Civil Service: Case Studies
Case studies offer detailed accounts of reform efforts in particular countries. They are based on in-depth interviews conducted by ISS researchers with the individuals at the center of reform initiatives, as well as informed observers and consultants. These case studies detail the challenges the reformer faced, the options considered, program design, implementation, obstacles encountered, strategies for success, and reformer reflections.
(Order reflects web posting date)
- Palermo Renaissance Part 3: Strengthening Municipal Services, 1993-2000
Focus Area: City Management, Getting the News Out/Managing Expectations, Countering Criminal Economies, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service, Waste Management
Country: Italy
- Building A Culture Of Results: Institutionalizing Rapid Results Initiatives In Kenya, 2005-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Kenya
- Building Civil Service Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2006-2011
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Liberia
- Creating an Affordable Public Service: Tanzania, 1995-1998
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Tanzania
- Building Capacity, Changing Norms: Rapid Results in Madagascar, 2005-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service, Centers of Government
Country: Madagascar
- Improving the Quality of Decision Making: Fighting Reform Fatigue in Lithuania, 2006-2012
Focus Area: Centers of Government, Civil Service
Country: Lithuania
- Instilling Order and Accountability: Standard Operating Procedures at Indonesia's Ministry of Finance, 2006-2007
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Indonesia
- Building an Inclusive, Responsive National Police Service: Gender-Sensitive Reform in Liberia, 2005-2011
Focus Area: Getting the News Out/Managing Expectations, Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service, Accountable Policing
Country: Liberia
- A Change Agent in the Tax Office: Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service, 2004-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Nigeria
- Delivering on a Presidential Agenda: Sierra Leone's Strategy and Policy Unit, 2010-2011
Focus Area: Centers of Government, Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Sierra Leone
- Promoting Accountability, Monitoring Services: Textbook Procurement and Delivery, The Philippines, 2002-2005
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Philippines
- Creating a 'Citizen Friendly' Department: Speeding Document Production in Jordan, 1991-1996
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Jordan
- Getting Reforms Off the Ground: Roberts International Airport, Liberia, 2006-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Liberia
- From Fear to Hope in Colombia: Sergio Fajardo and Medellín, 2004-2007
Focus Area: City Management, Getting the News Out/Managing Expectations, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: Colombia
- Saving a Sinking Agency: The National Port Authority of Liberia, 2006-2011
Focus Area: Countering Criminal Economies, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: Liberia
- Enhancing Capacity, Changing Behaviors: Rapid Results in Gashaki, Rwanda, 2008
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Rwanda
- Delivering on the Hope of the Rose Revolution: Public Sector Reform in Georgia, 2004-2009
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Georgia
- Conjuring and Consolidating a Turnaround: Governance in Bogotá, 1992-2003
Focus Area: City Management, Balancing the Central and Local, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: Colombia
- Turning on the Lights in Freetown, Sierra Leone: Completing the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Plant, 2008-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Sierra Leone
- Decentralizing Authority in Post-Suharto Indonesia: The Big Bang Theory, 1998-2010
Focus Area: Decentralization, Building a Reform Team and Staff, Balancing the Central and Local, Civil Service
Country: Indonesia
- Earning a Reputation for Independence: Ghana's Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, 1993-2003
Focus Area: Anti-Corruption, Getting the News Out/Managing Expectations, Building a Reform Team and Staff, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: Ghana
- Cleaning the Civil Service Payroll: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2008-2011
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Liberia
- Energizing the Civil Service: Managing at the Top 2, Bangladesh, 2006-2011
Focus Area: Eliminating Markets for Public Office, Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Bangladesh
- Empowering Operational Staff: Land Registration in Sarawak, Malaysia, 2006-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Malaysia
- Sticking to the Numbers: Performance Monitoring in South Africa, 2009-2011
Focus Area: Centers of Government, Civil Service
Country: South Africa
- Strengthening Public Administration: Brazil, 1995-1998
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Brazil
- Reworking the Revenue Service: Tax Collection in South Africa, 1999-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: South Africa
- Inducing Honesty, Changing Norms: Government Ethics in Brazil, 1995-2004
Focus Area: Anti-Corruption, Civil Service
Country: Brazil
- Rebuilding the Civil Service After War: Rwanda After the Genocide, 1998-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Rwanda
- Tying Performance Management to Service Delivery: Public Sector Reform in Malaysia, 2009-2011
Focus Area: Centers of Government, Civil Service
Country: Malaysia
- Increasing Transparency and Improving Project Management: South Africa's National Roads Agency, 1998-2011
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: South Africa
- The Promise of Imihigo: Decentralized Service Delivery in Rwanda, 2006-2010
Focus Area: Decentralization, Balancing the Central and Local, Civil Service
Country: Rwanda
- Coalition Building in a Divided Society: Bihar State, India, 2005-2009
Focus Area: Decentralization, Balancing the Central and Local, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: India
- Keeping Up with a Fast-Moving City: Service Delivery in Bangalore, India, 1999-2004
Focus Area: City Management, Civil Service
Country: India
- Organizing the Return of Government to Conflict Zones, Colombia, 2004-2009
Focus Area: Getting the News Out/Managing Expectations, Civil Service, Accountable Policing
Country: Colombia
- Reviving the Administration: Bihar State, India, 2005-2009
Focus Area: Getting the News Out/Managing Expectations, Civil Service
Country: India
- Power to the Ministries: Decentralization in the Civil Service, Botswana, 1999-2001
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Botswana
- Rejuvenating the Public Registry: Republic of Georgia, 2006-2008
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Georgia
- Reforming Without Hiring or Firing: Identity Document Production in South Africa, 2007-2009
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: South Africa
- Starting from Scratch in Recruitment and Training: Solomon Islands, 2004-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Solomon Islands
- Policy Leaps and Implementation Obstacles: Civil Service Reform in Vietnam, 1998-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Vietnam
- Professionalization, Decentralization and a One-Stop Shop: Tax-Collection Reform in Ghana, 1986-2008
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Ghana
- Municipal Turnaround in Cape Town, South Africa, 2006-2009
Focus Area: City Management, Civil Service
Country: South Africa
- Building the Capacity to Regulate: Central Bank Reform in Egypt, 2003-2009
Focus Area: Reconciling Economic Policy and Institution-Building Goals, Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Egypt
- Building Operational Efficiency: Document Processing in Jordan, 1996-2005
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Civil Service
Country: Jordan
- Against the Odds: Attempting Reform in Suharto's Indonesia, 1967-1998
Focus Area: Building a Reform Team and Staff, Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: Indonesia
- Government Through Mobilization: Restoring Order After Rwanda's 1994 Genocide
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Rwanda
- Reducing Discretion, Improving Service: Computerizing Land Records in Karnataka, India, 1998-2003
Focus Area: Containing Patronage Pressures, Civil Service
Country: India
- From Central Planning to Performance Contracts, New Public Management in Mongolia, 1996-2009
Focus Area: Civil Service
Country: Mongolia
