Implementation of public policy is a real challenge. It needs systematic thinking, careful planning, close monitoring and effective performance evaluation.

1. 4/26/17
1
implementation
Challenges of Implementing PolicyChallenges of Implementing Policy
in Public organizationsin Public organizations
Rajiv Singh
MDI, Gurgaon
POLICYPOLICY PRACTICEPRACTICE
beneficiariesbeneficiaries
PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONSPUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS
IMPLEMENTERSIMPLEMENTERS
CAPABILITIESCAPABILITIES

2. Public Policy Implementation-3 stages
Integration
• Translation of policy into administrative guideline
Organization
• Establishing and deploying implementation structures
and systems
Application
• Providing the desired service as envisaged by the
policy

3. Top Down
• Requires- clarity of objectives, structured process, adequate
resource, committed implementers, excellent communication
and coordination
• Problems – Higher level perspective pre-dominant, many
synchronized pre-conditions, one system fits all
Bottom Up
• Requires –Interactive process between policy makers and
implementers. Local perspective and objectives incorporated
• Problem – Evaluation and accountability diffused.
Principal -
Agent
• Requires – contractual relationship between Principal who
define policy and agents who implement
• Problem – How well policy is defined, scale of change required,
size, affected group, pol and eco climate, technology, skills,
number of agencies
3 Implementation Approaches

4. Beneficiaries
OutputProcessInput
Implementers
•People
•Equipment
•Vehicles
•Buildings
•Money
•Material
IP----P---- OP
IP----P---- OP
IP----P---- OP
IP----P---- OP
•Products
•Services
•Information
•
•
•
•
INFOINFO INFODecisions DecisionsDecisions
Internal Environment
External Environment
Outcome
Impact Dynamic
Used by
Resistance to change

5. The Implementation TriangleStrategy
Structure
StaffSkill
Style
System
Beneficiaries
Policy

6. Implementation value Chain.
The inter- linkage
S c s c s c s c s c
Project office Paying POAccounting POProject office
IP-P-OP IP-P-OP IP-P-OP IP-P-OP
Day 0, Day 1, 2, 3 Day 4, 5, 6 Day 7
End to end service is one process for Beneficiary.
Many processes for provider. Inter-linkage critical
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7. Is it a chain? What about end to
end cycle time?N
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Project office Paying PO Accounting PO Project Office
IP-P-OP IP-P-OP IP-P-OP IP-P-OP
? ? ? ? ?
Abyss AbyssAbyss
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8. 1. How to improve the BENEFICIARY pillar
Goal – Policy objectives met. Delighted beneficiary.
Five Critical Actions
1. Know your beneficiaries and stake holders and know
their needs and expectations– who they are ? What
they want? Identify and prepare data base,
2. Listen to them – Set up interaction forums, know what
they have to say through meetings, surveys, reports,
organized interactions
3. Improve delivery end contact point experience–
courtesies, facilitation, problem solving
4. Provide outstanding grievance redressal mechanism –
handle complaints effectively to regain confidence of
customer

9. Five Critical Actions for effective Human Resource Management – Right person at
right place at right time
1. Recruit and deploy the right person
2. Educate and train continuously
3. Introduce team working – administrative committees,
operations teams, project teams
4. Manage performance effective – set standards,
monitor, provide feed back
5. Reward and recognize good performance
2. How to improve the People Pillar2. How to improve the People Pillar
Goal – People Involvement and EmpowermentGoal – People Involvement and Empowerment

10. 3. How to improve process and systems
Goal – Continuous Process and System Improvement
Five Critical Actions for effective processes and systems
1. Design processes and systems that are simple enough to be effectively operated
by staff and used by beneficiaries
2. Follow six steps to continuous improvement – Current situation, goals for
improvement, action plan, time line, responsibilities, measure and monitor
performance
3. Use technology effectively to leverage the service delivery
4. Manage the tangibles to create positive impressions – look and feel, forms, dress,
5. Set , measure and continuously monitor standards
6.

11. Implementing Citizen’s Charter in Post Offices – a pilot
project of DOPT&AR – Ford Foundation sponsored
• Pilot project in 3 post office of Delhi and
Poona each. In Delhi in Kalkaji, Sarojininagar
and Karkarduma POs
• PMG Delhi Project Manager for Delhi
• Project Team of Secretary Post, Member
Operations, Member Technology, JS
Finance, Chief GM Business Dev, PMG Delhi
and PMG Poona

12. Implementing Citizen’s Charter in Post Offices – a pilot
project of DOPT&AR – Ford Foundation sponsored
• Chose Quality way for implementing the
project
• Service Quality dimension for evaluation of
performance were Reliability, Assurance,
Tangible, Empathy and Responsiveness
(RATER)
• Adopted Service Triangle model for
implementation – Strategy, system and staff
with Customer First Approach.

13. Customer First
• Citizen charter formulated and displayed in all the three
post office with service delivery details
• Post Forums in all three post office represented by
customers
• Customer contact programs – Post office Apke Dwar
programs
• Constant Customer Feedbacks in post office
• Sun down rule for grievance redressal
• Customer complaint and suggestion books
• Mystery Shopping

14. People involvement and empowerment
• Self managing teams set up – administrative
team and service teams
• Constant education and training – training
cascade, work place training,
• Performance monitoring and evaluation – self,
internal(Post Master), external(Circle Team)
• Rewards and Recognition
• Right person at right place
•

15. Continuous Process Improvement
• Set up Citizen charter standards for service delivery
• Set up performance standard
• Measurement – by service teams, administrative
teams and circle teams
• Implementation of technology – computers on every
counter
• Improvement of the tangibles – look of the post office,
customer facilities, cleanliness, forms, dress of
employees,

16. Payment of MGNAREGA wages in hand in cash
within three days from POs in Rajasthan
• Payments took 15 days to 3 months from POSB
accounts to 75 lakh MGNAREGA workers
• Summoned by CM at poor performance by PO
• Challenge to pay wages in cash in worker’s hand in 3
days
• Problem of cash in most village and far flung POs
• Cumbersome processes, State Govt and Paying agencies
at cross purpose.

