ThE SOUTh AFRICAN PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION...

PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATIONSmodernising Community PoliCing

NEWS BRIEFS‘shot in the arm’ for health researCh

FUTURE WATChPoPulation dynamiCs and Climate Change

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ThE SOUTh AFRICAN PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION JOURNAL

2 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

CENTRE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE INNOVATION (CPSI)

the CPsi is mandated to develop innovative, sustainable and responsive models for improved service delivery. the work of the CPsi is guided by an understanding of innovation in a public sector context as “the creation and implementation of new and service delivery solutions (systems, processes, methods, models, products and services) resulting in significant improvements in outcomes, efficiency, effectiveness and quality”.

the CPsi facilitates the unearthing, development and implementation of innovative ideas within and throughout the public sector. it achieves this by facilitating pilot projects aimed at demonstrating the value of innovative solutions, and through activities that create an enabling environment within the public sector to support and sustain innovation. the CPsi’s cross-sector reach makes it a resource for the whole of government, thus bridging institutional boundaries.

through active research and knowledge sharing platforms and products, the CPsi identifies and shares lessons and information on innovation trends nationally, across africa and internationally. the CPsi partners with a range of individuals and institutions in government, business and the community in exciting and mutually beneficial ways. this partnership model allows us to leverage financial and/or intellectual capital in support of government priorities.

The CPSI is guided by the following fundamental principles:

• DEMAND-DRIVEN: the CPsi is committed to responding to identified and clearly articulated service delivery challenges and their root causes.

• MULTI-STAKEhOLDER ENgAgEMENT AND PARTNERINg: the CPsi does not directly deliver services. its emphasis is on facilitating partnerships which cut across all spheres and sectors of government to address

silos that stifle integration and holistic approaches.

• LEVERAgINg ICT AS AN ENABLER: the CPsi supports government departments in enhancing access to services through leveraging and exploiting the power of technology in their operations and services.

• REPLICATION: the CPsi advocates for and drives the adaptation, replication and mainstreaming of innovative

solutions.

• EMBRACINg DIVERSITY: innovations rarely happen in a closed circuit or homogeneous setting. to find holistic solutions to challenges, multi-stakeholder teams are gathered to interrogate these challenges.

VisionA solution-focused, effective and efficient Public Sector through innovation.

Mission

To act as facilitator for the unearthing, development and practical implementation of innovative solutions within and throughout the public service.

Mandate• ProvidetheMinisterforPublicServiceandAdministrationwithindependent,diverseandforward-lookingresearchfindings

and advice on innovative service delivery with a specific focus on government’s priorities.

• Enhance public service transformation through innovation partnerships for incubating, testing and piloting innovativesolutions.

• Support the creationof anenablingenvironment for innovationwithin the structures andagenciesof theSouthAfricangovernment.

1VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013 1

ContEnt

MANAgINg EDITOR lydia Phalwane • EDITORWelcomeSekwati•EDITORIAL TEAM nsizwa dlamini , thuli radebe, Pierre schoonraad, lindani mthethwa•CONTRIBUTORS minister lindiwe sisulu, deputy minister ayanda dlodlo, thuli radebe, nsizwa dlamini, Kgatliso hamilton, EugeneEngelbrecht,ShaunDeacon,PhillipWilkenson,•PRINTINg shereno Printers

issn:2075-6054

Ideas That Work: The South African Public Sector

Innovation Journal is a biannual journal published

by the cpsi.

The views of the authors may not necessarily

be those of the cpsi. copyright of material in this publication is vested in the cpsi and/or the authors. Requests to republish any of the material should be

directed to the cpsi.

An electronic copy of this journal can be downloaded

from www.cpsi.co.za/publications.php

AddrESS: corporate 66 Office park, cnr Lenchen & Von Willich,

centurion, 0046

Tel: +27 (12) 683 2800Fax: +27 (12) 643 0943E-mail: [email protected]

www.cpsi.co.za

SENd CONTrIbUTIONS TO ThE EdITOr AT

ThE AbOVE CONTACT dETAILS.

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1. EDITORIAL1.1 Editorial1.2 Minister’s Call1.3 Message from the deputy Minister1.4 From the CEO’s desk

2. PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATIONS2.1 A Conversation on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Government2.2 Leveraging on technology to successfully combat crime2.3 Sustainable Villages in the Chris hani district Municipality2.4 Quality in practice2.5 Treating and Disposing sewage sludge in Johannesburg2.6 Translation project helps bridge language gap for foreign nationals visiting

local clinics2.7 Victims Empowering Project: The story of haenertsburg Police Station2.8 Fresh produce online shopping system in johannesburg2.9 Improving the well-being of truck drivers in KwaZulu-Natal

3. INSIghTS3.1 The Innovation hub Science and Technology Park

4. NEWS BRIEFS4.1 Electric cars on roads soon4.2 Fixed-dose combination ARVs relief for patients4.3 SA to become the Mecca of innovation4.4 Research , innovation needed in public service4.5 Transnet, csiR sign innovation, research agreement4.6 sA boosts health research capacity

5. FUTURE WATCh5.1 Population dynamics and Climate Change: what are the links?

6. AWARDS AND ACCOLADES6.1 2012 CPSI Public Sector innovation Awards Finalists and Winners6.2 Innovation hub’s Gauteng Innovation Competition winners announced 7. INTERNATIONAL INNOVATIONS7.1 Electronic Service Level Agreement (e-SLA)7.2 E-Court - creating solutions for timely justice

8. INTERNATIONAL INSIghT8.1 Open Government in brazil8.2 The road to open Government8.3 Georgia’s Public Service of the Future

9. REVIEWS9.1 Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the human Mind9.2 Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-creatin for a better society

2 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

from left to right:

