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My objective in initiating this Public Governance Forum is to share ideas about best practices in government policies and operations at all levels from all over the world so that we could learn from each other. It is open to everyone including those in government, politicians, public officials and the public at large. Let's share ideas to bring about a better world. Creative Governance for the Public Sector Imagine living in a community that is as close to your dream as you possibly can. There is a smile on everyone’s lips and a sense of joy is in the air. The lawns and gardens are well maintained giving you the visual pleasure that you desire. Public places bustled with brightly coloured and scented flowers and green vegetation. It is a real treat for your senses. The community is vibrant, prosperous and your neighbors are friendly. You feel absolutely safe as crime is almost non-existent. The council rates have been dropping steadily and they are now at the lowest levels in 20 years. Government officials are well-loved by the people and are held in high esteem. This is the scenario of Creative Governance. Creative Governance can be applied to any sector of the public service, whether it is at the municipal, state, national and even at the global level of the United Nations.
Creative Governance Welcome to the world of Creative Governance! Of course there are problems in every community but the difference is that they could be resolved in the spirit of Creative Governance. But what is Creative Governance? First of all, let’s examine what is Governance. There are many definitions but I subscribe to the one given by Tim Plumptre, Founder, Institute On Governance (Ref: www.iog.ca ) According to Plumptre, Governance is the process whereby societies or organizations make important decisions, determine whom they involve and how they render account. My definition of Creative Governance is : Creative Governance is a process whereby societies or organizations embrace and introduce innovations that enhance the quality of life on a sustainable basis. It is about exploiting limitations to drive breakthrough thinking. Innovation demands exploiting limits not ignoring them.
Hammer and Nail Sadly, nearly all the governments in the world adopt a Hammer and Nail approach to their public governance. They see every problem as a nail which they need to whack with a hammer. For instance, if crime escalates, the hammer and nail approach is to increase the number of the police force, build more jails, buy more weapons and enact more laws. As the stories below show, this may not bring about the desired impact in resolving the problem. A Creative Governance approach provides a much more effective solution at a much lower cost.
The time is now ripe for
Creative Governance for the public sector. Public Governance in
essence is similar to Corporate Governance, a concept that is
gaining worldwide acceptance for corporate operational transparency
to shareholders, decision accountability to stakeholders and social
responsibility for its actions to the public at large. Public Governance
Public governance is concerned with the conduct of governments at
all levels to bring the best possible benefits to their citizens and
to fulfill their responsibilities as members of the global
community. Ultimately, I hope that the United Nations will come out
with the Public Governance Framework to promote and encourage the
practice of Good Public Governance to all countries of the world.
Through this framework, our rights as global citizens will be
safeguarded so that we will enjoy unprecedented peace, harmony, good
health and a high standard of living befitting our human dignity.
Public Governance Forum
My
objective in initiating this Public Governance Forum is to share
ideas about best practices in government policies and operations at
all levels from all over the world so that we could learn from each
other. It is open to everyone including those in government,
politicians, public officials and the public at large. Let's share
ideas to bring about a better world.
