promote innovative public service delivery in the areas of health, education, energy, security and urban development, as well as public employment.

The Ministerial Conversation adopted an interactive format whereby the audience determined the questions to be addressed by the participating Ministers . Questions related to: (i) the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development; (ii) lessons-learned from the Forum; and (iii) the Steps Forward with respect to the role of public institutions and innovations in public service. A number of key recommendations emerged from the discussions as follows. Critical Factors in Fostering Innovation

• Leadership and Capacities for Innovative Government

Collaborative, ethical and visionary leadership is the top critical factor in fostering innovation in the public service. Different leadership characteristics were emphasized. Agile management is required to address the complex nature of the current challenges faced by Member States, notably the refugee crisis. Cooperation among leaders at all levels of government, undergirded by the willingness to learn from each other, is also an essential ingredient for innovation to flourish.

M How to Accelerate Innovations in Public Service?


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Inclusive leadership means that leaders have a major responsibility to reach out to the most vulnerable through empowerment and affordable public services. Understanding and effectively addressing problems requires reaching out to and empowering grassroots. Transformational leadership, courage and vision are critical factors that go beyond technical skills and methodological prowess. In addition, leadership should embrace the principle of cost-effectiveness in the public sector. SDG implementation also hinges on effective evaluation of senior leadership’s actions. Mobilizing civil servants and equipping them with adequate skills through training and education is also an important factor that can help accelerate innovation. Overcoming behavioral resistance to change and effective methodologies to deal with this challenge should be at the core of the discussions about how to reform public service for SDG implementation. The continuous exchange of knowledge and partnerships spearheaded by the United Nations Public Service Forum is critical for innovation.

• Transparent, Accountable and Participatory Institutions

Transparent, accountable and participatory institutions and processes are important factors in fostering innovation in public service. A number of key ingredients are needed to make institutions more transparent, including: monitoring the work of government and combatting corruption through public participation; creating public recruitment systems that are transparent and meritocratic; eliminating inequality within the public service and setting up efficient regulatory frameworks to enhance transparency in government institutions.

• Technology

Appropriate policy frameworks and visionary leadership are, however, required to ensure appropriate use of technology. Technology can be a strong driver of innovation in public service. Combining the use of technology with youth policies, while undertaking capacity development and skills building simultaneously, can be an effective means to promote innovation. The use of data and technology can play an important role in fighting corruption within countries.

• Policy Coherence and Integration Policy coherence and integration can happen only if communication and interaction between/among different actors within the public sector and with non-government actors is encouraged and supported. Partnerships to facilitate coordination and effective implementation of the SDGs is equally important.

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Annexes

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Annex I: Programme at a Glance

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MS. PAULINE KRIKKE

MAYOR OF THE CITY OF THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS

Opening Statement at the United Nations Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony

22 June 2017, The Hague, The Netherlands

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A warm welcome to The Hague.

The city whose honor it is to host this United Nations Public Service Forum. The ideal place in which to hold this meeting.

As a UN city, The Hague wants to help create a better world; for today, and tomorrow. We do that not only by providing housing for international organizations and hosting conferences. Over the last few years, The Hague has focused on becoming an international center of academic expertise, also in the fields of government and public administration.

Many of you will be familiar with the International Institute for Social Studies that has been based here since the 1950’s. Generations of managers, directors, governors and other leaders of many countries have studied here. More recent is Leiden University’s new faculty of Governance and Global Affairs located in The Hague.

A rapidly growing number of young people are graduating here and returning to their home countries; with knowledge now part of their baggage. Knowledge gained in The Hague. But The Hague wants to offer more than international executive education for the senior managers of tomorrow. The Hague also wants to share with other cities its own knowledge and expertise in the field of public service. Wherever they may be in the world.

A specific example is a project we do in Lebanon. Together with the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities and with the support of the ministry of foreign affairs, public officials of The Hague are helping Lebanese municipalities with the reception of refugees. This relates to the very real and everyday matters to teach us how to deal with the problem of refuge. The Hague shares its knowledge and expertise in this area and others. And in so doing works with the UN institutions like the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and UN-Habitat. With the ultimate goal of strengthening resilience in the region.

In August, I will be visiting Lebanon to see for myself what the situation there is like.

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, This was just one example of exchanging knowledge and experience in the field of public service. Undoubtedly, today and tomorrow you will be discussing many more such ideas and initiatives. Ideas and initiatives which will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. I wish you all every success. You can rest assured that The Hague will always give you its unconditional support.

