Public Sector Management Reform: Toward a Problem-Solving Approach

ÒWhat will it take?Ó World Bank President Jim Kim has reinvigorated debate on how the development community can better achieve its mission to reduce poverty. As President Kim has highlighted in his address at the World Bank and International Monetary FundÕs (IMF) annual meetings, there is an Òurgent need for a science of delivery in developmentÓÑ to tackle the tough question of how to bridge the gap between designing good projects or policies and implementing them. This challenge lies at the heart of strengthening client countriesÕ public sector institutions. In the long term, it is client governments and their public administrations, not the development community, that must deliverÑthat is, provide quality services to citizens, effectively manage infrastructure and other public investments, regulate social and economic behavior, set sector policy objectives, and maintain fiscal and institutional sustainability. How governments manageÑ how they collect taxes, prepare budgets, and motivate civil servantsÑis therefore crucial for development outcomes.