Curitiba The city of Curitiba in Brazil offers one of the best examples of Creative Governance. In 1972, the new mayor of the city Jaime Lerner, an architect and urban planner ordered a 48 hours transformation of six blocks of the street into a pedestrian zone. The municipal authorities were able to accomplish it in three days. The creation of the pedestrian zone inaugurated a series of programs by Lerner that made Curitiba a famous model for urban planning. In promoting industrial development Lerner decided to admit only non-polluters. Curitiba constructed an industrial district that reserved so much land for green space that it was derided as a “golf course” until it succeeded in filling up with major businesses. Through the creation of over 20 recreational parks, many with lakes to catch runoff in low-lying areas that flood periodically, Curitiba managed, at a time of explosive population growth, to increase its green areas from 5 square feet per inhabitant to an astounding 560 square feet. The city promoted “green” policies before they were fashionable and called itself “the ecological capital of Brazil” in the 1980s. Another of its famous innovations is the introduction of glass tubes that are boarding platforms for the rapid-transit buses. A light rail system would have required 20 times the financial investment and a subway would have cost 100 times as much. Broken Windows in New York William Bratton, chief of New York City’s police reduced serious crime rate by 75 percent by putting the concept of Broken Windows into practice. This concept was first introduced by criminologist George Kelling and social scientist James Q. Wilson. It was build around the theory that people were likelier to vandalize a building with one broken window than a building with none. A broken window sends the message that nobody cares, encouraging vandals to act on their destructive impulses. Similarly, they suggested, if a community tolerates quality-of-life offences, such as drug use and prostitution, it signals to all potential lawbreakers that it doesn’t care what happens to it; more serious crime will soon result. In short, a successful crime prevention strategy in what they termed as Zero Tolerance is to fix the problems when they are small, With Kelling as consultant, Bratton began to go after the fare evaders, pickpockets, and other petty criminals who terrorized the New York subway system. Bratton also had cops enforce anti-loitering laws to steer the homeless away from the subways and toward social services. The results were conclusive. Not only did minor crime plunge; serious crime did, too, and public confidence soared. Bratton also discovered that in arresting what he thought were minor offenders, many of them were actually wanted for much more serious crimes who evaded capture previously. Bratton achieved similar success when he was appointed as police chief in Los Angeles, since 2002. The LAPD has reduced crime by 26 percent overall, and homicides by 25 percent in three years, using many strategies, but always emphasizing order-restoration. These achievements in Los Angeles, like those in New York and in other cities, prove that broken windows is, in fact, thriving. As of 2005, New York City has the lowest crime rate among the ten largest cities in the US. In fact, it was so successful that the London ( UK) police had to send a delegation to learn from the New York program.
Peace in Basra The FastCompany magazine highlighted the Creative Governance achievements of British Army Captain Stephen Morte stationed in Basra, Iraq. Captain Morte utilized the microfinance concept that won Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. He worked to defuse tension between coalition forces and the Iraqi people by offering grants to help create jobs and ease poverty. By helping to build self-sustaining enterprises, thereby weaning Iraq from reliance on foreign aid and improving Iraqis' opinion of foreign forces, Morte believed that it would bring about more lasting peace than military enforcements. In his role as a civil-military cooperation officer for the Light Infantry Regiment - one of the most battle-hardened in the British Army, Morte liaised among Iraqi reconstruction agencies, the U.S. State Department, the British Foreign Office, and Iraqi construction contractors. With every payment Morte subsequently rendered, he sensed a change. He was well received and respected by the community. One plan set in motion was to revive an entire sector of the Basra economy with an $8 million program to plant 140,000 date palms. The program could provide long-term employment for 2,000 Baswari farmers and 8,000 laborers, two-thirds of whom were recently unemployed. Sustainable peace in Iraq could be achieved not by military might but through non-military creative governance like the one practiced by Captain Morte.
Los Angeles Gang Violence The racial gang violence, Latino versus black proved largely immune to anti-crimefforts by the police. Violent gang crime jumped 14 percent in 2006. There were 40,000 gang members, spread between 720 gangs, who committed 269 murders last year. According to Constance Rice, author of a study on LA crime and violence, the city has spent $50 billion on the problem over the past three decades and now has six times as many gangs and twice the number of gang members. Police have come to realize that the gang epidemic here is largely immune to increased crime crackdown. They realized that the police "cannot arrest their way out of the gang violence crisis." A new innovative approach is required. Rice’s research discovered a successful community model that had been tried in L.A., During the summer of 2003, local basketball courts stayed open past midnight for games. Community groups offered computer games and tutoring from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. – the hours when most violence occurs. Gang intervention workers negotiated with local gangs for no-violence agreements, while a local radio station provided coverage of progress. At the end of 14 weeks there was a clear record ... not one shooting or killing or battery or assault. This is the power of Creative Governance. Courtroom in School
Baby Treatment
Please email Dr.YKK at DrYKK@mindbloom.net if you want to invite him to present an illuminating one hour Talk on Creative Governance and thereafter to facilitate a session to help solve a prevailing public and social problem in the spirit of Creative Governance.
