| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
|
|
The project is being widely implemented throughout the organization for improving the PEA’s information disclosure considered “Process Innovation” for transparency purpose. This transparency-based project is realistically measureable and evaluable because of the following features:
1.The implementation of the Project is planned to cover all 933 PEA local offices by the following timeframe: 2015-2016 : the project was executed for 186 PEA class 1-3 offices and Year 2017 is to expand the project to cover the other 747 PEA branches and sub-branch offices.
2.PEA formulated PEA’s Integrity and Transparency Standards as guidelines for all PEA offices.
3.Evaluation Committee 3 levels :
-Organizational/ Regional / District Evaluation Committee
PEA was awarded the prize of “State owned enterprise with the best transparency index score” supported by the NCC. The outstanding reasons for winning the award are as follows: First, the project used valid and comprehensively analyzed information. Second, it has formulated solid objectives, goals and practical working procedures. Third, it has a proper and achievable implementation timeframe. Next, the project is collective action all employees can take part in.The last reason is having an effective evaluation system to measure the progress and results of the project.
|
|
| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
|
|
PEA has considered a number of inside and outside factors to establish the project. To begin with, the project has reviewed 5 outside factors:
1.The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, Buddhist Era 2550 (2007) sections 56-62 (Rights to Information and Petition) states that “A person shall have the right to receive and to get access to public information in possession of a government organization and have the right to present a petition and to be informed of the result of its consideration within the appropriate time.
2.National anti-corruption strategy emphasizes the principles of transparency, fairness and anti-corruption in business operations.
3.Government organizations shall govern themselves fairly and transparently.The employees in the organizations shall have ethics, virtue, and morality in their mind.
4.Thailand’s Corruption Perceptions Index Year 2016 is 35 out of 100 reported by Transparency International. The index of 35 is considered relatively low among ASEAN countries. This reflects the corruption problem that has existed in Thailand for years.
5.Integrity & Transparency Assessment index: ITA index by the National Counter Corruption Office (NCC) as a tool to measure the transparency level in the government organizations.
Futhermore, the organisation has examined 2 internal factors:
1.Organisational strategy and Executive policy
PEA’s Management and Improvement policy emphasizes on “Sustainable development” : Good corporate governance, code of conduct, Operations with transparency and no-corruption , building a pilot PEA office that operates with Transparency and expand to other PEA branch offices, developing Human resources both soft and hard skills, enhancing the citizen participation.
2.Executives and employees’ willingness and cooperation to instill transparency in routine working procedures.
The size of population that is affected by the project:
1.18.5 million Thais as PEA’s customers will be provided services fairly and transparently
2.30,000 executives and employees as a service provider will perform their work with transparency
|
| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
|
|
PEA’s Integrity and Transparency Project has utilized specific strategies to achieve the pre-determined goals as follows:
1. Executives as “a Role Model” for employees
PEA executives are willing to sign a promise of anti-corruption practices among Board of directors and subordinates in order to demonstrate a commitment to embracing and applying the practices. Also, the signing helps promoting good sense and atmosphere. Their subordinates are willing to adhere to the anti-corruption practices along with their boss. Moreover, the executives are encouraged to participate in all meetings about transparency, ethics and morality issues.
2. Initiate “a Pilot Project”
Initially, PEA launched a pilot project on “Integrity and Transparency Office” in Rangsit Branch Office, Pathumthani province. The pilot project was analyzed and applied to the “PEA’s Integrity and Transparency Standards” to expand the project to every PEA branch office. Pros and Cons were included into the standards as well for creating a better version.
3. Knowledge and experience Sharing
PEA has held a number of meetings and workshops along the way the standards has been used to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness.
4. Rewarding
As a motive for employees to maintain the PEA’s standards, PEA will present a certification guaranteeing that the PEA office has passed the assessment by the PEA Integrity and Transparency Project’s committee.
The implementation of the project requires these essential resources:
1. Human resources
1.1 Integrity and Transparency Project Assessment Committee.
Duty: To assess whether the current working procedures of the PEA office adhere to the standards e.g. Procurement processes should strictly comply with standard 2 (Procurement Standard) of PEA Integrity and Transparency Standards.
1.2 Executives and Employees
Duty: To govern, facilitate and propel the operations of the project within the organisation.
2. Information Technology Resources
In assessing the PEA office with the PEA’s standards, PEA has used various Information Technology Systems assisting the assessment to increase the efficiency and to eliminate biases of the committee that can potentially cause the unfairness in the assessment process.
Used IT systems are SAP program (for procurement and SLA), e-one portal (for compliant management), smile box (after-service customer satisfaction) etc.
|
|
| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
|
|
PEA’s Integrity and Transparency Project has utilized specific strategies to achieve the pre-determined goals as follows:
1. Executives as “a Role Model” for employees
PEA executives are willing to sign a promise of anti-corruption practices among Board of directors and subordinates in order to demonstrate a commitment to embracing and applying the practices. Also, the signing helps promoting good sense and atmosphere. Their subordinates are willing to adhere to the anti-corruption practices along with their boss. Moreover, the executives are encouraged to participate in all meetings about transparency, ethics and morality issues.