Pierre sChoonraad - Chief director: research and development

welCome seKwati - deputy director: enabling environment

thuli radebe - Chief executive officer

lydia Phalwane - Chief director: enabling environment

nsiZwa dlamini - deputy director: innovation research

lindani mthethwa - Chief director: solution support and incubation

EDItoRIALtEAM

3VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

InnovAtIonhoLDS ThE KEY TO LIBERATION

you probably know much about the

whole concept of ‘innovation’ and

therefore it would be somewhat

thoughtless of me to ramble on about

what it means. safe to say, innovation

is about doing things differently;

breaking free from the monotony;

thinking outside the confines of the

proverbial box; changing from the old

and familiar to the new, from ordinary

to extraordinary all in pursuit of

improved performance.

innovation is about a complete

departure from conventional,

traditional ways of doing things to a

platform where speed, efficiency and

effectiveness are the operating words.

the south african public sector is

gradually transforming and the fruits

of that process are clearly visible in

the impressive innovative work that

takes place across the three spheres

of government. and what is more,

most of this innovation is strategically

aligned with government’s key priority

areas as referred to above and not just

happening in the vacuum.

this being my first edition of the

CPsi journal, Ideas that Work – i feel

particularly excited, more like a little

lad in a candy shop because of the

impressive innovative projects and

initiatives i had to work with. as i plod

away through each story, i never stop

marvelling at the level of creativeness,

commitment and sheer determination

it takes to see what begins as a small

idea burgeon into a real project that is

value-adding and life changing.

on health improvement, we feature an

award-winning hospital management

improvement project from the Job

shimankana tabane (Jst) hospital

in north west. find out how the

implementation of the Kaizen model,

coupled with sheer determination

and relentless hard work turned this

hospital around from a hopeless case

to a model of excellence that is not

only spoken about, but also praised all

over the country.

in a country which is ravaged by

high incidences of crime, it is heart-

warming to see police stations making

remarkable strides in improving their

crime combatting strategies and

doubling up their efforts to help

the community. read more about

the Community Police forum Call

EDItoRIAL

innovation is about a complete departure from conventional, traditional ways of doing things to a platform where speed, efficiency and effectiveness are the operating words.

4 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Centre that was implemented by

the Phalaborwa and haenertsburg

Police stations – how these two

police stations have collaborated with

communities and leveraged on their

meagre resources to combat crime.

another one not to be missed is the

Chris hani district municipality’s

sustainable Villages project in

eastern Cape (our 2011 Public sector

innovator of the year) which provides

food to learners through gardening

and developing sustainable energy

resources with the community is one

project that should not be missed.

also included are accounts of the

remarkable work of the innovation

hub, the western Cape department

of agriculture through the ‘Smart Pen Project’ and the City of Johannesburg’s

innovative approach to the treatment

and disposing of sludge and waste.

innovation is in itself a highly

commendable principle, more so in

the public sector environment which is

traditionally highly regulated, fenced-

in and rather bureaucratic.

the news in brief section is a fertile

ground for juicy snippets on innovation

that will certainly appeal to the most

curious of minds. in this edition we

bring you a mixture of items, including

the introduction of the fixed-dose

combination arVs in south africa;

a financial shot in the arm to boost

health research capacity in south

africa, news on the much-anticipated

launch of electric cars in south africa,

positioning south africa as the mecca

of innovation on the african continent

and many others.

may i draw your attention to a

robust and engaging report on

‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Government’ from the panel

discussions at the CPsi Conference

last year.

we have also included a research

paper that assesses population

dynamics and climate change.

our journal would not be complete

without a celebration of brand new

ideas. to that effect we include a press

release introducing the winners of the

2013 gauteng innovation Competition

winners and other fascinating projects.

and finally, in the section on

international insights we feature

three articles on the theme of

open government. in an era where

innovation has become a buzz-word, we

share ‘open government’ experiences

from brazil, Canada and georgia,

to demonstrate how governments

can improve their administrative and

governance capacities by deploying

technology to enable citizen-

government interaction.

as i said, innovation is about dynamism

and who else to have epitomised the

element of dynamism in our country

than the late Vuyo mbuli. his daily

appetising serving of lively interviews

and current affairs here and abroad

served generously with a sharp and

witty sense of humour and a hearty

chuckle as he graced our screens every

day, making him a permanent feature

in our lives. little did we know that

one morning we would switch on our

televisions and Vuyo would not be

there… forever. lala ngo xolo Vuyo!

sharp, sharp! heita da!!

our journal would not be complete without a celebration of brand new ideas. to that effect we include a press release introducing the winners of the 2013 gauteng innovation Competition winners and other fascinating projects.


United Nations Public Administration NetworkUNPAN

GLOBAL PORTAL AT THE SERVICE OFALL COUNTRIES

WWW.UNPAN.ORg

6 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

MInIStER’SCALL

FRoMthEMINISTER’S DESK

Transforming the public sector should include promoting and nurturing creative thinking and innovation as building blocks towards the achievement of the National Development plan vision of a better life for all...

the provision of services to all citizens, regardless of their socio-economic, gender or religious differences constitutes a core mandate of our government. our Constitution which is the highest law in the land, declares unequivocally that all citizens should enjoy equal access to services not as a privilege but above all as a fundamental human right.

government has never at any point undermined the enormity of this fundamental commitment that stems from our shared compact with our citizens. most importantly, being a developmental state, we are very much aware of our fundamental responsibility to always stand ready to intervene with the much needed vital services as and when citizens call.

the defining feature that will guarantee our success in this regard is essentially how much we know about those citizens whose livelihood we are entrusted with, that is, where they live, their living conditions and their basic needs. our success is above all, also determined by what President Zuma qualifies as ‘government’s agility’, - the ability to respond faster and in a smart way with the relevant services.

while fulfilling this almost sacrosanct mandate of improving the lives of citizens with services, our main priority has always been to build a professional public service that will assist and create a state that has the required capacity to perform optimally and effectively.