I
would appreciate if you could share Creative Governance stories with
me so that they could be featured here. Please forward your response
and contributions to
drykk@mindbloom.net
7 Progressions to Creative Governance
Introduction Creative Public Governance requires courage to use unconventional ideas for social change that to bring tangible benefits to the people. Though not labeled as such, practically every country practices it in one form or another. However, by not having a common label, these creative practices are not publicized and therefore not shared to the world at large. The benefits are only restricted to the country or often to the small community where it operates. My intention is that by coining the self-explanatory term of Creative Public Governance, these practices will be popularized and spread much more widely , ultimately spearheading a world-wide movement to create a better world for all of us. Creative Public Governance need not be introduced officially by the government . In fact, it can be pioneered by an individual. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, Prof. Mohamad Yunus, for example developed the concept of micro-financing to help the poor. It has now permeated to many parts of the world even to advanced and developed countries. I believe that in order to accelerate the diffusion of Creative Public Governance , a methodology is required. Based on my research and observations, I have developed the 7 Progressions to Creative Governance. I welcome your feedback. The 7 Progressions to Creative Governance 1. IIdentifying the Core issue 2. Taking the Michelangelo approach 3. Searching globally for successful solutions 4. Innovating the wheel 5. Facilitating participative re-creation 6. Sensitizing, elaborating & winning acceptance 7. Recognizing & celebrating
1. IIdentifying the Core issue Creative governance begins by asking questions to identify the core issue – identifying the cause and not just the symptoms. For example , if there is a drop in enrolment in science education , what is the underlying cause? Is it employability, teaching, facilities, perception, etc. We can do research on research that have been undertaken in this field as practically almost every issue has been researched before. Talk to the people on the ground who are the most affected. If necessary, do a confirmation research. The important thing to avoid is paralysis through analysis. 2. Taking the Michelangelo approach The common approach is to start from where we are to where we want to go. A better way is that of Michelangelo approach where he visualized the image of David before he freed the figure by chipping away the unwanted pieces. Thus this approach involves starting from the destination and removing current obstacles that could obstruct its path. 3. Searching globally for successful solutions Before trying new ideas, first do a search on whether a similar problem ahs been solved before. Sometimes the same or similar problem had already been solved in a small community within the same country itself. Many public innovations have been featured in magazines, papers and e-publications. Even unrelated creative solutions could trigger over practical innovations for public governance. This search will save a lot of time and reduces risk. 4. IInnovating the wheel Once successful solutions have been found, the next step is to adapt the solution to the issue at hand. This progression is termed “ Innovating the wheel” as there’s no need to re-invent a new solution when you can creatively imitate a proven workable successful solution. The creativity lies with the adaptation process. Facilitating participative re-creation This is an important step to get involvement of all stakeholders in formulating a solution. Their involvement will ensure their support for implementation and possible mitigate objections and protests. Moreover, it will cultivate a sense of ownership of the community.
6. Sensitizing, elaborating & winning acceptance Progression 5 will only accommodate a limited number of interested stakeholders in the project. Prior to carrying out implementation, it is imperative to sensitize the involved the community on solution through the mass media or other forms of communication to let them know hat is coming. Then , it is followed by elaboration of the plans which could be politically and socially sensitive. Some people with vested interest could also be adversely affected. 7. Recognizing & celebrating There’s nothing like recognition and celebration at both the launching and celebration of the project to motivate the community to support future projects. It will instill a sense of pride and ownership among members of the community, the government agencies concerned and the politicians who made the project possible.
