SAARC Delegates recommend creation of a regional Government Performance Management Network

Akhil Sharma,,

New Delhi,,

The delegates from SAARC nations have recommended setting up of a region wide Government Performance Management Network to share experiences and emerging regional best practices on an ongoing basis. The member countries have also proposed institution of a SAARC Award for Innovations in Government Performance Management and development of a system to facilitate government to government (G2G) consulting services in the SAARC region. The recommendations made at the end of the workshop held in New Delhi on March 30-31 are likely to be placed for consideration at the next SAARC summit to be held later this month in Thimpu, Bhutan.

In his inaugural address the Cabinet Secretary Shri K.M. Chandrasekhar said that in an increasingly globalized world, government effectiveness holds the key to a nation’s competitive advantage. Experts agree that in the long run, race among nations will be won or lost not on the basis of comparative advantage arising from resource endowment, but by the competitive advantage created by effective governments, he added.

The workshop aimed at sharing the knowledge and experience on Government Performance Management practices in SAARC countries was inaugurated by the Cabinet Secretary, Shri K.M. Chandrasekhar and attended by the Secretary General of SAARC, Shri Sheel Kant Sharma along with the senior officials from India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The workshop faculty comprised of a mix of practitioners and academicians including Member, Planning Commission, Arun Maira, Prof. Raghuram and Prof. Pangotra of IIM Ahmedabad. Among the senior Government officials, Secretary Performance Management, Cabinet secretariat and Joint Secretaries in the Ministry of Power and Rural Development took part in the deliberations along with the senior representatives from National Informatics Centre (NIC).

The SAARC Workshop on Government Performance Management was organized by India in response to a decision taken at the meeting of Cabinet Secretaries from SAARC Countries held in November 2009. It is a reflection of India’s swift implementation of a sophisticated Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System for Government departments and the interest shown by the member countries from the region towards an effective, efficient and transparent governance.