Thank you very much.

* Informal Transcription from live video

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Annex II: Opening statements

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MR. RONALD PLASTERK

MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR AND KINGDOM RELATIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS

Opening Statement at the 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony

22 June 2017, The Hague, The Netherlands

Thank you very much. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is the government Ministry of public services in the Netherlands. Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: it’s a great honour to welcome you to the Ministerial Conversation of the United Nations Public Service Forum. We are equally proud to have been the host of such lively and productive discussions of the forum yesterday and this morning. They have allowed us to draw certain preliminary, yet critical, lessons learned which we can already take stock of. Let me mention four of them, which also coincide with the cross-cutting perspectives adopted by our reflection themes. One lesson learned is that development cannot be a cookie-cutter project. It has to be owned and moved by a nation’s own objectives and aspirations. This is the home-grown development based on competent leadership and capable institutions. The second insight gained from our reflection is that development cannot occur in a vacuum. All relevant actors, stakeholders, entities and peoples themselves must have a force in development and action must occur in unison. This is the participatory development driven by ethics and integrity. The third understanding we come out with from the forum so far is that development must make full use of the enabling means offered by technology. This is the leveraging effect of science and R&D, by realistic need and gap analysis. The fourth appreciation we derive from our discussions is that developments cannot transpire in situ. To endure, it has to hinge on cooperation, and embrace cohesion and integration. This is the integrative policy-making that sustainable development both triggers and dis-triggers by. These four lessons emanated directly from the cross-cutting themes of our forum. Each one, which can be seen as the driving force behind the innovative thinking warranted by sustainable development. Allow me to go over briefly some of the specific inflection points and agreements on the lines by our reflection themes with regards to innovation in public service. The first team was leadership capacity development and institution building. We agreed that behind each innovation is a visionary leader, regardless of hierarchy, but compelled by an urge for creativity and triggering a process of change. For change to happen on the kind of scale we need in order to implement the SDGs, we need leadership at the highest level of government and public administration. We need leadership to be ethical, professional and effective. We require it to be people-centric, responsive and responsible. We long for it to be open to partnership with multiple actors and mindful of the long-term consequences of actions across different sectors. We agreed that such leadership must be nurtured in the various phases of the training and career development of public servants. On transparency, accountability and participation, we were reminded that these are fundamental notions and practices that must be engraved in any innovative undertaking of public service, less the innovation go awry.

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We pondered that today’s leaders and administrators could be assessed, based on the results in improving people’s lives, as well as the means they employ to obtain these results. We spoke of the important role of the Supreme Audit Institutions and welcomed their commitment to contribute to the reviewing of SDG implementation. On technology, we witness once more the enabling force of digitalisation and data driven approaches to problem solving as expandable innovation spinners. Yet we also recognise that technology can be a double-edged sword if the underlying social and cultural templates are unheeded. We reflected on the importance of innovations in bridging the digital divide among people and countries, between women and men, and across a plethora of other societal groups. We came to the consensus that creativity is also vital to combat cyber-crime and protect privacy on the internet. Last but not least, on policy coherence and integration, we discussed the exponential power that governance and development approaches can exert when they zero in on the synergies and trade-offs, instead of sticking to silo approaches or stand-alone increments. We agreed that innovation is important to create the platforms to install the mechanisms and to instill the working habits that are necessary to ensure coherence in implementing the SDGs. This Ministerial Conversation promises to be the pinnacle in our vigorous intellectual quest to pinpoint the main innovation accelerators in public service. Today, we are here to ask how do we move onwards from The Hague. How can we accelerate innovations in public service drawing from the wealth of initiatives and ideas we discussed. It’s a complex riddle. Moreover, I recognise that the rising tide does not lift all boats. We are conscious that going the extra mile to ensure that development is both innovative and equitable demands hard work and unwavering commitment. Often policy makers must thread the needle to make the ends meet so that development is sustainable and transformative for everyone, carefully weaving in the bottom-up and top-down, and transform actions. Your actions, as discussed here and realised in the immediate aftermath of the forum, will determine how vibrant the type of innovation launched by this forum can become and how to maintain its vibrancy. This forum can create a profound ripple effect of innovation covering all and leaving behind no one. Actions speak louder than words. Without further ado, therefore, please allow me to wish you a fruitful Ministerial Conversation, full of external ideas, result-driven sets of innovation, and tangible recommendations on how to move onwards and forwards with even more rigorous, impactful and innovative public service worldwide. Thank you.