Creative Governance in Aged Care Using ‘happiness’ is his working principle, Dr. Hans Becker, chairman of the Humanitas Rotterdam Foundation in Netherlands transformed the Aged Care industry from one of institutionalisation to that of a vibrant living environment. It provides a marvellous example on how creative governance can be introduced into aged care. Through his innovations, Becker restored joy of living, pride and dignity to Humanitas apartment elderly residents. He established a system that supports the self-determination, self-reliance, fun and bonding among its residents, carers employees as well as its neighbourhood community. Becker came up with a coherent set of innovations and policy measures to enable this to happen. These are:
The design of Age-proof residential complexes specifically manifests the core values and concepts of Humanitas. The complexes have cheerful and roofed-in village squares, often atriums. To accentuate well-being, the cure and care activities (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing homes, etc) are a little hidden, while the cheerful and activating well-being services (luxurious restaurants, internet cafes, bars, hairdressers salons, supermarkets, beauty parlours, music) are prominently located at the centre. Cuddly pets, art and alcoholic drinks (‘a bottle a day keeps the doctor away’) are also encouraged. These facilities are open to the neighbourhood community thereby contributing to its vibrancy. In particular, this openness contributes to ‘excitement’ to the residents - something more interesting to talk about instead of complaining about illnesses The extended family concept is created by connecting Humanitas stakeholders together through a common vision and interest. It is a continuous process where residents, employees, volunteers, family and staff members interact, create, support and make adaptations to achieve the envisaged goal of human happiness. An effective policy is ‘one should not care for people, one should enable them to take care of themselves’ and ‘too much care is worse than too little care’ produced the benefits of not only less physical decline but also brought about the positive effects at the psychological level. By being able to cook, take care of the pets and clothing themselves, the residents maintain the healthy feeling of self-determination and self-reliance. Another aspect of Humanitas creative governance is that the ‘yes-culture’ is much emphasized. The only answer to any innovative idea proposed by either residents, staff , family or volunteers. is to say ‘yes’. This approach allows the consideration of all ideas and thus stimulates not only residents and their family, but also staff and volunteers, to suggest their own proposals and solutions, and to undertake initiatives of all kinds. This in turn optimizes the potential for the creation of a knowledge organization. It enables Humanitas to tap into the experience and expertise of its residents and their family members, which contributes in turn to a feeling of happiness through generated self-esteem. Other tangible benefits includes: financial viability; and fosters a positive image both internally and externally thereby winning social and political acceptance of the system. Becker and his management team have successful introduced creative governance into the aged-care industry about by respectfully breaking with the traditional practices that are still prevalent in the care sector today. By introducing a new set of core values and consequently supporting them, it has unleashed the creativity available among stakeholder groups, including the residents themselves. It offers a proven model of aged-care with profitability thus offering a business case for corporate sustainability and responsibility within the care sector.
Creative Governance in Poverty Eradication I would like to reproduce here an article written by Colin Pridham, a volunteer for STLI , Scientific Technology Linguistic Institute (USA) who played a key role in establishing Talastronics (NGO) in Kyrgysztan to spearhead a poverty eradication initiative by teaching the poor villagers on how to program microchips. What an amazing project! Even more amazing is that a Malaysian student studying in Australia has set up a blog ( http://villagersprogrammingmicrochips.blogspot.com/2008/03/keep-comments-coming_24.html) to collect donations to sponsor the these villagers to participate at the WCIT ( World Congress on Information Technology ) to be held in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia from May 18-33, 2008. Both these initiatives are good illustrations of the concept of Creative Public Governance which in its broadest sense is to enhance the quality of life of the people through technology, social, economic and political innovations. Revolutionary CoreChart microchip programming empowers under-privileged villagers in Kyrgyzstan to enable businesses that enrich their economy With the help of a proven microchip programming technology, CoreChart from South Australia, and a well established, government supported and respected local NGO, ‘STLI ‘, we have implemented a program to train, equip and empower a group of local village people to be the fore-runners in developing their dream of reaching out to their local communities and neighbouring countries. Underprivileged villagers from the regional Village of Talas, in Kyrgyzstan, are using CoreChart to offer control