The Enablers of Sound Public Governance

OECD work on public governance has demonstrated that leaders struggle to build “the business case” for engaging stakeholders in comprehensive reforms, which are often perceived as a means of reducing expenditures rather than of addressing policy challenges.

Despite sector-specific differences, the OECD Recommendations of the Council in the area of public governance reflect a common set of baseline enablers that can contribute to a better definition and implementation of reforms across government, including:

  • Commitment, vision and leadership, both politically and in the civil service, to ensure the sustainability of reforms across the public sector.
  • Equitable and evidence-informed policy-making, to prevent unbalanced interest-based influence while strengthening good governance in using evidence in decision-making.
  • Whole-of-government co-ordination, notably but not exclusively led by the centre of government, to ensure a coherent, integrated approach to multidimensional challenges.
  • Innovation and change management to introduce and implement new ideas by reinforcing the state’s strategic agility and its forward-looking nature while enabling it to support society in transitioning to a better future.