The fourth annual meeting of the Network of National Schools of Government under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was held last April at the Scuola Nazionale dell’Administrazione in Rome, Italy, with discussions centering around the theme “Building Blocks for Public Sector Innovation: New Skills and Learning.”

The meeting focused on the necessary innovation skills for civil servants and innovative approaches used by the schools to facilitate learning and the development of these skills.

The gathering in effect affirmed the current thrust areas of the Development Academy of the Philippines and proved very timely and relevant to its flagship programs.  The Academy was represented in the event by SVP for Programs and Public Management and Development Program Director Magdalena Mendoza and PMDP-Project Management Office Director Nanette Caparros.

 Opportunity for exchange

The meeting also provided an opportunity to exchange and showcase practices, giving participants valuable insights into the Academy’s process of refining its PMDP Re-entry Project and the SEC Capstone Paper that is submitted by its scholars, as well as inputs on the necessary innovation skills for civil servants.  The latter, Ms. Mendoza felt, could inform various groups in the Academy about the process of designing or introducing new learning approaches to enable the development of these skills.

Ms. Mendoza, for her part, presented to the participants the ways being used by the Philippine government to promote public sector innovation through the PMDP during the round-table discussion on initiatives of government schools to promote public sector innovation.

Importance of improving productivity

Director Rolf Alter of the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, meanwhile, expressed the importance of improving productivity in the public sector especially on how to build skills to innovate in his opening remarks.  He revealed that the OECD, as a repository of good practices, has ventured on a pioneering research to study the subject, and the results of this survey will be shared with the network.

Professor Giovanni Tria, president of Italy’s National School of Administration and current Chair of the OECD Network of Schools of Government, seconded Alter in stressing the role of the public sector in innovating and creating the condition to enable its counterpart pillars – the scientific and business sectors – to innovate.  He argued that schools have a big role in teaching innovation, while bureaucrats have a big role in changing the way things are done.

Wide representation

The meeting was attended by about 40 representatives of the OECD, network members from 25 national schools of government, as well as international and regional associations of schools of public administration.

The OECD actually aims to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.  In recognizing the essential role of the public sector in driving economic growth, the OECD brought together national schools of government in what is now called the Global Network of Schools for Government from over 50 countries.  The DAP is a member of the OECD representing the Philippines.  The network addresses government priorities and tries to build the capabilities of public servants for effectively addressing citizens’ needs.