solutions to local businesses. For example our village team has learned to program microchips, through a sponsorship program, to optimize the timing and temperature control and data logging of a Candle Production facility. The aim is to dramatically improve efficiency and hence the profitability of the business. Another project is to optimise the control of timing, temperature and ground soil conditions in glass houses to plant and maintain cash crops. It will create a tremendous business and economic impact as market gardeners all over Kyrgyzstan use glass houses for growing vegetables. Other projects being planned include BioGas production and Wind Power Electricity generation in isolated villages. Wind Power generation is very important in villages because local people cannot afford to pay for electric heating. Most people in isolated villages live on $30USD or less. We are keen to share this experience of how underprivileged village people form their own micro-businesses to realize their dream of empowering their own people to become more self sufficient through training and start up of ICT enterprises. The pilot projects implemented to-date have demonstrated CoreChart’s ability to reach out and empower the under-privileged in the least developed countries (LDC). It has the potential to narrow the Great Digital Divide and a unique opportunity to eradicate poverty prevalent among the villagers. We believe our project can be scaled up through Professor CK Pralahad's vision of "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid". Through this Vision, major businesses such as Visy, Pfizer, ANZ Bank, Macquarie bank, IBM, World Vision etc have recently formed the Business for Poverty Relief Alliance (BPRA). ). If Professor CK Pralahad is correct about eradication of poverty through profits, BPRAs around the world now have the opportunity to profit from a sustainable CoreChart Sponsorship for Poverty Relief project. It is only a matter of time when the under-privileged villagers from Kyrgysztan or Malaysia develop applications that require millions of microchips and financing to be supplied by BPRA in Malaysia.
The Kyrgysztan pilot project is now being expanded as CoreChart Sponsorship For Poverty Relief CCSPR in some of the least developed countries. It is promoted through NGOs and major global ICT events to provide a sustainable platform to relieve poverty. We believe it will have a profound impact on global poverty eradication. Source: Colin Pridham, volunteer for STLI , Scientific Technology Linguistic Institute (USA) who played a key role in establishing Talastronics (NGO) in Kyrgysztan
Talk on Creative Governance
Creative Governance in Global Micro-lending
Creative governance need not have to depend on original ideas. It
can improve on an existing successful model.
Creative Governance Begins With People Politicians like to associate with winners not whiners. Dr.YKK
Creative Governance begins with people. This article relates with my personal experience in Mauritius several years ago.
Towards the end of my creativity consulting with the government, I
was taken o one of the poorest villages to help to resolve some of
their many outstanding problems. When I arrived there, there were
only two people to meet me. This was because most of the villages
were attending a reception and official visit by a Minister. The final solution agreed upon was to set aside a certain day where each adult in the village will be responsible to fill up one pot-hole. Since the potholes were relatively small, a two or three buckets of soil or stones would be sufficient to do the job. This project would be undertaken in a spirit of festivity where a Minister or senior politician would be invited to officiate. Furthermore, the mass media would be invited to cover the event. The intention was that once the potholes had been covered, the village spokesman would request the VIP guest to surface the road properly. This would be difficult for the VIP to refuse in full glare of publicity especially when the villagers have taken the effort and initiative to cover the potholes. Besides, it would make the VIP look good. And politicians like to associate with winners not whiners.
Creative Governance in Global Micro-lending
Creative governance need not have to depend on original ideas. It
can improve on an existing successful model.
Creative Governance though Prison Reforms Recently I came across two interesting news items on prison reforms. Governments worldwide spend a fortune on prison maintenance, yet generally the results are unsatisfactory. The two news items below, one from Norway, called the Eco-Prison and the other from Philippines called the Dancing prison are great examples of Creative Public Governance. More governments should explore such innovations in their prison reforms. The world's first ecological prison. The minimum-security Bastoey Prison on a lush island, where inmates include murderers and rapists prison, operates with solar panels, wood-fire heating instead of oil, strict recycling and eco-friendly food production. There are no locked gates or barbed wire. This innovative project aims to help the 115 prisoners learn values such as protecting the environment and respecting others.
The prisoners live in unlocked houses, in and are responsible for the care of about 200 chickens, eight horses, 40 sheep and 20 cows. They also tend the fields, pick berries and fish on the prison supplied boat.