at a structural and operational level, we have managed to reconfigure and transform the institutional and governance arrangements of the state. this entails strengthening and streamlining the inter-governmental systems and processes for a harmonious, consolidated and seamless public sector working environment. this includes all state institutions working together and strategically realigning their various mandates to achieve the set targets in accordance with the key priority areas.

earlier this year, Cabinet approved the Public administration management bill. this bill is in itself a major breakthrough having been in the making for 8 years. it will assist us address a longstanding problem of inequality of our norms and standards in the management and delivery of public services across and between spheres of

government. it will also ensure that all spheres of government share seamlessly the requisite skills pool, competences and standards. in addition, it will make it possible to improve inter-governmental planning, delivery and governance across the three spheres of government without interfering with the rights, powers and status of the spheres of government.

we acknowledge the critical role that public servants across the three spheres of government play as a vital link between government and citizens. we will be passing a law to effect what was once referred to as a single public service. already in the pipeline, this law will assist in, creating a uniform body of public servants throughout the three spheres of government. to ensure uniformity in terms of skills, competencies and expertise all the public servants would have to be trained. here, we are talking about 1.6 million public servants spread across 45 national departments, 207 odd provincial departments and 270 municipalities – all requiring training. there is no clearer way than these figures to emphasise the enormity of our challenges.

the defining features that will ensure that as government we succeed in providing our people with the much needed services include knowing where people live, understanding their needs and being able to respond faster.


we have defined for ourselves that one of our most critical mandates in government and society is to build an ethical, accountable, competent and capable public service and administration. from the moment i took up reigns in the ministry i took a firm decision to prioritise the professionalisation of the Public service, because without that we as a government would not achieve anything.

we have resolved to establish a school of government which will be the equivalent of a Corporate university for the Public service, where public servants will be trained and equipped to be cadres of government. this is a necessary and unavoidable intervention in ensuring that all our public servants serve with a common and identifiable command of ethos, values and discipline befitting a south african Public service outlook.

we also launched and piloted the Compulsory induction Programme in september 2012. there are approximately 7 739 officials appointed since 01 July 2012 that should be trained in order to meet our prescripts for Compulsory induction. Projections show that for the 20 000 new entrants expected in each financial year, the compulsory induction into Public service remains a key intervention.

to achieve this major task of professionalising the public service, we also have to ensure that it is cleaned up and cleared off all forms of unwanted contaminations. this would require of us to revisit the Public service act for some much needed amendments. other measures to be introduced include the creation of an anti-corruption bureau to

deal decisively with all forms of corruption and misconduct, especially by senior managers, a ban on public servants doing business with the state, and boosting internal capacity to cut down on the use of consultants which, according to the auditor-general’s office, has cost r102 billion in three years.

a diagnosis by the national Planning Commission has shed light on other additional areas of intervention which include establishing an office of standards and Compliance in the Public service to ensure compliance with norms and standards and rapid reaction to provinces in distress. our commitment to ramp up the public service capacity to perform optimally and decisively in meeting the service delivery needs of citizens can never be overemphasised.

last year, President Zuma received the national development Plan (ndP) from the national Planning Commission. the ndP spells out the vision for our country for the next 20 years. it provides a clear roadmap to get our country to its desired destination of prosperity. in it are important proposals on how we can effectively tackle the many challenges that our country faces, including poverty, unemployment, particularly amongst youth, provision of basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation, housing, public transport, adequate nutrition, education, social protection, quality healthcare, recreation and a clean environment. the ndP outlines interventions that will potentially improve the socio-economic landscape of our country to create a better life for all. not that it is the first time that we hear about all these major challenges that

government has to deal with. the ndP echoes elements that have been identified as targets by government in its key priority areas. these, in turn, dovetail into the millennium development goals (mdgs).

as i indicated at the beginning, the delivery of services to citizens is a core mandate that every government has no option but to fulfil. to every citizen in the country, services are, after all, according to our constitution, a basic human right rather than a privilege.

as long as the measures that we put in place to improve our performance in providing services are less convincing, our failures will continue haunting us indefinitely like the proverbial albatross around our necks. freeing ourselves of this albatross will require a public service that is highly professional, accountable, dedicated and hardworking. also key to our success will be the commitment and bravery to explore new ways of tackling challenges where the old ones have proven wasteful and ineffective. in other words, transforming the public sector should include promoting and nurturing creative thinking and innovation as building blocks towards the achievement of the national development Plan vision of a better life for all.

there is a little light in all of us that is waiting to shine bright. together we can innovate for a better south africa.

...key to our success will be the commitment and bravery to explore new ways of tackling challenges where the old ones have proven wasteful and ineffective .... transforming the public sector should include promoting and nurturing creative thinking and innovation as building blocks towards the achievement of the ndP vision of a better life for all.

8 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

MESSAGEFRoMthEDEPUtYMInIStER

tRAnSFoRMInGthEPUbLICSERvICEThROUgh INNOVATION

as a country, we need to consistently look for dynamic, creative and innovative solutions that would effectively improve our service delivery capacity and the quality of services we deliver within the context of a dynamic society.

to me, service delivery, just like life itself, is more like a journey where, each step we take has its own challenges. any progress we make will only be determined by our ability to negotiate our way around all those obstacles.

looking back over the past few years, one would be excused for marvelling at the positive strides we have made, noting the milestones that we have achieved. on the health front, for instance, interventions made by the department of health to improve the quality of life are yielding results. the overall life expectancy of south africans has improved significantly between 2009 and 2011 to 62 years, which essentially attests to the quality and efficacy of our healthcare strategies.

there are many such areas where we have not only made considerable progress but also compare favourably with other developing nations. however, even so, as a country, we have to challenge ourselves to work even harder to fast track the delivery of vital services to the citizens in line with government’s national priority areas and of course, the united nations’ millennium development goals (mdgs).

