Foreword from the InCiSE Partners

We are delighted to publish a second version of the International Civil Service Effectiveness (InCiSE) Index. This new version of InCiSE builds on the lessons learned during the pilot phase in 2017. It has also been informed by the very helpful feedback we received from colleagues all around the world. Thanks to their feedback and ideas, the 2019 Index covers 7 additional countries – taking the total to 38 – and the InCiSE model uses 46 more metrics and 5 more data sources than previously.

The core objective of the InCiSE Index remains the same: to help countries determine how their central civil services are performing and learn from each other.

Since the July 2017 launch, we have been busy. The Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford hosted a major international conference to discuss the pilot results and next steps. There was huge interest in the InCiSE project and the overwhelming view was that it should continue. The InCiSE framework was judged as having significant potential, especially as a learning and performance improvement tool, Conference participants from less developed countries were keen to engage with InCiSE despite their non-inclusion in the Index so far, and we are continuing to explore ways of achieving this.

During 2018 we gave presentations on InCiSE at other international meetings, including at the OECD in Paris, a UNDP leadership training event in Singapore, and in Brussels at an event organised by the Hertie School of Governance. The report was additionally translated into Spanish by the Instituto de Administración Pública del Estado de Quintana Roo in Mexico, to be used at a major conference there. We also completed two in-depth country case studies – in Nigeria and Brazil – to determine the relevance of InCiSE in contexts where obtaining good quality data is more challenging.

The InCiSE Index was originally developed in consultation with a wide range of experts, We are grateful to all those who have given their time to help shape this second version. We are also grateful to the many organisations who have allowed us to use their data, some for the first time. It remains our goal to continue refining and expanding InCiSE, and to publish the Index regularly.

Lord Heywood of Whitehall, lately the UK’s Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, championed InCiSE from the outset and continued to support the project following its launch in 2017, Lord Heywood died in November 2018 and we would like to pay tribute to his selfless commitment to public service, as well as his passion for learning and excellence, We dedicate this 2019 report to him.