Revolutionising Government Performance through Strategic Partnerships
Historically, government interventions in Nigeria have had little or no impact over the long term. There are usually little or no achievements to accompany the fanfare, picture taking, and promise making that are attributed to most government interventions. This predicament is in part due to a lack of focus, government bureaucracy, “fear of oga” and the dreaded “yes men” to name a few. Progressive State governments are starting to look outside the box in their action plans to achieve real results. One initiative that is becoming more popular is the Governor’s Delivery Unit, sometimes called the Project Delivery Unit or Delivery Unit.
A Delivery Unit comprises highly skilled professionals working at top positions in the state government to help ministries, departments, and agencies. By extension, they help the State achieve its critical objectives.
The job starts at the beginning of an administration.
The Delivery Unit should be involved in shaping the incoming administration’s focus and building the campaign promises and focal points into actionable projects, policies, and initiatives. These projects don’t necessarily need to be new; they can be selected from planned projects for the year, uncompleted projects, etc.
It is sustained throughout the administration
Throughout the tenure of the administration, the delivery unit will continuously monitor and evaluate the progress of the government in “delivering” on the key tenets of their promises. Some delivery units use project management tools, mobile apps, and artificial intelligence to present a dashboard which describes in detail the performance and challenges of the administration’s tenets.
How is it done?
It is best practice to staff a delivery unit exclusively with independents. e.g., consultants or professional service providers. People who can come and go with an administration and not be indebted to any member of the government except the Governor himself. This lack of intermediaries allows the Governor to get honest, professional, and independent advice on the performance of his administration at any given time.
Why do we need this in Nigeria?
Nigeria has a lot of special circumstances; indeed, Nigeria itself is a special circumstance. If I need to expand on that, then you haven’t been paying attention. The public service that should be the backbone of every state government is, in many cases, the cause of the State government’s failure to deliver on their mandates.
I have seen how a delivery unit staffed by public servants can fail a State government. Civil servants in a delivery unit usually face constant threats, intimidation and coercion which lead to inaccurate reporting. It is therefore necessary to have an independent and empowered office that gathers information and identifies bottlenecks on projects and initiatives, and presents them to the Governor. Most government initiatives are targeted at the masses and can only impact the standard of living of the people positively if correctly implemented.
pcl. has several years’ experience in providing similar services to State governments in Nigeria and has successfully applied this principle in the private sector.
To get more information on Delivery Units, contact our specialists at pcl.
