Escrivá proposes a consensus on the transformation of the administration to strengthen the recruitment of talent, better evaluate public policies and facilitate the access of citizens
30/01/2024
The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, José Luis Escrivá, has presented to the deputies of the Finance and Public Service Committee of Congress a consensus to reform the administration so that it is “more modern and innovative, better equipped with the technological tools that guarantee the fundamental rights of citizens, and with quality public services that are more accessible to all.”
The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, José Luis Escrivá, has presented to the deputies of the Finance and Public Service Committee of Congress a consensus to reform the administration so that it is “more modern and innovative, better equipped with the technological tools that guarantee the fundamental rights of citizens, and with quality public services that are more accessible to all.”
In the presentation of the general lines of action of the department in the field of Public Service, the minister explained that the scientific evidence shows how the improvement of the quality of public services results in greater growth and social welfare. The international studies “confirm that Spain has made significant progress in recent years in the indicators of good governance, but there is room for improvement to continue moving closer to the best positioned countries, the Nordic countries, which is our ambition”.
Consensus for an Open Administration
To achieve this objective, Escrivá has proposed to the parliamentary groups to move forward in an open administration, based on four axes: “Investing in public service capabilities, evidence-based public policies, openness to citizenship and more transparency, public participation and accountability.”
In terms of investment in public service capacities, the minister has proposed that in a scenario of generational renewal of the workforce (more than half of the public employees will reach the retirement age during the next ten years) and in full adaptation to technological change, “the challenge and opportunity is the capture and retention of talent”. To this end, the lines of action must be an advance management of personnel needs and new human resource models based on competencies and more stimulating career possibilities.
End of reset rate
In order to manage the workforce, which allows anticipating the needs of public employees in order to serve citizens effectively and with quality, “the current formula, based on instruments of vegetative growth of the workforce – the rate of effective replenishment – must be replaced by a new one that designs the workforce based on the public services to be provided by the Welfare State and the multiannual budgetary scenarios established by the European Union”, said the minister. It has also proposed giving more autonomy to human resources managers to be able to optimize the human capital of their organizations (with ex post quality control) and change the model of personnel selection and professional promotion to one “based on tasks and competencies necessary for the performance of the different positions likely to be occupied, which at the same time raises a motivating career model, which takes advantage of the potential of human resources and which allows to develop policies of upskilling and reskilling of public employees.”
In order to attract the best professional profiles at a time of great international competition and with the private sector for talent, the Minister has advanced that a new Statute of the Public Director will be elaborated that will concretize formalized selection systems of meritocratic character, elaborating profiles and managerial competences around a catalogue or repertoire, with stable periods of performance, assessed causes of removal, regular performance evaluation and a system of remuneration linked to the objectives achieved. In addition, a plan to attract junior and senior talent will be articulated.
Evidence-based public policies
The development of public policies based on solid scientific evidence and subject to ‘ex ante’ and ‘ex post’ controls ensures that public services are provided more and more effectively. In order to promote the extension of these practices throughout the administration, the State Agency for Public Policy Evaluation will be given a key role in the prior evaluation and design of the various public policies, and the role of the Independent Authority of Fiscal Responsibility will be enhanced in its control and evaluation after the event.
In addition, a system of indicators will be defined, a calendar of evaluations will be established and capacities will be created in each of the ministries to promote the good design and supervision of public policies, which will be used to improve the tools and decision-making processes.
The capacities of design, evaluation and improvement of public policies will be strengthened in turn with the application of new technologies: conceptual maps, semantic interoperability of all data of the General Administration of the State and generation of new quality data will allow to apply the capabilities of generative Artificial Intelligence to decision-making, integrating in a single dashboard all aspects of the implementation of policies: budgets, contracting, processes, organs, impacts…
End of mandatory pre-appointment
Data from the CIS show that almost three out of four Spanish citizens have used telematic channels to consult with the administration in the last 12 months, consolidating themselves as one of the main forms of interaction and access to public services; it is therefore the obligation of the public authorities to ensure that it is a safe and fast formula and, at the same time, complementary and not substitutive to the traditional channels, which are preferred by many citizens and, for many of them - as the most vulnerable - the most convenient.
In this sense, the measures that the ministry will put in place will include the end of the mandatory prior appointment, operating for this an amendment in the Common Administrative Procedure Law; the reform of the portal www.administracion.gob.es to organize it by vital events (birth, marriage, retirement…) and thus facilitate its use; the development of pilots of hubs providing services of attention to the citizenship fed with AI, with special focus on the demographic challenge and collectives with special needs; to strengthen and enhance the use of telephone 060 (of information on procedures and procedures with the General Administration of the State) and advance in the use of clear and easy administrative language.
In addition, to ensure the rapid response of administrations to changing situations and strengthen their capacity to adapt to external shocks, an operational unit will be created that can respond to unexpected crises, such as the pandemic, or wide-ranging challenges, such as the management of recovery plans.
Transparency and participation
Transparency and the opportunity to participate in the design of public policies “increase the confidence of citizens in the administration and their appreciation of our democratic system”, said the minister, who has presented several initiatives to reinforce that commitment; among them, a promotion of transparency mechanisms that include the regulation of the activities of interest groups, the improvement of citizen participation tools in the adoption of public policy decisions, the implementation of new ways of preventing conflicts of interest and the organizational and resource reinforcement of the Office of Conflicts of Interest, and the improvement and strengthening of the Open Government Forum as a space for dialogue and normative co-creation with civil society.
Appearance of General Lines in the Committee on Finance and Public Service