being part of the global village alongside many other countries, south africa is able to benchmark on a variety of areas. and, may i say, we have and continue to perform impressively in many areas of socio-economic development. however, above all, being internationally involved has numerous positive spin-off to it, chief of which being the ability to participate in various platforms and forums for networking, learning and exchanging knowledge and expertise on critical developmental issues, challenges that

affect us all universally as well as how we can overcome those.

south africa, together with brazil, indonesia, mexico, norway, Philippines, united Kingdom and united states, is a founder member of the open government Partnership which was premised on an open government declaration. Critically, the declaration highlighted a demand by citizens all over the world for more openness in their governments and greater civic participation in public affairs, as well as more transparent, accountable, and effective in their governments. essentially, the open government Partnership is a global multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

the south african government is fully committed to putting more efforts on

The challenge to improve service delivery to citizens is one that is not static. it is dynamic, forever influenced by the ever-changing socio-economic and demographic characteristics of a population...

internally, as government, we need to strengthen and streamline our inter-governmental processes to achieve a harmonious, consolidated approach to service delivery.


transforming its various governance and administrative processes and systems to uphold the principles of transparency, accountability and clean governance. open government is central to this as it promotes free citizen-access and use of certain government and privately held data or information without fear, restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control within the boundaries of the law.

transforming to open government requires a total paradigm shift from a rigid, controlled and bureaucratic environment to a more modern, transparent interactive way of doing things. this wholesale turnaround requires building effective platforms and systems, breaking down the silos of bureaucracies to facilitate proper information management and security. it takes political leadership. it takes technical knowledge.

transforming to open government is a complex process that, at a high, government level requires sustained efforts and investment in effective, innovative iCt systems that, when properly leveraged would promote secured, real-time government information access in line with the sophisticated needs of a modern-day iCt savvy citizen. at another level it would also require cross-sectoral collaboration between government, business and citizens alike.

as government, we recognise the importance of information as an empowering and liberating tool for our citizens living during this era of ‘knowledge economy’. we are

therefore forging ahead to implement various iCt solutions that would ensure a sustained transition to transparency in terms of government information, accountability and clean governance in line with open government.

i would like to emphasise the need for further skilling and training for public officials, particularly in areas of critical deficit such as iCts. while government proceeds with its programme of modernising its systems and processes equally critical is the availability of properly skilled public officials that would be able to optimally leverage iCts for enhanced citizen access to information as is required in open government.

Consider for a moment the following facts about south africa’s telecommunication status: in south africa, telecommunications is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, driven by explosive growth in mobile telephony and broadband connectivity.

in this country, we have the most developed telecoms network in africa that is 99.9% digital and includes the latest in fixed-line, wireless and satellite communication.

mobile coverage is just over 90% of the country, with mobile phone use in south africa having increased from 17% of adults in 2000 to 75% of those that earn below r432 and 88% of those with higher incomes in 2012. Considering that 15% of users have more than one cell phone, there are more phones in use than people over the age of 15.

we are further looking forward to the advent of digital television and the possibility it brings to communicate in more innovative ways with citizens.

if the above information is anything to go by, south africa has the right infrastructure, suitable for a connected government and participatory citizenship.

it is for all the above reasons that our President committed south africa to the open government Partnership. it is thus a matter that we are committed to, ,a matter where we are taking the hands of others, on the continent and within briCs towards a new era of government partnering with citizens.

for instance, the deputy Prime minister of namibia recently undertook at an au capacity building workshop on e-government in addis ababa, to lead a sadC initiative on open data open government Centres of excellence in the region. this is an ideal opportunity to take hands. brazil has made significant strides on “public software” and promoting access to software as a “public good”, again bring government and citizens closer together around a developmental agenda.

an initiative such as the open government Partnership is not just a new fad in public administration. it contributes to deepening our democracy and building trust between citizens and government. as such, it is an initiative that should be embraced by all public servants.

transforming to open government is a complex process that requires sustained efforts and investment in effective, innovative iCt systems that would promote secured, real-time government access in line with the sophisticated needs of a modern-day iCt savvy citizen.

10 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

GovERnMEntSoFthEWoRLDAREPRIoRItISInGINNOVATION

FRoMthECEo’SDESK

There is a strong desire within the public sector to embrace innovation. The onus is on us to genuinely provide direction and support and harness the enthusiasm that exists…

the world over innovation has been identified and prioritised as a critical driver for public sector transformation and modernisation, to enable governments to pursue their developmental agendas. for example, the united nations’ division for Public administration and development management (dPadm) has initiated a new programme promoting the replication of innovative practices in least developed Countries (ldCs) and the organisation for economic Cooperation and development (oeCd) has established an observatory for Public sector innovation. Various governments are thus focusing their energies and resources on setting up structures to design and drive innovation programmes. this comes with different challenges as innovation needs to be explicated and made pragmatic for public officials to embrace.

although one is happy to be inundated with requests for support and engagements, both nationally and internationally, and although we continue to form strategic partnerships with service delivery institutions, questions around our role persist. there is thus a need for us to sustain a broad discussion on public sector innovation. the discussion should include not only the importance of public sector innovation but also the most appropriate institutional arrangements to

drive innovation within and throughout the public sector.

rightfully some may ask if innovation is not just one of the latest fads, which will blow over in a few years. this strongly justifies the need to constantly clarify the value of institutions that are tasked to drive innovation programmes, whose mandates are, truly speaking, very fundamental to service delivery. innovation is about growth, development and sustainability going forward. in a broader sense it is essential to south africa’s future economic prosperity and quality of life. it is about the pursuit of better and effective ways of doing things, it is about doing things differently, breaking away from what is considered the dysfunctional or tardy norm to match prevailing challenges. it is about using what we have at our disposal to achieve more. it is about fostering entrepreneurship to raise productivity, fostering competitiveness, meeting the challenges of globalisation in order to thrive as a nation within our environmental, geographic and demographic limits.