* Informal Transcription from live video

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U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S

MR. THOMAS GASS

ASSISTANT-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLICY COORDINATION AND INTER-AGENCY AFFAIRS

Opening Statement at the

2017 United Nations Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony 22 June 2017, The Hague, The Netherlands

Minister Plasterk, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to open the 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum.

We are gathered in the Hague, the city of global peace and justice. I cannot think of a more suitable place to celebrate the United Nations Public Service Day.

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to you, Mr. Minister, to your Ministry and to the Government of the Netherlands, for hosting this Forum. Thank you also for the dedication, efficiency, collegiality and creativity that marked our cooperation over the last months. The imposing World Forum Convention Center where we are gathered today only attests to the impressive organization of this high-level event.

Two years ago, Leaders of all countries gave themselves 15 years to transform our world. They adopted an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide us through this unprecedented endeavor.

The SDGs call for both domestic and international measures in each country – developed and developing. They reflect the aspirations of all countries and of the many stakeholders that informed the negotiations on the 2030 Agenda.

The SDGs are extremely ambitious. They aim to achieve universal access to many public services. They aim to stimulate action for People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships.

The challenges we face in delivering on the promises of the 2030 Agenda – our shared vision of humanity – are tremendous. But so are the improvements it would bring to people’s lives. We have 13 years left to make good on this promise. Time will pass very quickly. As the title of our meeting states, the future is now.

Governments have the lead role to implement the SDGs. They have the responsibility to act and to galvanize actions by civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Shifting the world to a sustainable development path and improving the lives of all people, including the poorest and most vulnerable, requires a transformation of institutions. We will not go very far if we only tinker at the margin. Only a major shift in the way governments deliver on their functions can rebuild people’s trust in their government, which has been faltering in so many countries.

People demand a new approach to governance and public service delivery. As one example, during the consultations on the 2030 Agenda, combatting corruption was among the top aspirations people expressed.

This is why the 2030 Agenda commits to making institutions effective, inclusive and accountable. In other words, fit for purpose. This is enshrined in the 16th SDG. But this goal is critical for realizing every single SDG.

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Effectiveness can be understood as the Government’s ability to fulfill its intended role and produce actual results to improve people’s well being. It translates into the adequate and timely provision of public services … in healthcare, education, transportation, water, sanitation, security, and many others. It also relates to policies in other areas, from macroeconomic to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.

Inclusiveness refers to involving people in decision making on policies and public services delivery. It also refers to the key principle of the Agenda, to leave no one behind and target the furthest behind.

Accountability refers the Government accepting its responsibility and reporting on its actions. Accountability is highly related to reviewing progress. It calls for giving people the tool to hold public institutions to account. It is also closely linked to ethics and integrity. It may be pursued by the establishment performance criteria for public sector institutions and public servants.

Together, these three pillars of effective governance remind us of why we first embarked on the journey towards sustainable development, and how high we need to aim.

Reaching the SDGs and transforming our world requires the action of Governments, the mobilization of civil society and the private sector, and an unprecedented engagement of civil servants.

Civil servants are privileged. They have a unique power to improve the lives of the people they work for – within their constituencies no matter how small – or for society at large.

To transform institutions and put people at the centre of public service, we need to mobilize the best expertise of public servants. We need to mobilize their creativity, and empower them to take risks and try new ways of doing things. In brief, we need innovation so that no one is left behind.

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,

Governments are innovative. As we prepared for this Forum, we saw an impressive set of innovations emerging from the applications for UN Public Service Awards. We will celebrate the winning cases tomorrow along with UN Public Service Day.

Indeed, I know that we will hear about many more innovations during our discussions here, notably in the Forum’s eight Thematic Tracks … on employment, health, energy, water, children and youth, the marginalized, cities, and the circular economy.

We will also reflect on what drives innovation, notably leadership, participation, accountability, cooperation and technology. And, together, we will determine the actions that can shape the kind of government we want. A government that listens to the people, takes inspiration from their multiple ideas, and shapes a world that responds to their aspirations.

