Streams,springs, and stones: Ontario public service reform in the 1980s and the 1990s

Abstract: Since the era of reform triggered by the Committee on Government Productivity during the early 1970s, there has been surprisingly little writing about public service reform in Ontario. This article surveys developments since the early 1980s, reviewing the changes that occurred during the Davis, Peterson, and Rae governments pertaining to the structure and integrity of the public service, human resource development, relocation, accountability regimes, reorganization and restraint initiatives, to name only a few. We review the rise and fall of the Tomorrow Project, and how the Rae government developed an interest in public management issues as part of its policy and restraint agendas. As a frame for our analysis, we invoke the metaphor of “streams, springs, and stones” to convey not only the breadth and complexity of public service reform but also its enduring themes and issues. Sonirnnire: Depuis l'époque des réformes déclenchées par le Comité sur la productivité gouvernementale vers le début des années 1970, curieusement peu d'auteurs se sont penchés sur la réforme de la Fonction publique en Ontario. Cet article s'intéresse à l'évolution qui s'est produite depuis le début des années 1980, examinant les changements survenus sous les gouvernements Davis, Peterson et Rae en ce qui concerne la structure et l'intégrité de la Fonction publique, le développement des ressources humaines, les déménagements, les régimes d'imputabilité, ainsi que les initiatives de reorganisation et d'austérité, pour ne citer que ceux-là. Nous analysons la montée et la chute du Projet “ Demain ” et comment le gouvernement Rae a commencéà s'intéresser aux questions de gestion publique dans le cadre de son programme oû figuraient l'austérité et la définition des politiques. Pour encadrer notre analyse, nous faisons appel à la métaphore des “ courants, sources et pierres ” pour indiquer non seulement l'ampleur et la complexité des réformes de la Fonction publique mais aussi sa probématique et ses thèmes permanents.     

Think tanks or clubs? Assessing the influence and roles of Canadian policy institutes

Abstract: Policy institutes are prominent members of policy communities in Canada, but there is little understanding of their diversity beyond well-known value orientations, nor of how they differ from other “think tank” organizations such as government councils and academic research centres. This paper supplies concepts and a framework for assessing the capacity and role of policy institutes. It compares the size and activities of several well-known Canadian institutes, and puts their emergence in historical context. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to make institutes more relevant to the policy-making process. Sommaire: Les instituts de politique sont des membres bien connus de la collectivité d'analyse des politiques au Canada, mais on comprend peu leur diversité (au-delà de leurs orientations bien connues), et on voit mal en quoi ils diffèrent d'autres groupes de réflexion comme les conseils gouvernementaux et les centres de recherches universitaires. Le présent article offre des concepts et un cadre permettant d'évaluer la capacité et le rôle des Instituts de politique. II compare la taille et les activités de plusieurs instituts canadiens bien connus et il place leur émergence dans un contexte historique. Dans sa conclusion, l'article suggère des moyens permettant d'impliquer davantage les instituts dans le processus de définition des politiques.     

Gas Supply and EU–Russia Relations

Drawing on New Institutional Economics (NIE) theory, the article argues that EU energy policy towards Russia damages security of supply because it neglects the specific aims and propensities of Russia and Gazprom. EU Commission initiatives are based on the promotion of interdependence through market opening, favouring a policy of competition over security of supply. The reason for this focus is found in the EU's embedded inclination towards liberal markets. Russia, by contrast, has chosen suboptimal state control of natural resources over the frontier capitalism of the 1990s. Sustainability of the current rent based system and geopolitical considerations are essential to Russia and Gazprom. In this situation a pragmatic approach that aims at security of supply and security of demand seems to be more successful. In this approach, liberalisation of the market can only be a long-term goal.     

From Rhetoric to Blueprint: The Moran Review as a Concerted,Comprehensive and Emergent Strategy for Public Service Reform

On 3 September 2009, Prime Minister Rudd announced a six‐month Review of Australian Government Administration. He appointed an Advisory Group chaired by Terry Moran, Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, to prepare a discussion paper, oversee a benchmarking study and consultations, and craft a blueprint to reform the Australian Public Service (APS) in order to deal with future governance challenges. The vision is to develop a forward‐looking, innovative, collaborative, citizen‐focused, agile, informed and highly‐skilled APS to advise and deliver policy and services for government. Ahead of the Game, a comprehensive Blueprint for action, was released on 29 March 2010. This article provides a high‐level review of motivations and process for the Moran Review, an overview of the Blueprint, an assessment of the strategy and process, and suggestions for moving forward on selected issues.