over the past few years, the government, through its various state organs, has made tremendous progress in providing services to people irrespective of their location and socio-economic background. data from Census 2011 has revealed a phenomenal improvement in the delivery of houses, water,

sanitation, health, education etc. however, in spite of all the good work, the reality for our government is such that much more has to be done. what is more, successfully tackling recurring challenges requires of government to adopt a flexible and yet ruthless approach towards the pursuit of innovation to enable the various state organs to effectively dispatch their service delivery mandates in an extraordinary way. and this, in essence, is where the CPsi comes in.

in summary, the CPsi’s responsibility is to unearth, encourage, reward, showcase, pilot and influence the mainstreaming of innovation in the public sector. before someone accuses me of yet another loaded, wordy, jargonist government-speak, let me explain: innovative solutions are everywhere, including in the most rural, most remote areas, waiting to be unearthed and shared widely for learning, adaptation and replication. evidently, our mandate reaches into all sectors, unlike those of line-departments such as housing, health, education and so forth. rewarding and unearthing are intimately linked as many innovations that are submitted for awards are ultimately showcased through national and international innovation awards programmes. featuring these innovations in our journal, ideas that work, or sharing them in conferences or workshops further

11VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

supports the dissemination of these innovative practices.

the CPsi emphasises the importance of multi-sectoral engagement as key to encouraging collaborative cross-sectoral innovative thinking around solutions for persistent challenges. the potential solutions from such collaborative processes have to be tested and piloted. as we remain custodians of public funds, we cannot waste funds on wild ideas. one of our tasks then is to facilitate the testing and piloting of targeted innovative solutions in a public sector environment, in collaboration with service delivery institutions and other relevant stakeholders. Piloting provides a controlled environment to manage risks, determine unintended consequences and iron out implementation challenges.

the pilots can take from a few weeks to three years, depending on the complexity of the challenge being addressed and the sophistication and intricateness in the development of the solution. these solutions can be processes, models or physical gadgets, iCt or otherwise. we, as an institution, derive great value from the fact that we do not directly offer public services because of the neutrality we bring to the table. our partner departments are comfortable, thanks to this neutrality, to open up on the challenges they are facing and to partner on piloting innovative solutions. one is humbled by the level of commitment and cooperation from the departments with whom we are already collaborating on pilots and we are grateful for the wisdom they bring to the projects. if they did not allow us entry into their business we would not be successful.

in some instances it is not even innovation that is needed. one good example is where

a so-called ‘queue management system’ was developed but the queue problem persisted. we were called in to assist some hospitals and we found that it was largely about ‘back office efficiency’. within a day of implementing the the new innovative approach, three hospitals were able to get rid of long queues. [Please read the article on the Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital’s Kaizen project which was replicated at Helen Joseph Hospital in Gauteng.] this correspondence was shared with us by one of our innovation champions in gauteng, ms naumi sithole, in august 2012.

“Today the MEC for Health, Mr Papo was having a meeting with central office staff when he received an SMS from a patient from our hospital. The patient was praising the pharmacy staff on the improvements done in Pharmacy. The patient reported that they used to wait up to 4 hours for their medication and now they wait less than 30 minutes.

The pharmacy manager was praised for the effort and the good work done. The MEC was very impressed about this, read the message to all and everybody clapped their hands on the job well done. ‘I would also like to pass my congratulations to you and the team for the consistent effort you make to improve the patient’s experience. Please pass this message to all involved with the project’”.

these kinds of comments and sentiments from the leadership are very empowering and certainly make all efforts worth every moment. they are a huge contribution to what we call ‘an enabling environment’.

based on the discussion, i can boldly pronounce that talking innovation in the public service is in a sense, talking about,

not just the CPsi’s activities as a formal organisation but the extended CPsi that includes our service delivery departments and other institutions, municipalities, Premiers’ office, our champions, mentors, partners from private, civic and academic sectors, funders and co-workers.

government cannot and should not accomplish this task alone. CPsi’s role is to champion innovation across the board, and working with partners across and outside government.

this means harnessing ideas and solutions not only from fellow public servants but also from the private sector, users who are the recipients of services and professionals to create more effective products, services, processes and methods of public service delivery. south africa must unlock the talents of all it’s people and become an ‘innovation-driven nation’.

innovation draws on a wide variety of sources. it most definitely requires a strong scientific contribution, depending on the nature of innovative solutions and field of application. we talk in this instance about new technologies and the role of design in developing innovative products and services hence our partnerships with the science-based sector and role-players. at the same time it can emanate from the most unusual places sparked by a thought and some imagination. our partnership with the sa national system of innovation has been a source of great value to our initiatives and in ensuring that our thrust is in the mainstream and linking to science and technology initiatives.

... successfully tackling recurring challenges requires of government to adopt a flexible and yet ruthless approach towards the pursuit of innovation to enable the various state organs to effectively dispatch their service delivery mandates in an extraordinary way.

12 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

on the 22 and 23 of august 2012 the CPsi held its 6th Public sector innovation Conference in east london, eastern Cape with the theme “Innovation Transforming Government”. this was broken down into subthemes, one of which was “Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Government”.

two presentations were made with the objective of elaborating and shedding more light on this subtheme. both very informative and highly captivating the two presentations focused on entrepreneurship in the public sector and the private sector. these were followed by a robust discussion session which, most importantly took the conference from being an ordinary talk-shop to yielding practical solutions to real challenges as identified in the repective sectors. the session was chaired by mr steven h isaack from the office of the Prime minister in namibia and moderated by mr Pierre schoonraad from the CPsi. Panellists included ms Phelele tengeni (deputy Chairperson of the Public service Commission), messrs mclean sibanda

for the purpose of this article, i have grouped the engagements into themes for convenient understanding of the deliberations.

