Search Results for developing countries

ERP in Government: "Mimicry" in Action?

Why does technology work in one place, but not the other? This critical question asked by a team from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government about country development led by Matt Andrews, Lant Pritchett and Michael Woodcock. I think that their analysis applies to the high failure rate of ERP in government: isomorphic mimicry. Isomorphic mimicry is … Continued

Government Technology and Government Resource Planning News Digest

GovTech and GRP news stories from last week uncovered by the FreeBalance Strategy and Innovation Group. THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ERP THAT WENT WRONG: The fallout from the customized PeopleSoft implementation in the Government of Canada persist. The ERP project, named ‘Phoenix Pay System’, has required significant hiring of staff to make adjustments and workarounds. Katie Simpson from the … Continued

What is the Governance Gap?

The public sector is ill-prepared to deal with the opportunities and challenges of government digital transformation. This is the governance gap. Read more.

Why doesn’t Public Finance Improvements always improve Citizen Service Delivery?

Smart PFM can improve many aspects of government efficiency and effectiveness. Many observers consider PFM as having cross-cutting impacts.

Is 'Sustainable Growth' a Sustainable Buzzword?

Sustainable growth is a buzzword making headlines everywhere. It’s one of the more important concepts today as we over-consume, over-produce and overuse. Economic growth comes at a steep price: sacrificing the environment and ecological systems. There are different ways to save the environment; the most organic way is to follow a sustainable growth approach using … Continued

Country Development, It's Complicated? No, It's Complex

Doug Hadden, VP Products Are checklists the new new thing for aid and development? The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawand provides a strong case to handle complicated technology such as aircraft and passenger safety. This is a compelling idea for many in the development community. The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development by Matt Andrews makes … Continued

The Danger of PDIA Becoming a Development "Best Practice"

Doug Hadden, VP Products “Mimicry” – this is what Professor Matt Andrews of the Harvard Kennedy School describes as the bane of aid and development projects in emerging economies. Development agencies mimic a project that worked in one country in other countries where the context is much different. Projects that adopt so-called “best practices” are … Continued

Government Financial System Underutilized – Root Cause: change, software, leadership or technology?

Doug Hadden, VP Products Many financial management systems remain underutilized in governments. There is significant evidence in developing countries where there can be significant gaps between the “system as designed” and the “system as used.” This is manifested across the spectrum of financial management including budget planning, controls, treasury, debt, accounting, revenue, expenditure and payroll … Continued

Alliance with Evans Incorporated to Improve International PFM Change and Capacity Management

Public Financial Management (PFM) reform and Government Resource Planning (GRP) success rates to be improved through change management partnership Tweet Washington DC, USA (September 20, 2013) – FreeBalance, a leading vendor of Government Resource Planning (GRP) software, is pleased to announce a new alliance with Evans Incorporated that will help to improve Public Financial Management … Continued

The Solutions of Institutional Reform

Doug Hadden, VP Products Why haven’t we turned Public Financial Management (PFM) reform sequencing into a science? The PFM discourse seems to revolve around generalities and conventional thinking: “the country context is key” or “leadership is needed.” Some brave souls go so far as to suggest PFM reform is a forlorn hope. And, many observers … Continued

Scenario in Automating Good Governance: Government Resource Planning (GRP) for Public Service Reform

This series examines different scenarios and the impact of Government Resource Planning (GRP) to improve governance. [Framework described in more detail.]   Information and Communications Technology (ICT) initiatives such as Government Resource Planning (GRP), sometimes known as Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) for government, are seen as an expression of PFM reform. Diamond and Khemani … Continued

Sequencing PFM Reform Good Practices

And Government Resource Planning (GRP) Doug Hadden, VP Products There has been some recent questioning of the wisdom of reform sequencing.  Yet this approach is considered a good practice, if not best practice, by most in the PFM community. Research has shown a statistically relevant link between good governance indicators and development. For example, countries … Continued

What Tapscott on Openness Means to Government

Doug Hadden, VP Products Don Tapscott claims that the transparency “toothpaste is out of the tube” and we can’t squeeze it back in a recent Ted talk and interview in Brunswick Review. According to the Brunswick Review, a transparency implication for government is: “Citizen empowerment: New ways of communicating are shifting power from the ruling elites towards networks … Continued

What does it mean to be a PFM Specialist? [Part 1]

Part 1: Public Financial Management focus is marketing, but not spin Doug Hadden, VP Products We operate in cynical times.  Social media quickly uncovers the truth in marketing spin. It’s got to the point where there is so much marketing hyperbole in the software industry that everyone dials the spin down a few notches. There … Continued