All of the prison's agricultural products are raised organically without fertilizers or pesticides. It strives to be energy self-sufficient, using renewable power. The inmates are happy with their freedom living in an environment that gives them individual responsibility . It is effective as the system motivates them to reform their behavior . Those who misbehaved, which is rare, will be sent back to maximum security prisons. This is a fantastic model for prison officials to experiment on. One benefit is that the Bastoey Prison has the lowest maintenance cost since very little is spent on security.
Cebu’s dancing prison The champion of the prison reform in Cebu is Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. Garcia is the first woman governor in Cebu in 400 years. Beautiful and elegant, she was voted as one of best dressed ladies in the Philippines. Beneath her soft exterior, however, she is a tough woman. First, she fired dozens of jail guards for corruption, installed an enhanced security system, broke up gangs, banned guns and the use of cash and enforced an exercise regime that in the past year evolved into dance classes. 70 percent of the prison's inmates were convicted of serious crimes like murder, rape and narcotics trafficking.
The dances are choreographed by a professional choreographer. The footage of the dance by more than 1,500 prisoners to Michael Jackson song "Thriller." had been uploaded on YouTube. It has been viewed more than 10 million times and became one of the most popular clips ever on the video-sharing Web site.
This unique experiment has already proven to be a rehabilitation program. The documentary maker "Dancing for Discipline," commented that the inmates have the biggest smiles. The system restores the inmates sense of self-esteem .
Comment If serious criminals can be rehabilitated using such “soft” approaches, how about other prisoners of lesser crimes? It is high time that governments adopt a more unconventional approach to prison rehabilitation.
Talk on Creative Governance
Creative Governance through Social Sector Investment I found US presidential candidate Barrack Obama’s call for social sector investment as a good example of Creative Public Governance. According to Obama, while the federal government invests $7 billion in research and development for the private sector, there is no similar effort to support non-profit innovation. He promised that as President, he will launch a new Social Investment Fund Network. This Network will get the grass roots, the foundations, the private sector and the government at the table. It will invest in ideas that work; leverage private sector dollars to encourage innovation; and expand successful programs to scale. Obama will also launch a new Social Entrepreneur Agency to make sure that small non-profits have the same kind of support that the government gives to small businesses Among the specific projects that he has in mind are: Classroom Corps : College students, recent graduates and retirees mentor young people; engineers and scientists will help make sure the next generation of innovators is educated in US. · Energy Corps : To free ourselves from energy dependence and to confront climate change, to work on renewable energy projects, to teach folks about conservation, to help clean up polluted areas and to send talented American engineers and scientists abroad to help developing countries promote low-carbon energy development. · Peace Corps : Double the size by its 50th anniversary in 2011 to reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity · USA Freedom Corps : Aan online network where Americans can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment, and skill sets; you’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.
·
Social service for students: A goal for all American middle and high
school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all
college students who perform 100 hours of service a year will be
entitled ton annual American Opportunity Tax Credit of $4,000 to
make tuition affordable. To quote Obama: “We will create new opportunities for all Americans to serve, and to direct that service to our most pressing national challenges. … because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer.”
Talk on Creative Governance
Creative Governance with Helmet mounted police cameras Police in UK had found a very effective and innovative way in tackling anti social behaviour and violent crime. They found that digital cameras attached to police officers' helmets to be excellent evidence gathering tool and a visible crime deterrent. A camera about the size of a marker pen is fitted to the police helmets and officers can immediately hit a record button and tape what's happening in front of them. The images are digitally encrypted onto a recording device attached to the officers' belt line. An essential feature of the cameras is that images cannot be deleted or edited in any way so that they could be used as evidence in courts. The clear evidence recorded by the helmet camera means that offenders have less opportunity to deny their involvement, leading to less paperwork for the police, earlier guilty pleas, less time spent in court and an increase in convictions. An unexpected additional benefit is that complaints on police brutality stopped since the police behavior is also captured on the camera. Preliminary results show that the cameras are highly effective in crime convictions and prevention. Due to these cameras, arrests for violent crime have increased by 85 per cent in one area whilst at the same time the incidence of violent crimes has also fallen by between eight per cent to 18 per cent.
Talk on Creative Governance |