The Concept of Entrepreneurship

lebo gunguluza, an entrepreneur broke the ice by defining the concept of entrepreneurship. he listed three main characteristics of an entrepreneur that there is consensus of of in the literature: courage, vision and creativity. a successful entrepreneur must have courage to take on entrepreneurial challenges.

gunguluza also concurred with the literature that an entrepreneur needs to

AConvERSAtIononENTREPRENEURShIP AND INNOVATION IN gOVERNMENTin a session that formed part of the 6th public sector innovation conference, a panel of opinion-makers deliberated on the importance of entrepreneurship in the public sector.

Nsizwa Dlamini of the cpsi consolidated their contributions.

... the characteristics of an entrepreneur include courage, vision and creativity....

(Ceo of the innovation hub), Kgotla bantsi (Ceo of spearhead group), lebo gunguluza (Chief executive officer of local government business network (lgbn), sitembele mase (Ceo of the eastern Cape economic development agency (eCeda) and ms Phuti ragophala (Principal of Pulamadibogo Primary school).

in guiding the discussion, steven isaack requested the panellists to identify key problems or characteristics of entrepreneurship and innovation, identify areas of contention and suggest solutions as a way forward.

PUbLICSECtoRInnovAtIonS

13VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

be courageous to venture into uncharted territory which might be risky. secondly, an entrepreneur must have a vision and demonstrate relentless persistence against the obstacles that can potentially deter the achievement of the vision. he advised that appreciation of these elements in any working environment, including the public service, “means that you are in line with your entrepreneurial spirit”. he then gave an example of the formation of the lgbn and argued that it was driven by an entrepreneurial spirit in the context of the public sector.

as head of Communications and media for the institute of local government managers (ilgm), gunguluza described his organisation as a forum where , in the past, municipal managers were not encouraged to be entrepreneurs. however, they had to work with the private sector to deliver public services. Confronted with a challenge on how to forge relationships with private sector companies, the ilgm became innovative. they created a space for municipal managers to engage on an on-going basis with the private sector to facilitate Public Private Partnerships.

the brainchild of this was the creation of a business relations arm as part of the institute. it was then discovered that it was unconstitutional for the ilgm to have a business relations arm. because of their persistence, they removed business relations from the institute and changed it into a separate organisation. that persistence, according to gunguluza,

made the ilgm a successful organisation for the past 7 years. for gunguluza, innovation and creativity can open opportunities for government to succeed.

gunguluza’s input correlated with Phuti ragophala’s innovation who argued that the scarcity of resources in a learning environment should not constrain innovation and entrepreneurship in the public sector.

“We Don’t have Resources”

more often than not we hear educators complain that they do not have resources to deal with challenges that they face – be it learner performance or extra-curricular challenges that learners are confronted with, which in turn impact on their performance in school. ragophala reflected on the conditions on schools such as hers in limpopo which are situated in semi-rural areas where most of the learners are orphans from poverty-stricken families. she asserts that these problems limit effective learning.

according to ragophala, being the Principal of such a school and in the face of such challenges one does not have the luxury to relax. instead one is forced to think about innovative solutions. that begins with broadening one’s perspective of a school beyond just a place where reading and writing takes place. one has to think outside the box.

it was in this context that the school innovated and, through its permaculture project, began to sell fresh vegetables, eggs, herbs, chicken manure and chickens. this innovative fit has enabled them to generate income and, in the process, expand and develop their project. the school has developed a food forest with fruit trees, herbs and plenty of vegetables growing. based on the extensive knowledge and understanding on permaculture, the school boasts wind breaks and sour figs that have been planted to serve as fire breaks.

the school has a well thought out marketing plan and has become exemplary to many schools. everyone at Pulamadibogo, that is, the cleaners, educators, community members and learners, is involved in ensuring that the school is always clean and that the gardens are well kept.

ragophala maintained that faced with similar challenges, permaculture can provide a wonderful reprieve. she reflected on the shock that she gets on hearing other school principals say “we do not have resources” because there are

... the scarcity of resources in a learning environment should not constrain innovation and entrepreneurship in the public sector....

... public servants need to be ‘dis-comfortable’ with the status quo because business as usual will not take us anywhere.

14 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

natural resources around every school that can be used to deal with problems that the school faces. “we have soil, water and fire which are natural resources that can help you come up with wonderful innovative solutions to problems you face as a school and benefit learners and community members”.

away from these good stories, the panel devoted a lot of time discussing the issue of funding innovation and entrepreneurs.

Funding Innovation

unlike public schools as indicated above, young entrepreneurs do need funding to develop their ideas into viable businesses that can eventually assist government in delivering services to citizens. sitembele mase argued that funding is one of the major factors that inhibit innovation and the flourishing of entrepreneurs. he said that at the eCeda they had tried to establish a fund that they called risk Capital fund. they supported several projects such as in the natural fibre industry, sport tourism, agro-processing, and so on, but later ran out of funds. such is the story amongst many agencies like theirs.

mase emphasised the importance of risk capital funds within development finance institutions (dfis) to fund testing of innovative ideas for possible conversion into business projects for consideration by lending organisations. according to mase this is by far the only way in which venture capital can be created and concepts can become real business proposals.

on a rather broader perspective, mclean sibanda pointed out that the challenge around funding is a tendency to use the same tool to fund everything. using an iCt idea as an example, sibanda indicated that if funding for such projects is not made within 6 months, that opportunity is gone. what is required is more creativity to figure out a funding model where different criteria will be applied for different projects, while at the same time involving the private sector for assistance. he expressed his disapproval of the current 9 months period for funding of projects.

agreeing with sibanda on the turn-around challenge, mase further argued that there has to be a change of culture, behaviour, conduct, leadership and decisiveness within funding organisations. he added that there has to be clear systems and processes within these organisations to drive change. mase highlighted the south african microfinance apex fund (samaf) as a success story. samaf started with a turn-around time of almost 9 months to approve and disburse a loan. after 3 years of the implementation of changes, the disbursement of loans was reduced to 107 days and even lower to 77 days. he argued that it is the kind of change that

the dfis need to go through in order to reduce turn-around time.

giving Innovators the opportunity to do business with government

innovation competitions have become a trend in many countries. the gauteng provincial government, through the innovation hub, is also running the gauteng innovation Competition. since it started, the initiative has seen a number of good innovations become winners.

