This paper has been prepared by the Sigma Programme following a request of the Government Office of the Czech Republic. The OECD has worked extensively during the last few years on issues relating to the organisational dimension of the national administration and, in particular, on the phenomenon of "agencification" and its impact on governance structures. It has already produced a significant number of analyses1, including a comprehensive comparative publication on Distributed Public Governance (2002)2. Sigma has also published on the topic in the framework of public expenditure management and with reference to transition countries.

This OECD work was prompted by the problems caused by the increasing administrative-functional deconcentration within its member countries. The main questions posed were along the lines of: Does departmentalisation (keeping the whole responsibility within a ministry) ensure better control and efficient management of administrative and other public services or, on the contrary, does agencification (in the sense of setting up separate bodies) result in better management and de-politicisation?