1 Introduction

1.1 Why we need civil service effectiveness indicators

It is widely recognised that an effective civil service can play an important role in determining a country’s progress and prosperity. But what constitutes an “effective civil service”? This has long been the subject of debate. Even when a consensus is reached on definitions, how do civil service leaders know whether their organisations are effective – and how do they know in which areas are they performing more strongly than others? The InCiSE Index seeks to answer these questions.

As discussed in the 2017 report, a comprehensive set of international indicators of civil service effectiveness does not currently exist but various organisations have sought to develop reliable measurement systems, often focused on specific areas. This subject area is also well recognised in academic, international and practitioner communities as a highly complex area for analysis. This is partly because of data limitations, different views on the definitions of “civil service” and “effectiveness”, and the need to take account of country context factors when looking at performance issues.

Nevertheless, there are many existing data collections and indices available globally that can be pulled together to provide a realistic set of information on a regular basis. This is what the InCiSE framework aims to do.

Experience and feedback so far have confirmed that the InCiSE Index and indicators have the following uses:

As a performance improvement tool: enabling senior decision makers to see which countries perform best in which areas, and to learn from them.
As an accountability tool: allowing citizens, government officials and politicians to establish clearly and concisely how well their civil service is performing.

The InCiSE indicators also have the potential to help countries measure and report on progress towards achievement of international standards, for example some aspects of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 16. This Goal focuses on a range of governance issues, including promoting stronger government institutions, and all UN members are required to report on progress on a regular basis.

The InCiSE project continues to be a collaboration between the Blavatnik School of Government and the Institute for Government. It is supported by the UK Civil Service and has been funded by theOpen Society Foundations. All have a strong interest in civil service effectiveness issues.

1.2 How InCiSE has been further developed

The InCiSE framework covers many aspects of civil service performance that earlier initiatives of this type have sought to cover but it does not duplicate them. InCiSE also aims to define “effectiveness” more extensively than previously. It draws on a wide range of existing international data sources and brings together a set of indicators – each measuring a different dimension of civil service effectiveness – to produce an overall score for each country.

Whilst there are alternative ways to define civil service effectiveness, the InCiSE framework, with its various themes and measurements, has the potential to make valid judgments about whether a country’s civil service is performing well relative to its international counterparts.

InCiSE was originally developed following a literature review and in consultation with many experts, including academics from schools of government, think tanks, senior civil servants (past and present) from several countries, as well as subject experts. The 2017 Pilot was also the subject of an independent, international peer review process.

Since 2017 the project has consulted with a wide range of actors to refine the methodology and approach, strengthen the indicator metrics, increase the range of data sources and explore ways of expanding the country coverage without risking data quality. An independent peer review of the 2017 Pilot results was conducted ahead of their publication and academic engagement has continued during the development of the 2019 edition. In addition, two in-depth country case studies have been completed to assess whether and how InCiSE can be applied to contexts where obtaining good quality, reliable data remains a key challenge.

The accompanying Technical Report outlines in more detail how the methodology for the 2019 edition of InCiSE has developed since the Pilot.

1.3 What InCiSE is not aiming to do

It is important to reiterate the scope of InCiSE:

InCiSE is focused on the central government civil service in the countries covered – not the public service more generally. It is recognised that this is not without challenges, particularly given the varying sizes and shapes of public administrations internationally, as well as different systems of government. It is also recognised that well performing civil servants are a necessary – but not sufficient – condition for better government.
InCiSE is not seeking to measure service delivery outcomes for citizens, for example in areas like health care and education. Although in many countries the central government civil service plays an important role in determining the performance of key public services, their effectiveness is driven by other parts of the sector as well – for example, teachers, doctors and the police. Local government effectiveness is also excluded from the InCiSE framework.
InCiSE does not aim to be definitive. It is one of a wide range of tools currently available to measure civil service effectiveness globally. Users should consider the results of the InCiSE Index alongside an analysis of the original source data as well as domestic analysis and management information, which may or may not have international comparisons.

1.4 Who InCiSE is for

The pilot phase confirmed that InCiSE is of interest to a wide-ranging audience, most notably governments (especially senior leaders and civil service training and research institutes) – as well as think tanks, academics and civil society organisations with a strong interest in governance issues. Specialist media have also shown interest in the InCiSE results.

InCiSE was welcomed not only by countries which featured in the Index but also by many who did not. A range of non-OECD and developing countries who were not listed remain keen to engage with the project, so that they can learn from others and take part in broader discussions on civil service performance issues. The InCiSE team will continue to explore ways of involving these countries in the project, for example through learning workshops and other public events.