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

The United Nations pays tribute to the countless public servants who are dedicated to excellence in serving people. We encourage them to commit to the SDGs and apply their creativity and imagination to pursue the SDGs and ensure the kind of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability that can bolster people’s trust in their institutions.

Ultimately, the achievement of the SDGs will ultimately require commitment to the people and children of this world, that the 2030 Agenda is not just a new deal among nations, but a solemn promise to its people.

Let us make this shared vision of humanity our common cause.

I look forward to engaging with all of you during the next two days of the Forum.

Thank you. ******

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MR. THOMAS GASS

ASSISTANT-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLICY COORDINATION AND INTER-AGENCY AFFAIRS

Opening Statement at the

Ministerial Conversation of 2017 United Nations Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony 23 June 2017, The Hague, The Netherlands

Minister Plasterk, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an honor to welcome you to this session. Minister Plasterk spoke about the four cross-cutting themes we just discussed in our reflection tables. In my turn, I will address the various dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals we discussed in the eight Thematic Tracks of this Forum yesterday. In each track, you heard how dedicated teams within public institutions are thinking “outside the box” and charting a different path to improve peoples’ lives.

I will take a step back and place our discussions in the broader global context.

One salient lesson we have learned from international development work, is that an absolute decrease in poverty does not mean that shared prosperity will ensue.

Likewise, globalization does not ipso facto equal a reduction in inequality, nor does it automatically lead to Pareto efficiency in pursuing development outcomes. Poverty averages only give us one facet of the story. The other speaks better to the real lives of people.

In fact, with the 2030 Agenda we are well beyond measuring poverty only in GDP terms. In a manner of speaking, the 169 targets underpinning the SDGs are 169 ways of explaining how no one is to be left behind.

This implies that we need to know who the most vulnerable are, understand the threats and challenges they face, and systematically build their resilience and empowerment into our national, regional and local development strategies.

The 2030 Agenda has redefined sustainability: If a significant economic or social group is left behind, our development is not sustainable.

Thus, we need to ask the following:

How can we even aspire to eradicate poverty if half the population – that is, women and girls – are economically and socially disadvantaged in all countries? Moreover,

How can we sensibly talk about job creation if we do not take a head start in ensuring a life of dignity and fulfillment for every woman, man and child?

How can we do all this through well-rounded public health, public education and public participation systems and policies?

How can we have a glimmer of hope that our efforts at empowering people and promoting prosperity can prevail if we falter at guarding our planet through meaningful partnerships, and in

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line with the science-deduced facts related to climate change? Our eight Thematic Tracks have shown that public policy can tackle these challenges vigorously.

Let me briefly explain how and why, by focusing on each track separately.

On Job Creation and Prosperity: labour strategies linked with social protection schemes can bolster inclusive growth … especially alongside innovative income dispensing systems, fair tax administration, generous migration policies and gender-sensitive capacity development programmes. One-sided focus on GDP can hinder more comprehensive understandings of development. Out-of-the-box reasoning, on the other hand, can interlink these multifaceted aspects with innovative developmental policy-making in the public sector.

On Public Health: successful social innovations and public entrepreneurship require inclusive and long-term public empowerment policies, and creating and maintaining integrated, solid and flexible health systems. But they also require harnessing the force of e-health and data analytics while building on the traditional networks and know-how of local communities. While such endeavors require financial investments and capacities, we saw yesterday that simple interventions and tools, used creatively, can lead to enormous gains for some communities, particularly in remote rural and disadvantaged urban slums. Progress in maternal and child health is just one example.

On Sustainable Energy: We need to act with the firm belief that the spill-over effects of switching to green energy will ultimately improve the well-being of our societies. Some of the initiatives we heard about yesterday show that innovative public policy can help show the way. More generally, we sometimes suffer – not from a lack of willingness to invest and cooperate – but from a dearth of quality actionable data. Our actions must be guided not only by our energy resources, but by our long term objectives and principles.

On Management of Water and Sea Levels, we clearly recognize the undue burden and threats faced by Small Island Developing States. Addressing the challenges they face means having in place the right water management and infrastructure policies. But it is also about demographics, human settlements and urban planning. Various adaptation projects and promising collaborative initiatives at all levels must be given due visibility.

On Children and Youth, our discussions showed that young people of today are capable of, and aspire to be engaged actors and drivers of change, and that our systems of governance, public services and legal frameworks should recognize this. As we did minutes ago, we must listen to and be inspired by youth, their vision of the future, their energy and determination. Where there is a will, there is a way; and innovative public servants are well aware of this.

