The Commonwealth Secretariat has launched an online training programme on performance management for member governments.
The Commonwealth Secretariat has launched an online training programme on performance management for member governments.
The training is designed to boost efficiency and improve delivery of public services – crucial to the welfare of all citizens but especially the marginalised and vulnerable in a post-Covid-19 world.
Government performance is critical to achieving national development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving the SDGs is even more urgent following the social, health and economic devastation caused to communities by the pandemic.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: “Covid-19 has highlighted both the possibilities of an effective government as well as the perils of an ineffective government.
“It has also overshadowed other challenges. The world is still getting warmer, progress towards achieving the SDGs is still lagging behind schedule, Small Island States are still being devastated by hurricanes, unemployment is still getting worse. However, these are also symptoms of the underlying problem of ineffective governments and governance.
“To ensure benefits offered by governments support the most vulnerable and marginalised communities, attention must be paid to the equity and efficiency of public policies and programmes. This means operating in ways which are responsive and accountable.
”Systems should work better, faster and cheaper through effective performance management, in order to deliver what is promised to – and needed by – Commonwealth citizens.”
Senior government officials attending the Advanced Online Training in Government Performance Management will be provided with practical tools and techniques, including:
- Approaches to developing a resultsbased performance management system.
- Expertise in using Strategic Management and Accountability for Results (SMART), a proprietary software developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
- Inclusion in a community of practice in Commonwealth countries, with the development of a professional network who can continue to support each other in improving government performance in the future.
The course started this week with the Africa and Europe region, which attracted more than 60 participants from 19 Commonwealth countries.
This will be followed by Asia, Caribbean and Americas, and the Pacific regions in the next two months.
