Managing in Crisis: Public Sector Reform and the Path to Recovery

Target Group
The workshop will be of interest to policy makers, public officials and advisers at all levels of government, who must respond during times of crisis. Officials in European organisations and institutions as well as academics will also benefit from attending this unique workshop, which fills a gap in the market.

Description
The crisis has generated budget cuts which have direct implications for the organisation of the public sector, as well as affecting public service delivery. However, this is only the beginning of the challenges, as governments must take action to use public expenditure and policy intervention in pursuit of a recovery. This combination of scarce resources and the need for growth in countries with high and low unemployment alike is unprecedented. The role of the state is more important, precisely at a time when its capacities are diminished. Managing in crisis involves risk-taking at a time when people are more likely to be risk-averse, as well as innovation at a time when conservative pressures are intensifying.
What different kinds of crises are there? What are the lessons of experience that can be applied? What are the criteria for success when managing in crisis? Knowing what not to change is as important as knowing what to do differently. Assuming that the current crisis will not end soon, how can the public sector be managed so that it can protect the public interest and restore trust in government? What does the search for new sources of growth imply for the management of core sectors and for better regulation?
To answer such questions, the workshop will provide participants with a conceptual framework for understanding crises as a normal socio-economic and political phenomenon. There will be an opportunity to discuss the unique multi-national features of the crisis in 2010-12. A systematic approach to managing in crisis includes topics such as: priority-setting and time management; cross-sectoral and multi-level coordination; reinforcing core values of transparency and accountability; data, information and indicators; forecasting and preparedness; the governance of relations with civil society and the private sector; coping with a change of government.
The workshop will link better public sector management to the search for new sources of growth. Governments must promote innovation (including in public services). The impact of the crisis on different groups in society calls for a fresh assessment of core education, health and environment. Constrained in their use of fiscal and monetary levers, they must renew whole-of-government efforts to apply regulatory tools to improve business conditions, and to strengthen regulatory agencies. Infrastructure investment is a priority which calls for strategic planning and capacity for public-private partnership.

Method
The workshop will draw on the most recent OECD studies on public governance, including public service delivery, regulatory reform and implementing sectoral reform, supported by case studies of crises at the national and sub-national levels. There will be a mix of lectures and discussions. Participants will be asked to scope a project to cope with an endemic crisis, one extending over several years.

Objectives
Participants will improve their understanding of:
• the dynamics of crises and how to create opportunities for innovation in the public sector;
• the tools that help set priorities, target interventions and communicate results;
• the link between public administration and its performance on the one hand, and business activity on the other;
• the strategic objectives of public sector management during – and after – a crisis.

Programme
The programme will commence on Monday 2 April 2012 at 9.15 hrs and finish on Tuesday 3 April at 16.15 hrs.

Seminar venue
The seminar will take place at the European Institute of Public Administration, O.L. Vrouweplein 22, NL-6211 HE Maastricht, tel.: +31 43 32 96 222, fax: +31 43 32 96 296.

Working language
The seminar will be conducted in English.

Fee €850
The participation fee includes documentation distributed during the seminar, two lunches and refreshments. EIPA offers its members a reduction of 10% of the registration fee. For details, please click here.

Hotel reservations
The European Institute of Public Administration will be pleased to make reservations for you at a hotel in Maastricht. We have made a block booking at the following hotel:
Hotel Beaumont**** (www.beaumont.nl), at a rate of €99.99 p.p.p.n. (incl. breakfast and tourist)
Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please indicate the dates of arrival and departure on the registration form. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel on checking out. Please note that if you register after the closing date, hotel reservations cannot be guaranteed.
Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.

Meals/Reception
The lunches will be served at the Institute’s restaurant. Should you require a special menu (e.g. vegetarian, diabetic), please inform the Programme Organiser so that this can be arranged.

Registration
Kindly complete the online registration form before 19 March 2012.
Since our State Aid seminars tend to be fully booked well in advance of the registration deadline. EIPA operates a system of first come, first served.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation. Please indicate the method of payment on the registration form. In any case, the participant or his/her administration will receive an invoice for the payment of the registration fee. For cancellations received after 19 March we will have to charge an administration fee of €150 unless a replacement participant is found.

Cancellation policy
EIPA reserves the right to cancel the seminar up to two weeks before the starting date. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, hotel, etc.). For EIPA's cancellation policy, please visit our website.