On Unlocking the Potential of the Furthest Behind: our discussions showed that we must adapt our support systems and frameworks to unleash opportunities for the most vulnerable. This means identifying vulnerability and championing inclusive and participatory approaches to overcome it. The core of the 2030 Agenda requires us to ensure, safeguard and strengthen access to adequate healthcare, education, employment, training and productive resources. In this age of wealth inequality, development strategies must address the concerns and frustrations of those left behind.

On Sustainable Cities, we need to make urban development sustainable through interlinked policies and local service delivery mechanisms that put accessibility, inclusiveness and justice at the center. And this includes public housing, transport and land use policies. Climate resilience and preserving natural resources should also be top priorities.

Last but not least, on Circular Economy, we must further emphasize the role of recycle, reuse and reduce in sustainable resource management. Let us weld innovation, technology and productivity together to help stave off unnecessary consumption and minimize waste. Let us think in terms of recovery and reconversion, through smart and integrated industries. We have much to learn. Not only from the policy frameworks of the North but also from the innovations and practices in developing countries.

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Excellencies,

Minister Plasterk urged us to think actionably on how to move onwards and leap forward from The Hague.

Indeed, it is our shared responsibility to implement the 2030 Agenda.

I am looking forward to hearing your innovative ideas on how to make public sector into an even more active force in carrying out this responsibility. There is no time like present. Your actions today will shape and determine your success tomorrow.

Thank you.

*****

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MR. WU HONGBO

UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS Opening Remarks at the

2017 United Nations Public Service Day and Awards Ceremony 23 June 2017, The Hague, The Netherlands

Delivered by Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Co-ordination & Inter-agency Affairs, Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Happy UN Public Service Day!

I am delighted to welcome you to the 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Ceremony in honour of this Day.

I thank the Government of the Netherlands, Ministers and other high-level representatives for joining us from all over the world.

I also wish to extend a special welcome to the winners and finalists.

Let me now say a few words about the UN Public Service Awards and today’s ceremony.

Since 2003, the Secretary-General has used the United Nations Public Service Awards programme to promote and support innovation in public service delivery.

Over the years, more than 200 government initiatives have been recognized for excellence in over a dozen categories. Countless children, youth, women, men and older persons have benefited from those initiatives and their dissemination.

In 2016, we reviewed the Public Service Awards and aligned it with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Awards now focus on innovation and excellence in public services for sustainable development, and for helping to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are three categories this year:

• First, reaching the poorest and most vulnerable through inclusive services and participation, • Second, promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in public service, and. • Third, innovation and Excellence in delivering health services.

The large number of nominations we received – total of 552 from 62 countries – shows the great enthusiasm and momentum for the SDGs.

I extend my warmest congratulations to the 12 winners who will be recognized today.

They come from countries and institutions that, despite their differences, share a common drive to innovate and ensure the wellbeing of their communities.

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Their initiatives are varied. They strive to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people by preventing child marriage through cash transfer (India), or to empower the poorest people to make a living by providing childcare (Argentina), or to protect older people against financial abuse (UK).

Others have enhanced accountability by promoting the use of pre-paid cards for cash transfer and one-stop public service delivery (Kenya), using students as auditors in schools (Colombia) or enabling digital participatory budgeting to support the poor (Australia).

Yet others have improved health care by using technology for distance support to provincial doctors (Mongolia), preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (Armenia), or adapting healthcare systems to reach the poorest (Ecuador).

All of these initiatives have strived to serve people and the public interest.

I wish to thank the men, women and youth who invented those approaches and persisted in implementing them. Today, we are gathered to celebrate their creativity, their concern for others, the boldness with which they challenged the status quo and their aspiration to transform the world.

Only a few have been able to join us today and I ask them to convey our great appreciation to their team members. I also acknowledge the many initiatives that were not selected, but that reflect an outstanding creativity and concern for others.

The initiatives of the winners, the finalists and many other successful initiatives we learned about through the process, truly inspires us. They outline the contour of the kind of social and economic model we should aim to fashion for the future. And they showed us some of the paths to get there.

Let us now give the Awards to our winners.

