Steering from the Centre of Government in Times of Complexity
Compendium of Practices
From steering decision-making in times of complexity to stewarding cross-cutting policies and guiding good practices across the public administration, centres of government (CoGs) play an important role in achieving government ambitions. CoGs have recently found themselves under pressure to help navigate increasingly complex policy challenges in an environment characterised by multiple crises, polarisation and declining trust in public institutions. This compendium gathers and shares practices and experiences of CoGs in undertaking their various roles and functions. It describes the mechanisms CoGs use in roles such as bridging the political-administrative interface, stewarding cross-cutting policies, guiding public administration reform, and engaging with citizens and other stakeholders. Finally, it discusses the lessons learnt and key enablers that emerge from the experiences. This compendium serves CoG leaders and government officials who seek to better understand the role of the centre in contributing to better outcomes for citizens and society.
Anticipating, preparing for and managing crises
This chapter presents the increasing role of the centre of government (CoG) in anticipating, preparing for and managing crises. This challenging role requires the CoG to assist the government in making rapid and well-informed decisions while balancing trade-offs. The chapter discusses specific practical examples of the CoG anticipating future disruptions through foresight and risk assessment and preparing for the future by learning from the past. It then presents the role the CoG must play in whole-of-government co-ordination during crises, supporting crisis response across new institutional arrangements and frameworks. Finally, it discusses the CoG’s support in engaging with external stakeholders during crises, including scientific advice, involving broader external stakeholders such as citizens, non-governmental organisations and the private sector, and supporting public communications.
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