GPC Portal: A Story of Success in Capacity Development
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Context
Along the lines of the government strategic objective of modernizing and streamlining public administration, the UNDP/PAPP ‘s Capacity Development Initiative (CDI), stands as a main contributor in the institution building process in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the Opt.
The purpose of the CDI is to support the development of institutional, organizational, and human capacities needed to execute core public management functions required to sustain the building of a national public services, within an environment of open, structured, reliable, and accountable government
The CDI has been providing technical and financial support to the General Personnel Council (GPC), whose mandate is to manage and develop the Palestinian Civil Service, in order to build and operate a Portal.
Development Results
With a coherent capacity development approach, the projectachieved noticeable improvedcapacity that eventually reflected on the overall performance of the GPC and other ministries.
In particular, the project succeeded in:
-Establishing the necessary technology infrastructure for an interactive, open and transparent information system.
-Enhancing individual capacities for the GPC IT personnel as well staff in the Ministries.
-Computerization of civil servants files. The Portal now avails the data of 77,141 civil servants out of 85,000. Almost 20,000 PNA staff are registered as regular users with an average of 4000 daily visitors, recording over 1 million visits since its launching in July 2010.
-Establishing an online recruitmentfunctionality allowing the PNA to dynamically publish advertisements for vacancies and encourage applicants to apply online. Nearly 2650 people applied for vacancies online since the formal adoption of the Portal in January 2011.
-Systematic integration of services and communications, systems, work processes, rules and regulations, bylaws and protocols.
-Establishing the basis for a core e-government project that provides a single interface for government employees to perform human resource functions effectively and efficiently.
-The transformation of the national perception of the GPC from a “personnel administration” to a public institution focusing on Human Resources Management & Development.
Enhanced performance
In its June 2010 Report on the “West Bank Human Resource Information Systems and Payroll Review”, focused on the “emerging focus of the PA institutions on the fragmented nature of existing human resource (HR) management processes and supporting technology”, the World Bank has commended the GPC as having created a “Center o Excellence”. “The GPC is to be greatly commended for its painstaking and deliberate work in compiling the electronic document repository”.
In an institutionally competitive environment, the benefits of the process of establishing the Portal exceeded the immediate impact of the GPC performance. It has:
-Enhanced inter-ministerial cooperation between often competing ministries, coordination and joint work on governance systems and procedures on the national level. This has resulted in re-defining operational relationships between the GPC and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) with regards to payrolls, budgeting, pensions and retirements.
-Reduced to a large extent, the manipulation of promotion and recruitment process and nepotism within the Palestinian Civil Service in addition to the reduction of time and effort, overhead and paper work.
-Enhanced statistical capacities of the GPC and provided a strong foundation for better human resources strategic planning.
National investments
With a modest financial and technical contribution, the Portal has contributed toward a professional, politically impartial, transparent, stable and officiating public service, which is respected and able to deliver effective services to the government and citizens. It serves as the first step in realizing the nationally envisaged Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS).
A long term support for the GPC Portal/HRMISis crucial to the empowerment of the Palestinian government. It will enhance the national capacity to build the case for strong, responsive and transparent state institutions, and will make the PNA a standard setter in public administration reform, achieving multiple results. It sets main good governance based Civil Service reform policies, enhances future planning capacities in the GPC, the MoF and other relevant institutions, and synchronizes e-governance and human resource development.
Development partners’ support
The implementation of a new (HRMIS) has been prioritized as a major strategic objective for UNDP/PAPP long term investment in Palestinian public administration. It is part of its larger programme “Supporting Governance for Palestinian Statehood” which is a USD 20m three-year project. UNDP/PAPP’s support to a seldom attractive area of support such as the GPC, has encouraged several donors to invest in the public administration sector, which is known as complex and difficult to show tangible results in a short term.
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