*****

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Category 1: Reaching the Poorest and Most Vulnerable through Inclusive Services and Participation

India 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Asia and the Pacific Initiative: Kanyashree Prakalpa (KP): “Empowering Adolescent Girls from Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Families (Conditional Cash Transfers)” Institution: Department of Women, Child Development and Social Welfare, West Bengal [email protected]

Argentina 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Africa Initiative: Jardines Municipales del Sistema Municipal de Educación Inicial de Santa Fe: “Partnering for Early Childhood Education” Institution: Municiplidad de la Ciudad Santa Fe [email protected]

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Western Europe and Others Initiative: Senior Citizen Liaison team (SCLT): “Preventing Older Persons Fraud by Providing Safeguarding Services” Institution: Avon and Somerset Constabulary Senior Citizen Liaison Team [email protected]

Botswana 2nd Place Winner Regional Group: Africa Initiative: Social Upliftment through Waste Management: “Improving Community Life through Better Waste Management” Institution: Ghanzi District Council, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Botswana Public Service [email protected]

Annex III: List of 2017 United Nations Public Service Awards Winners

mailto:[email protected]




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Category 2: Promoting Transparency, Accountability and Integrity in Public Service

Colombia 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Latin America and Caribbean Initiative: Contraloría Escolar: “Involving the Youth in Managing Resources through the School Comptroller at the Local Level” Institution: Contraloría General de Medellin [email protected]

Australia 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Western Europe and Others Initiative: Fund My Community: “Providing Services to Disadvantaged Groups through a Digital Participatory Budgeting Program” Institution: Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Government of South Australia [email protected]

France 2nd Place Winner Regional Group: Western Europe and Others Initiative: Eau de Paris: “Guaranteeing Access to Water for All through a Public Management Water System” [email protected]

Category 3: Innovation and Excellence in Delivering Services in Health

Mongolia 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Asia and the Pacific Initiative: National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH): “Providing Quality Health Care to Rural Areas by Connecting Local and National Doctors” Institution: National Center for Maternal and Child Health [email protected]

Armenia 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Eastern Europe Initiative: Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Armenia (EMTCT): “Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV to Strengthen the Healthcare System” Institution: National Center for Aids Prevention [email protected]

Ecuador 1st Place Winner Regional Group: Latin America and Caribbean






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Initiative: Trabajo en Redes Integradas de Salud: “Ensuring Quality Health Services for All through an Integrated Health Network” [email protected]

Thailand 2nd Place Winner Regional Group: Asia and the Pacific Initiative: Excellent Happy Home Ward: “Caring for Older Persons through a Community Network” Institution: Khaoprangam Municipality [email protected]

Colombia 2nd Place Winner Regional Group: Latin America and Caribbean Initiative: Sistema de Informacion Unificado en Salud-SIUS: “The Unified Health Information System project to capture quality data focused on patients” Institution: Secretaria de Salud Cundinamarca

* For more information about the UN Public Service Awards and the 2017 winners, please visit: https://publicadministration.un.org/en/UNPSA



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“Promoting Better Jobs in Rural Areas by Using ICTs” Initiative: Agtech Program Mr. Andres Felipe Rubiano Pinzon Agtech Advisor Ministry of Information and Communications Technology Colombia [email protected]

“Creating New Jobs despite Slower Growth through Sharing Economy” Initiative: The “Internet +” Ms. Yang Lu Associate Researcher, Institute of Population and Labour Economics Chinese Academy of Social Science China [email protected]

“Supporting the Development of Family Businesses through Social Innovation” Initiative: ABAD-ASAN Support to Family Businesses Mr. Inam Karimov Chairman (Minister) of State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations Azerbaijan [email protected]

“Enhancing Employability of Graduates to Secure Good Jobs” Initiative: Skim Latihan 1Malaysia Ms. Hajah Norashikin binti Datuk Haji Ismail Head of Secretariat of Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M) Programme Prime Minister’s Office Malaysia [email protected]

Annex IV: Contact Details of Innovative Practices presented at the Forum




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“Empowering Potential and /or Returning Youth Migrants by Improving their Employability” Initiative: The Gambia Youth Empowerment Project Raimund Moser Programme Development Adviser Project Manager– Gambia YEP Gambia [email protected]

“Addressing labour Market Changes by Providing a Basic Income” Initiative: Basic Income Experiment Ms. Elli Aaltonen Director General Finnish Social Security Institution (KELA) Finland [email protected]

“Promoting Partnerships for Change by Exchanging Employees between the Public and Private Sectors” Initiative: Partnership for Change Programme Ms. Tanja Bogataj State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration Slovenia [email protected]