Pierre schoonraad who moderated the panel discussion pointed out that despite the brilliant innovations that are coming out of these initiatives, the winners often struggle to access contracts from government. he pointed to “prolonged government processes and procurement rules” as the main stumbling blocks.

on a similar point sibanda expanded that innovation competitions are a mechanism for stimulating “demand-led innovation”. the main barrier, according to him is the tender process in municipalities involving three quotations in contracts less than r500 000. sibanda was also

... government seems to have a lack of awareness about the inseparable relationship between innovation and propriety information. somebody owns that particular idea or improvement and it is therefore not practical to put it out on a public tender process....

15VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

concerned about government’s seeming lack of awareness about the inseparable relationship between innovation and propriety information. somebody owns that particular idea or improvement and it is therefore not practical to put it out on a public tender process. this means there is a need to find mechanisms of being creative within the framework of “preferential procurement”, he suggested. he pointed out how as the innovation hub they have proposed two solutions to municipalities.

as a possible solution, the panellists proposed that municipalities place contracts based on a memorandum of understanding between the innovation hub and themselves, with the innovation hub being an agency of government implementing certain projects at a pilot level. this is important because what the entrepreneurs are looking for is access to the market. if they can get their foot in the market and be able to demonstrate the efficiency of the innovations in real life situations, then the markets will open up for them.

another proposed solution involved finding ways of making exceptions under the Preferential Procurement act. this will enable municipalities to make provision for innovations from demand-led initiatives to be piloted and scaled up for delivery.

although credible, these proposals rely on change taking place within the public sector. schoonraad correctly emphasised that public servants need to change their mind-set from being bureaucratic to embracing public sector entrepreneurship. this is what will provide a fertile ground for the proposals made by the innovation hub. Kgotla bantsi was more elaborate on this matter.

innovation in the Public sector’s everyday Culture is one of the important stumbling blocks when it comes to innovation in the public sector, particularly the widespread reluctance to do things differently. bantsi felt that if innovation were to be mainstreamed and woven into a norm of every day in the public sector, “we need to get the culture right”. he suggested that one of the practical ways of getting the culture right was by debunking the notion that surrounds innovation - a notion that evokes extensive use of technology to solve problems. this is because, he said, “you begin to conceptualise innovation that belongs somewhere in some ivory tower by some wise men and women”. if we do this, we rob ourselves of an opportunity for public servants to own, practice and mainstream innovation in our everyday lives.

as part of debunking innovation, we need to define the concept in a practical and simple way. this, according to bantsi, starts with asking ourselves “how do i do what i do in my daily job differently, better and ultimately improve service delivery and thus ensure a better life for all?”. by doing this we will be able to link this high flown concept of innovation to very practical things that we need to be doing. he then asked what the practical tools are that we need to have in the public service to ensure that this becomes a reality.

he proposed that an “innovation readiness survey” be considered. this will mean literally conducting a survey amongst public servants to identify at a basic level, the understanding, perceptions and other things relating to innovation. this survey can look at the barriers that have been identified by other panellists which hinder innovation. some of these could be regulatory, systemic, structural and hr issues.

ragophala gave an example on how public servants should adapt to paradigm shifts using the example of educators and the changing environment they find themselves in. she, like others, acknowledged that innovation is about doing things differently. she said that most educators grew up in a very different period from the learners they educate. as a result the interests of the learners and educators are not the same. even so, most educators resist changing and adapting to their new environment, preferring instead to continue doing things the same way. she has heard an educator telling a learner that “i taught your parents, uncles, etc. using this teaching method… i cannot change it because it works…”, not knowing that these learners are different. these children can operate cellular phones without reading manual, she said. according to ragophala, the department of basic education should integrate iCt into the curriculum because learners are more inclined to iCt. she asked, “since we are teaching a mobile generation, why can’t we align the curriculum to where the world is moving technologically?” according to ragophala , as long as we do not adapt to these changes, we will not produce citizens that will develop this country.

there was general consensus about the importance of culture in building an environment that permits and

... public servants need to be ‘dis-comfortable’ with the status quo because business as usual will not take us anywhere.

16 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

nurtures innovation in the public sector. issack lamented the enormous challenge that the public service displays, that of resistance to change which manifests itself in the difficulty of people to adapt to paradigm shifts. he suggested that public servants need to be ‘dis-comfortable’ with the status quo because business as usual will not take us anywhere. as part of working with change, public servants need to respond as quickly and as successfully as they can to the challenges of change. this, he added, “will require us to create the necessary room and encourage experimentation, which is the risk part”.

these positive inputs were in conversation with other positive inputs on the ability of the public service to be innovative and entrepreneurial which i now turn to.