2. Initiate “a Pilot Project”
Initially, PEA launched a pilot project on “Integrity and Transparency Office” in Rangsit Branch Office, Pathumthani province. The pilot project was analyzed and applied to the “PEA’s Integrity and Transparency Standards” to expand the project to every PEA branch office. Pros and Cons were included into the standards as well for creating a better version.
3. Knowledge and experience Sharing
PEA has held a number of meetings and workshops along the way the standards has been used to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness.
4. Rewarding
As a motive for employees to maintain the PEA’s standards, PEA will present a certification guaranteeing that the PEA office has passed the assessment by the PEA Integrity and Transparency Project’s committee.
The implementation of the project requires these essential resources:
1.Human resources
1.1 Integrity and Transparency Project Assessment Committee.
Duty: To assess whether the current working procedures of the PEA office adhere to the standards e.g. Procurement processes should strictly comply with standard 2 (Procurement Standard) of PEA Integrity and Transparency Standards.
1.2 Executives and Employees
Duty: To govern, facilitate and propel the operations of the project within the organisation.
2.Information Technology Resources
In assessing the PEA office with the PEA’s standards, PEA has used various Information Technology Systems assisting the assessment to increase the efficiency and to eliminate biases of the committee that can potentially cause the unfairness in the assessment process.
Used IT systems are SAP program (for procurement and SLA), e-one portal (for compliant management), smile box (after-service customer satisfaction) etc.
|
|
| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
|
|
The project has displayed improvements in working procedures as follows:
1.Information Disclosure Process Improvements in the following processes in order to be more transparent
1.1 Customer Service Process
Standard 2 : Every PEA branch office posts notification showing service steps, the cost of each service rendered, service timeframe in an easily-noticeable point in the office e.g. cost of meter installation, electricity expansion and bill payment etc. By doing so, customers will know exactly how much service cost they will have to pay with no price rip-offs. Consequently, this can prohibit any potential incidents of corruption because everyone is blatantly informed on the costs of all types of customer service transactions.
1.2 Compliant Management Process
Standard 3: In order to facilitate customer’s petition process, PEA offices will post the executives’ telephone numbers. People, who have found an incident of corruption, both committed by PEA employees and PEA-related matters, are able to apprise directly to the relevant and authorized executive about the finding. Then, the executive handles the incident. PEA has augmented the number of communication channels for its customers to easily file a request or petition. Besides, PEA also published a handbook of compliant management to be used as a standard manual throughout the organisation.
1.3 Procurement Process
Standard 2 requires that a PEA office that is carrying a procurement transaction shall reveal necessary information about that procurement transaction to bidding parties. Such information is medium price of the bidding and its methods of calculation, the name of the winner in the bidding and the criterion used to judge the winner. The information shall be posted on the PEA’s website in order for the bidding parties to examine for the sake of transparency.
2.As planned, all 186 PEA Class 1-3 Offices were certified as a PEA’s Integrity and Transparency Office within 2016. PEA then planned to expand the project to cover the rest of the 747 PEA branch/sub-branch offices across the country. The ultimate objective of the project is to apply the 4 standards in 5 areas to all PEA’s offices in order to instill transparency into employees.
|
|
| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
|
|
Along the way the project has been being implemented, PEA have encountered numerous different both major and minor obstacles in regard to specific area. To deal with those impediments, PEA has arranged consecutive meetings and workshops to discuss and brainstorm ideas from staff that have real experiences in order to seek for possible solutions and potential suggestions. To begin with, the project has confronted many internal obstacles as detailed below:
1.Employees’ understanding in good governance , morality and transparency
Due to the enormous number of PEA employees, the dissemination and transfer of knowledge in good governance, morality and transparency to every employee is arduous. The origination has come up with these solutions: The first solution is that Determined executives as a role model for their employees to express their great interest in embracing and applying best practices of the principles of transparency. e.g. they frequently attend transparency-promoting activities supported by any parties such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Thai government and anti-corruption networks and more. The next one is that PEA’s executives organize events that help boost good governance, morality and transparency schemes to occur in the organization.
2.PEA’s Organisational structure
The complexity of organisational structure, branch offices across the country, is difficult to control the operations of each office to be in line with the standards. To deal with this problem, the project has employed these solutions: The first solution is that PEA has created effective management / controlling and checking / evaluation approaches. The next is that PEA also organizes competition, as a motive, between PEA Offices in different regions/areas. The competition is to measure the efficiency of each office in applying the PEA’s 4 standards in 5 areas in real practice. There will be an award to those who receive the highest score.
|