“Increased Local Tax Revenues to Finance Sustainable Services” Initiative: Improve Local Tax Revenues Mr. Peter Jongkind Senior Program Director VNG International (The Netherlands) [email protected]

“Addressing Youth Employment through a Mix of Measures” Initiative: Youth Employment and Development Programme Dr. Faustino Cardoso Gomes President of Civil Service Commission Timor-Leste [email protected]




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“Interconnecting Health Records to Enhance Quality of Health Care” Initiative: The National e-Health Services Dr. Gudrun Audur Hardardottir Project Manager, National eHealth Projects Directorate of Health Iceland [email protected]

“Data Driven Approach to Healthy Lifestyle Promotion” Initiative: Address Lifestyle in a Proactive Manner Using a Structured and Analytical Approach Mr. David Mayer Founder and Chief Product Officer RENDLE USA [email protected]


“Making Better Decisions through Collaborative Data Collection and Analyses” Initiative: CBS Urban Data Centers Mr. Tjin-A-Tsoi Director General Statistics Netherlands (CBS) The Netherlands [email protected]


“Effective Management of Water Resources in ‘Coastal Chars’” Initiative: Char development and Settlement project (CDSP) Mr. Zainal Abedin Participatory Irrigation Specialist Bangladesh [email protected] CDSP: [email protected], [email protected]







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“More Space to Rivers in the Dutch Delta” Initiative: Room for the River Mr. Cor Beekmans Project Manager of Room of the River The Netherlands [email protected]

5. Enabling Children and Young People to Achieve Agenda 2030

“Policing through Cooperation” Initiative: Innovative form of policing in Corps Dublin Mr. Patrick Leahy Police chief superientendent A Garda Síochána Ireland [email protected]

“Providing Safe Communities for Future Generations” Initiative: Every child Safe Ms. Claire Vlug en Sigrid van de Poel Directors Youth Protection Agency Amsterdam The Netherlands [email protected]

“Achieving Equality and Excellence in Education” Initiative: Publicly Funded Educational Systems Ms. Sirpa Oksanen Minister-Counsellor Embassy of Finland Finland [email protected]

6. Unlocking the Potential of the Furthest

“Freedom of Information for the Vulnerable Children and Adolescents” Initiative: Queremos Saber-“We Want to Know” Initiative

Mr. Daniel Carranga Co-founder DATA Uruguay, NGO Uruguay

[email protected]






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“Digital Money for Refugees and Migrants” Initiative: The EyeCloud Innovation Ms. Andrea Vonkeman Head of Office of The Netherlands United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [email protected] and Mr. Imad Malhas CEO, IrisGuard Inc. United Kingdom [email protected]


Citizen’s Participation in Budgeting for Sustainable Development Initiative: Participatory Budgeting Project Ms. Rossanna Mercedes Communications and Advocacy Strategist Participatory Budgeting Project [email protected]

“Quantifying the Impact of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) & Climate Change Adoption (CCA) Research“ Initiative: Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) Mr. Carlos Primo C. David Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development, Department of Science and Technology Philippines [email protected] “Improving Citizen-centric Service Delivery” Initiative: The National Digital Transformation Mr. Chan Cheow Hoe Government Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Government Technology Agency Singapore [email protected]



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“Resolving Urban Challenges and Improving Transparency of Seoul City through Big Data” Initiative: Local Service Delivery based on Big Data Analytics Ms. Soonhee Kim Assistant Director, Information Planning Division, Seoul Metropolitan Government Republic of Korea [email protected] “Multi-level Partnerships for Better Cities” Initiative: European Union Urban Agenda Mr. Joseph Gauci and Mr. Nicolaas Beets Unit Manager Dutch Urban Envoy (Planning Directorate) Malta The Netherlands [email protected] [email protected]


“Making the Procurement Process Circular” Initiative: Old Uniform Reusing Mr. Rob van Arnhem Procurement manager Ministry of Defense The Netherlands [email protected]

“Removing Barriers between Governments and the Market” Initiative: Green Deals Mr. Arnoud Passenier Senior Programme Manager Circular Economy Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment The Netherlands [email protected]

“How Do Government Officials Become Innovators?” Mr. Macro Daglio and Mr. Matt Kerlogue and Mr. Alex Roberts Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OECD) Republic of Finland [email protected]




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