Competency framework created for new public service culture

A new framework to ensure a more efficient, and people- friendly public service has been developed.

This has been done jointly by the National Human Re s o u r c e s Development Council of Sri Lanka ( NHRDC), the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA), Department of Management Services, Ministry of Public Administration and Management, Publ i c S e r v i c e Commission and Faculty of Management of University of Colombo.

In a media release, the NHRDC said this competency framework is to be used for the public sector to define the skills, behaviours and attitudes that officers need to perform in their roles effectively.

The main objective of the framework is to improve the efficiency, effective- ness and the quality of public sector delivery. Dinesh Weerakkody Chairman NHRDC, said "in a continuously changing environment, skilled and experienced managers are the need of the hour, the general public wants the quality of service delivered by the public service to improve, therefore it is necessary to develop and groom managers with the required skills, knowledge and attitude to run public sector organizations".

Many argue, he said, that the existing situation and the problems faced by the public sector is largely due to the lack of the required competencies among public sector managers. Also it is necessary to develop new tools, new ways of working, new organisations and skillssets to deal with the continuously changing environment successfully.

The proposed new framework, according to Chamila Jayasinghe, Assistant Director NHRDC is expected to achieve the following in the short term and long term: Improve the quality of public service delivery by having on board an ethical, productive and citizen focused/ centric managerial workforce. Improve the quality of service of the public servants and also their sense of satisfaction, loyalty and commitment. Develop high potential officers in the public sector to be effective in senior roles. Pave the way for a new public service culture over time. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the implementation of the framework in consultation with the Public Service Commission.