Questions/Answers

The objective of the initiative is to provide Bangladesh Civil Service Officers to study at Masters/Graduate/Diploma level and undertake various trainings at reputed foreign universities/institutions on topics related to public sector management and governance in order to support national efforts to achieve social and economic development in Bangladesh as well as improving the level of efficiency of the public sector. The initiative aims at making the officers of all cadres of Bangladesh Civil Service more competent, professional and motivated by being imbued with knowledge and expertise. It promises to give them fair idea about Public Management, Governance, Development Administration, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Global Warming/Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development, Best Practices of Management around the world, Development Economics, Financial Management, Organizational Leadership, ICT Management and other issues that they are confronted with in discharging their day-to-day activities.

Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) is composed of 28 cadres such as BCS (Administration), BCS (Foreign Affairs), BCS (Education) and so on. Each cadre has an organogram and a set of responsibilities. For example BCS Health Cadre does the health sector management; Custom is in charge of custom related functions. Ministry of Public Administration, with its mandate to develop and manage human resources, has been performing it through necessary initiatives in an integrated manner. In this approach MoPA is ensuring the participation and inter-phasing of all the cadres within the civil service.

Institutions are made effective by capable human resources. Satisfactory service delivery hinges on service providers’ know-how. Ignorance often leads to cumbersome running of official businesses. The initiative helped civil servants of all cadres to enrich their knowledge base and skill, thus it has been facilitating effective, accountable and transparent institutions at various segments of the government.

Bangladesh is a lower middle income country that is developing at a fast rate. Civil servants are playing a crucial role in this regard. To realize the development goals the country needs efficient civil servants who will be able to facilitate the growth. Lack of efficiency among the civil servants may lead to undesirable circumstances. It is to this end that the Ministry of Public Administration took the initiative to develop a knowledge-based well-informed and efficient civil bureaucracy by facilitating higher education and training for the civil servants across all cadres.

Education and training abroad used to be a less common affair in the civil service spectrum in an integrated manner. This initiative has helped to provide training and higher quality education according to country’s present need and also encourage civil servants to receive foreign degrees and training to cope up with the global pace. As of 2017 the numbers of civil servants who have received masters/diploma degrees and participated in short courses in foreign universities/institutes through the initiative are as follows: Master: 514, Diploma:149, Short Course:1468.

The initiative/innovation is ‘home-grown’ based on the experience of the past when most of the foreign scholarships or offers were tapped individually; and also the number was very less. Moreover, the subject was not chosen on the basis of country’s need but according to the subjects offered by the donor country/agency. Hence the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) through this initiative took an approach to train-up civil servants aligned with country’s development goals targeting at achieving Vision-2021, UN SGD-2030 and Vision 2041. The initiative was a pioneering approach by MoPA, and the first phase of the initiative was funded by the Government of Bangladesh from Japan Debt Cancellation Fund. However, the current Phase is also fully funded by the government. This is unique and distinctive as it is a reflection of government’s awareness of the benefits of human capital development in the public service.

The initiative can be replicated in other countries as well as for any section of civil bureaucracy.

Government of Bangladesh financed the whole initiative. From 1st July, 2009 to 31st December 2017 a total 2631 million BDT was utilized for the Strengthening Government through Capacity Development of the BCS Cadre Officials Project. A total of 5 officers and 5 staffs were employed for the execution of the project.

The success of the initiative is evident in the socio-economic progress of the country. Civil servants have reformed many public services. They are coming up with innovative ideas to resolve service delivery glitches. Citizens now have greater satisfaction about many service delivery procedures.The civil servants are now more efficient in managing various development initiatives. Such desirable outcomes will put impetus for a knowledge-based well-informed civil bureaucracy to persist. It is worth mentioning here that the initiative has started anew from 1st March 2018 and will continue till December, 2022.

Yes

The initiative was evaluated based on the number of BCS Cadre officials who received Masters/Diploma/Short Training through the initiative and study of relevant documents. The development trends and innovative practices in the public domain provided for the general perception of the outcome of the initiative.

The following indicators were used to ascertain the outcome of the initiative: • Capability and skill development of the officials. • Competence, professionalism and motivation of the officials. • Knowledge base development of the field level officers. • Knowledge and skill enhancement through foreign exposure. • Responsiveness and confidence for professional excellence of the officers.

Under the initiative 514 officers did their Masters and 149 officers completed their Post Graduate Diploma. Furthermore, 1468 officers of the Bangladesh Civil Service in the rank of Senior Assistant Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Additional Secretary and Secretary also completed different short courses. Higher education and different advanced training that were provided through the initiative helped BCS Cadre officials to be well equipped with latest knowledge, advance technologies and tools, ICT knowledge, contemporary best practices and expertise to render better public service delivery.

The beginning of the initiative saw series of meetings and consultations with the stakeholders. Regular feedback seminars are held to get an idea of the outcome of the initiative and also to make necessary changes.

a) Key lessons learned that could be derived from the initiative: • Quality Higher education and exposure can provide knowledge and skill to the bureaucrats for utilizing it in their long-run career. • To be able to cope with the challenges of the 21st century BCS Cadre officials are equipped with modern knowledge and skill. • BCS Cadre officials are to be acted as CHANGE MANAGERS and key policy formulators and implementers. • Education and skill-based training encouraged them to perform in excellent manner and also to continue the efforts for the betterment of the masses. b) Requirements for Potential Improvement: • Developing and enhancing coordination among institutions and stakeholders both at home and abroad; • Conducting institutional performance appraisal on regular basis and strengthening monitoring, evaluation and reporting; • Wider use of updated technology for transparency , quick service delivery and to address emerging challenges • Increasing capacity of local training institutions: TOT, innovation, Import technology • Developing exchange programme with other countries to find out their best-practices.