Keeping the promise of change
On June 30, the government officially transitioned to a new administration that came with a promise of change. A national expenditure program and some executive orders later, change has become more and more apparent to Filipinos at large.
In August, for instance, a Citizens’ Complaint Hotline was launched to serve as a 24/7 grievance redress channel. This would later be institutionalized along with the establishment of a Complaint Center through an Executive Order.
A ‘ build, build, build’ strategy, arguably the Philippines’ biggest infrastructure plan, is being adopted to implement a targeted P8-9 trillion worth of projects that should mostly hang under the belts of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways. As such, the number of projects that aim to improve and develop transport infrastructure is expected to rise nationwide in the coming years. Some projects under this plan will also focus on flood alleviation, health care, and power supply, among other things.
Several programs and projects are also being carried over from previous administrations. In March, the Department of Social Welfare and Development announced that an additional P600 would be given as rice subsidy to each compliant household beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which boasts a P78.2 billion budget for 2017 (People’s Budget 2017, DBM). This is consistent with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s assertion during his first State of the Nation Address. In the President’s own words, “What we want is genuinely to reduce the vulnerabilities of our people, build resiliency and empower individuals, and families and communities.”
LEADING PUBLIC BODY OF THE FUTURE
PwC’s Future of Government report (PwC FoG report), released in 2013, illustrates a leading public body of the future, one that is “ready to deliver its defined purpose in the face of a world in constant change.” A leading public body starts off with a vision and mission, or political purpose, shaped by new intelligence and the points of view of its internal and external stakeholders. To deliver its vision and mission, a leading public body must view itself through identified guiding lenses, and possess a set of identified characteristics, all of which are detailed in the PwC FoG report.
Given that the end result should be the successful execution of plans aligned with the vision and mission, the PwC FoG report suggests that a leading public body of the future must be equipped with a set of internal management capabilities, such as (1) leadership, (2) partnering & networking, (3) prioritization & implementation planning, (4) program, project & risk management, and ( 5) performance measurement & outcome assessment, all of which have to do with the technical delivery of portfolios, programs, and projects. Therefore, strong political leadership, while in itself an impetus for change and development, requires significant technical support.
DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
PwC’s 4th Global Portfolio and Programme Management Survey (PwC PPM Survey), which was released in 2014 and included public sector respondents, presents a case for doing things differently in order to deliver portfolios, programs, and projects effectively in an increasingly fast-paced world. With the current and planned changes in the Philippines, this case cannot be more relevant. Furthermore, the survey reveals that there is often a disconnect between organizations’ top leadership who determine strategic directions, and the portfolio/program/project managers (PMs) who turn these directions into action.
Among the five themes for doing things differently introduced in the PwC PPM Survey is the call to connect top leadership or executive teams with the program delivery teams, so that desired changes can be accomplished. As survey results reveal, as much as 58% of executive teams believe that staff impacted by change initiatives are engaged. However, this figure is significantly lower for mid-level management, with only 41% of surveyed general managers believing the same. While these figures may have improved over the years following the survey’s release, they suggest a tendency for top leadership to overestimate the quality of stakeholder engagement during project execution.
Another theme in the survey focuses on enabling people to deliver success. Enabling people entails both appropriate allocation and capacitation of resources. This is only apt as people are the main implementers of change, not processes or tools. Organizations’ leaders acknowledge this, with 64% of surveyed CEOs prioritizing the enhancement of their skilled work force in the next few years.
Overall, the PwC PPM Survey themes urge leaders and PMs to reconsider old ways of delivery and explore new approaches to portfolio, program, and project execution. It takes us back to the paramount question — “Do people who commission change get what they want?”
‘RESULTS, NOT ATTRIBUTES’
Whether it be human resource, communication, or stakeholder management among other areas, Philippine government off icials and civil servants alike should consider what principles, tools, and techniques to apply in their various initiatives. If done properly by addressing the nuanced requirements of each portfolio, program, and project, this may not only facilitate smoother execution, but further enable the accomplishment of desired results.
For example, adopting agile delivery may be considered for complex projects where the best-fit technical approach or solution is yet to be determined. This is as opposed to adopting the more traditional and linear waterfall method, which entails executing project phases and activities sequentially. Agile delivery has become increasingly popular due to its iterative, incremental, and collaborative nature, therefore allowing more flexibility and faster realization of benefits. However, identifying which approach to take between the two requires careful assessment of the needs of a project.
Another example would be setting up a means to manage benefits of a portfolio, program, or project. This potentially enables leaders to make informed decisions on investment and execution. This is related to the shift predicted in the PwC FoG report, where measuring outputs is replaced with measuring outcomes.
Needless to say, a strong political purpose on its own cannot effect change. While our leaders’ selection of the right vision, mission, and strategy for the country is a crucial precedent to rendering desired outcomes, proper management of their execution is key to effectively delivering any outcome at all. As Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, had put it — leadership is defined by results not attributes.
The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Services Philippines Co. Ltd. The firm will not accept any liability arising from the article.