New book "Dynamic Governance" explores inner workings of policy-making
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 23 July 2007 2141 hrs

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SINGAPORE : Singapore has no natural resources, yet it thrives.

And the secret to its success is laid out in a new book, "Dynamic Governance" which explored the inner workings of policy-making.

Response to the 500-page book has been promising.

"Dynamic Governance" is a mini library on the Singapore Public Service, bookmarked with case studies and how policies are made and reviewed.

President S R Nathan says: "This book explains the interesting and complex linkages between civil service and political leadership, between organisation and culture, and between policy-making and policy-execution."

The authors took two years to complete its research and were surprised at how open government agencies were in sharing information.

Other insights included the Finance Ministry's role in stimulating renewal and change in the entire civil service.

And how the Defence Ministry acted as a trail blazer in setting practices and principles.

Professor Neo Boon Siong, Co-Author, Dynamic Governance, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, says: "They have very good people, they had autonomy and they had to build a defence force from scratch, so they had to try a lot of new things. And that became in a sense a model for the rest of the civil service when they were ready to make a change."

Professor Geraldine Chen, Co-Author, Dynamic Governance, Nanyang Business School, NTU, says: "The lynchpin of it has been the way the public sector has been able to continually recruit the best talent, how do they continue doing this as people's career patterns changed. I think that's one of the major challenges and that's a risk, because we are so dependent on getting new people into the system, into service."

The book also outlined the way the civil service adapted to globalisation and technological changes.

While it offers valuable lessons to others, the authors felt that mere replication of the Singapore Model may not be entirely possible.

The authors say the book will be useful not only to government officials but businesses, social enterprises and volunteer groups too, as it provides insights into organisational capabilities and governance.

There are plans to release a Mandarin translation of the book next year to reach out to readers in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. - CNA/ch