17. • Wage bill sent to post office with cheques of
Cooperative banks. Cheque clearance always
delayed
• Head Post office accounted for cash. Prepared
payment orders, segregated wage bills post
office wise, sent them to paying post offices,
cash was arranged based on limit restriction.
Village POs Rs 500 to 2000. Bank won’t give
cash easily. No security of cash
Payment of MGNAREGA wages in hand in cash
within three days from POs in Rajasthan

18. Turning the payment process upside
down – pay first account for later
• One seamless process designed from project office to paying
post office to accounting post office to project office – from
receipt of wage bill to account reconciliation
• Communication and coordination – Nodal officers,
coordinators, contact persons at each level
• 8 home guards for head post offices and 2 for cash vans
• All head post offices and important cash offices give hired
Bolero cash vans

19. Process Improvement (cont)-
• 5 copies of wage bills in village POs from local paired project officer.
• Cash balance of village POs raised to Rs. 25000 and Rs. 50000 based
on need
• Statistical date collected for payments of Day0, 1, 2, 3 and beyond
• Data feeding in computers on priority on incentive
• Incentive for timely payment
• Information to worker for cash arrival, village headman, and project
officer.
• Detailed rules and procedure prepared and provided with charts and
help materials.

20. People Involvement and
empowerment
• Sub Postmaster made in-charge for payment of all
his/her village post offices
• Inspector to check and send payment
performance.
• Monthly payment performance prepared post
office wise and send to Principal Secretary.
• Constant joint training post office and state Govt
workers by both
• Rewards to best performers by CM

21. Beneficiary satisfaction
• 25 % payments of D0, 60% Day 1 and 2, 10%
payments on Day 3 and 5% beyond 3.
• Cash in hand not in account
• Accident insurance scheme of Rs. 1 lakh for Rs 15
yearly started with Oriental Insurance. Very
popular. Paid without claim. Village Post
master had to inform and prepare claim
papers.
• Appreciation from state Govt.

22. Public Policy Implementation
• The Engine or the
driving force
Inspired
leadership
–Dream and
Envision
–Commit and
act
• Guards compartment or the
controller, guide or
facilitator
Effective planning
and monitoring
–Plan and
Execute
–Manage and
monitor
performance

23. Personal
Interpersonal
Managerial
Organizational
Trustworthiness
Trust
Empowerment
Alignment
Self
Staff
Style Skill
Shared vision
Structure System
Strategy
8 ‘S’ Principles of Total Quality Management

24. Steps in Quality Improvement
-7 Steps to Problem solving-
Seven steps :
– Problem identification
– Problem analysis
– Target or goal setting
– Gap analysis – difference between current situation
and target
– Plan of Action for improvement with timeline and
responsibilities
– Performance measurement system - evaluation
– Standardization
•

25. Problem solving tools and
Techniques

26. Brain Storming
• Tool for creative group thinking
• Rules
– Team members having various skills get together
– Write down the idea or issue to be discussed or brainstormed on flip chart or
blackboard visible to all
– Relaxed atmosphere, no criticism, no restraint, unstructured rapid fire idea
round, structured round robin, have fun
– Leader jotting down all ideas clearly visible to all – on flip chart or black board
– Cross fertilization of ideas
– Brainstorm for 5 to 15 minutes
– Rewrite, combine, eliminate, reconstruct the ideas to make sense
• Let’s brainstorm on the use of paper clip

27. Cause and Effect Diagram or
fish bone diagram
Effect
Cause Cause
Cause
Cause
Cause Cause
Thumb rule causes heads
• Manpower
• Material
• Money
• Method
• Machinery or Equipment
• Environment

28. Rules for Cause and Effect Diagram
• Write the problem statement in the fish head on the right
• Brainstorm into major cause heads and put them
• Follow the rules of brainstorming and bring out the causes and categorize
them under major heads as they emerge
• For each cause ask “why does it happen”
• Identify 5 or 10 top causes through consensus or nominal group technique
and circle them
• Prepare a why-why diagram or Tree diagram for those causes
• Try to identify definite actions that could be taken to solve those problems
• Collect data, analyse and use problem solving technique for solution
Let us prepare a cause and effect diagram for “why is parcel business so poor in India Post”

29. Best Practice Benchmarking• It is the quality way of becoming the best of the best by
emulating the best
• Internal benchmarking and external benchmarking
• Steps
– Identify the process or system that needs improvement
– Find out who does similar process the best
– Request for best practice benchmarking tie up
– Follow problem solving steps except that for goal or target
setting, it is the way the best practice organization does.
• Imitation is the best form of flattery

30. Setting up Service Quality Teams
Directorate
Chairperson – Secretary
Members – CPMGs, DDGs
Circle
Chairperson – CPMG
Members – Regional
PMGs
Regions
Chairperson – PMG
Members – Unit heads
Divisions
Chairperson – Unit Heads
Members – CPMGs, DDGs
Post Offices/Mail offices
Chairperson – PM/HRO/SRO
Members – Supervisors
Management TEAMS
Chairperson – Head of the unit
Members – Heads/sup. of subordinate units
SERVICE TEAMS –Chairperson – PM, Member - supvs
In POs – Counter, Delivery, SB,SBCO,
Accounts, Treasury&sub accounts, administration
In Mos- HRO, SRO,Sets, Regn, speed post

31. Thank youThank you