This article was written by Martin Alessandro, International Adviser in centre of government and public management reform, Professor Patrick Diamond of Queen Mary University of London and Ray Shostak, Former Director General Performance and Head of the UK Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit.

  • The problem: The Centre of Government (CoG) needs to become more effective at co-ordinating policy priorities.
  • Why it matters: The public policies overseen by a CoG will deliver improved outcomes for citizens and tackle major societal challenges.
  • The solution: Build a strong CoG that deploys unique leadership capabilities and management routines to drive better government.

As every new president or prime minister will tell you, making the government machinery work to translate their ambitions for the country into concrete outcomes for citizens — turning ‘poetry into prose’ — is never easy. And while all governments have different priorities — which reflect the current state of the nation and the condition of the economy and society — they each have a ‘centre of government’ (CoG) that should provide leadership and create management routines that actively support line ministries to achieve results. It is worth remembering that ultimately some government functions can only be performed by the CoG. That includes creating a culture that is data-driven; setting standards that shape the end-to-end policy cycle; promoting a whole of government perspective; identifying short-term and long-term priorities; and ensuring policy coherence across line ministries. The CoG should always maintain its focus on where it can best add value.

Why a fresh look at the role of a CoG is needed

As the task of the CoG has become more challenging with the demands of 24/7 media, an era of geo-political shocks and ‘poly-crisis’, reduced trust in liberal democracy, the rise of political populism, alongside greater complexity in the lives of citizens and communities requiring cross government solutions, it is time to consider the role and function of the CoG afresh.

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We recently undertook a study to examine contemporary developments in the CoG around the world. Here, we set out key lessons and findings. Overall, we found that across countries, there is a need for the CoG to:

Develop ways to manage across ministerial boundaries: Breaking down ministerial silos is a challenge for all governments. There are examples to learn from, like New Zealand, where they planned across government and promoted more collective responsibility for cross ministerial outcomes. Or Peru, where they aligned ministerial plans and budgets towards the common goal of enhancing early childhood development.

Create routines that will drive good government: Regular performance routines that track progress towards the government’s goals in real time and create the chance to intervene when problems arise have proven invaluable. For example, the City of Buenos Aires government in Argentina regularly reported progress on priority commitments, making performance transparent and accountable to citizens while creating incentives to ensure the dial was moving. Or the state of Pernambuco, in Brazil, where the CoG held weekly stock-takes to regularly track progress and where necessary problem-solve to unblock obstacles to delivery.

Build policy from the frontline up rather than central government down: Policy announcements in themselves don’t deliver outcomes. In modern government, policy is too often developed without a sufficiently clear understanding of practical implementation. There is an ever wider gap between policy-makers at the centre and professionals in organisations that serve citizens. Understanding that services are ultimately delivered at the frontline, the government of Australia has developed advice on how to deliver ‘Great Policy’ to ensure incentives align to the government’s ambitions. Meanwhile, Chile instituted a collaborative approach to aspects of social policy and poverty reduction (Compromiso País) that brought together a range of frontline and non-state actors to work with government policy-makers to address key concerns.

There is a need for greater sharing of ‘what works’ across countries to accelerate the creation of efficient and effective CoGs.

Set and live the values and culture for the whole of government: Citizens need governments they can trust — that keep their promises, maintain high ethical standards and respect those working in government and the public service — as well as those partners they work with to provide services. The New Zealand Public Services Act 2020 set out expectations for a values-led approach that engages service users in public service reform. Another example of a government that is shifting to develop a culture that is focusing on results is the federal government in the United States — by creating and curating a Performance Improvement Council they are living collaboration and a learning culture disseminating best practice.

Leverage the use of data and new technologies: Technological advances, including AI, mean that governments are looking again at not only their own internal processes, but their capacity to provide leading edge services to the public. The CoG in Estonia and Canada has developed and led the implementation of data strategies that are having a significant impact in transforming services for citizens.

The main conclusions of our work are twofold. Firstly, there are many practical examples of innovations in recent years within the CoG that enable governments to deliver better outcomes for citizens, address long-term challenges and maintain public trust. And second, there is a need for greater sharing of ‘what works’ across countries to accelerate the creation of efficient and effective CoGs.

The IDB work captured many examples of current CoG practice and our hope is that it will support the continued conversation with practitioners on the future development of CoG. Further detail can be found at https://publications.iadb.org/en/center-government-revisited-decade-global-reforms or by contacting one of the authors.

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