This is an update to the 1996 portfolio and continues to provide a framework for building and sustaining effective public service organisations, based on current good practice and the wide experience of senior public sector managers throughout the Commonwealth. The second edition contains much of the original material, now up-dated together with several new sections. The Portfolio update is designed to be used as a companion resource to the Public Service Country Profiles which, together, can be used as a basis for benchmarking to compare activities and best practices across different national settings.

This book shares best practice in the design of better record management systems, including developing a Retention Schedule. Also covered is a manual used by ministries and departments as an example, and guideline formulas for using a schedule and indexing.

Public sector reform has moved on apace since the first of the Commonwealth Public Service Country Profile Series was launched in 1995 when the principles of New Public Management (NPM) were in an early stage of adoption. Since then, the various civil services described in the series have undergone radical change in scope, organization and approach rendering a revision timely. Now up dated and completely revised, these re-issued Country Profiles continue to be an accessible and valuable source of reference which attempt to both describe and analyze the often tumultuous and controversial public sector reforms which have taken place in contributing countries since 1995. Practicing bureaucrats, diplomats, political and academic audiences will find these new books invaluable in benchmarking best practice in public sector reform across Commonwealth member countries.

This enlightening book scrutinizes the shifting governance paradigms that inform public administration reforms. From the rise to supremacy of New Public Management to new the growing preference for alternatives, four world-renowned authors launch a powerful and systematic comparison of the competing and co-existing paradigms, explaining the core features of public bureaucracy and professional rule in the modern day.

Based on new field research, this book assesses the current state of governance and public sector reforms in eleven Asian countries and jurisdictions, especially in the wake of the recent regional financial crisis that seriously affected some of them. It analyses reform efforts comparatively against a backdrop of governance problems, and seeks to establish whether these efforts represent a substantive shift in attitudes towards reform or whether they serve simply to reinforce existing practices. The authors explore a number of important themes that are central to governance and public sector reform issues. These include the role of the state, the success or failure of organizational reforms, corruption, the applicability of the new public management model in the Asian context, and the governance values and reform models promoted by regional and international agencies.

Creativity is one of mankind’s principal resources. Can this resource be harnessed to accelerate India’s transition from traditionalism to modernity and widespread poverty to decent living standards for all? Can India’s creative efflorescence be directed towards designing a society that facilitates well-being, boosts cultural evolution and raises the bar for exhilaration through creative achievement? Is it possible to socially engineer a society that throbs with questions, novel perspectives and relevant innovations? Can it lead to a society where millions question the status quo and join hands to work out innovative solutions – in short, a creative society? This book is an affirmative response to these questions. Creative Society is an intellectually stimulating analysis of factors that trigger the emergence of a truly creative and innovative society; it explores the nature of human creativity – how it can be augmented and the social contexts that shape it; discusses ways of making institutions such as the government, educational bodies and other civil society organizations more creativity-friendly; offers an assessment of India’s prospective emergence as a highly vibrant, dynamic and creative society; and finally, offers several practical suggestions for India’s creative efflorescence.

Practising bureaucrats, diplomats and political and academic audiences should find this a useful resource in seeking to benchmark best practice in public sector reform across Commonwealth member countries.