Positive Enablers

the public service boasts certain characteristics that can facilitate better performance in entrepreneurship and innovation, more than the private sector, according to sibanda. remarking on how better positioned the public sector is to be innovative, he advocated for a positive link between private and public sector innovation,

he further identified four criteria for a successful private sector innovation project. • Theideahasgottobegood;• There has to be a market for that

idea;

• There has to be funding to developthe idea; and

• Therehastobeacredibleteamthattakes the idea to the market.

sibanda raised a concern about the fact that while money for funding is available in the system, it does not filter through to innovators. this, he argued, is attributable to two main reasons, namely that funders take too long to assess ideas, and that there is risk averseness which prevents funding of ideas. he said that dfis are behaving like banks when they should not be doing that. these, he pointed out, are challenges synonymous with the private sector. however, the public sector on the other hand does not have market related challenges. according to sibanda, funding an idea in the public sector is easier because being an internal process, you can demonstrate the inefficiencies that can be improved. added to that is the ease with which one can assemble an appropriate team in the public sector as it is done internally. in essence, “i would argue that entrepreneurship within the public sector is meant to be easier than in the private sector” he said.

bantsi went further, and argued that we should not be thinking about the private sector when talking about entrepreneurship in the public sector. he said that the private sector does not equal good service, because it is not homogenous. according to him, while service in the private sector is often better than in the public sector, we should be mindful of the cost factor.

efficiency, he pointed out, does come at a price. given the socio-political landscape of south africa, we should be weary of the high costs that come with the private sector providing public services, particularly as, demographically, more people cannot afford such payments. we therefore cannot take consolation in the fact that we have the private sector providing public services.

bantsi warned that in the long run this could lead to the “de-legitimisation of our government”. Public servants should therefore innovate to ensure that government is able to provide basic services. if a state fails to deliver these, then it is an “illegitimate state and we should be worried”. so in government we have no choice, we have to innovate. he noted the CPsi’s ‘herculean task’ in making sure that innovation is mainstreamed in the whole public sector in south africa because it is not a luxury.

Phelele tengeni identified the south african Constitution as providing a policy and legislative infrastructure that compels public servants to be

efficiency, he pointed out, does come at a price. given the socio-political landscape of south africa, we should be weary of the high costs that come with the private sector providing public services, particularly as, demographically, more people cannot afford such payments.

17VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

more entrepreneurial as we are still struggling to solve problems such as unemployment.

in wrapping up, isaack remarked how at a continental level, the africa Public service day is observed as a day in which values and virtues of service to the community are celebrated. it encourages public servants to reclaim their dignity and become public servants with the necessary enthusiasm. all public servants in africa should embrace these values and inculcate entrepreneurship in our different working environments. he closed by saying that public servants must “not think outside the box, they must forget about the box and think big, think global and act local”.

Conclusion

this panel debate was a valuable contribution to a global debate on entrepreneurship and innovation in the public sector. the fact that the global summit on innovation and entrepreneurship is being held in south africa in 2013 shows the relevance of the discussions in the global context. so this was a timely and important contribution to discussions of innovation within the public sector, confirming a reported departure “from the myth of private equal to entrepreneurial, public equal to bureaucratic paralysis” (windrum & Koch, 2008).

windrum, P. & Koch, P. innovation in Public sector innovation: entrepreneurship, Creativity and management. edward elgar Publishing, 2008.

innovative in their delivery of services. she declared that south africa’s constitution is very clear on the type of public service that is required. Chapter 10 section 195 of the Constitution lays out principles and values that need to govern public administration. if you look at all the Constitutional principles you can see a role that can be played by entrepreneurs within and outside the public services to deliver on these principles.

furthermore, she stated that over the 18 years of democracy in south africa, a lot of innovation has taken place. while not condoning the auditor general’s revelation of public servants still doing business with government, to her this reflects the existence of an entrepreneurial spirit. on a positive note, she suggested that these enterprising minds should be harnessed for the benefit of the south african citizens while at the same time warning against such public servants being considered for business deals from government. Public servants cannot be business people and public servants at the same time.

on rural versus urban inequality, tengeni argued that we need enterprising minds to assist in dealing with this inequality. while acknowledging innovations such as the extended Public work Programme, she argued that we need to be

on a positive note, she suggested that these enterprising minds should be harnessed for the benefit of the south african citizens while at the same time warning against such public servants being considered for business deals from government. Public servants cannot be business people and public servants at the same time.

18 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Policing is one of the key priority areas of the government, more so because of incidents of crime and the criminals who are becoming smarter in using technology to plan and commit crime and avoid detection and apprehension. this puts police under immense pressure to also find innovative ways of modernising their systems to enable them to combat crime.

the Community Police forum (CPf) Call Centre project in Phalaborwa, limpopo Province, is one such initiative where the police became innovative in their fight against crime.

Background

during the period between 2006 and 2008, Phalaborwa and the neighbouring communities were under siege with an immense challenge of vehicle theft. organised syndicates would steal vehicles and transport them over the borders into neighbouring countries.

in an attempt to address this dire situation, the station Commander of Phalaborwa

Police station set up a ‘think tank’ which included members of the community. the main objective was to strengthen community policing to support the police in their efforts to fight against crime. from november 2008, a series of public meetings were held to consult with the community and to market the concept of community policing at grass roots level.

this resulted in the birth of the Community Police forum (CPf) Call Centre project. the main rationale behind the CPf Call Centre project is to transform the whole approach to policing from being reactionary to being proactive – to be able to predict and prevent crime before it happens.

the project allows for a constant flow of information on any anomalies sighted by the community, to the police patrol vehicles through the Call Centre for immediate intervention before the crime can be committed. this approach contributes to the reduction of crime and at the same time it creates a community that is aware through its participation.

The Innovation

the solution involves the use of mobile phone technology - community members use cellular phones to alert the police about any suspicious activities in their communities, for a speedy police response.

members of the new CPf were recruited from within the community. using a comprehensive electronic web-based database of members’ id numbers and cell phone numbers, the CPf members were assigned to police stations nearer to where they live. a corresponding bulk sms database was then created to enable the call centre to communicate crime information to relevant sectors or individuals. Currently, signed-up members average around 1 650 members on the system.

the start-up of this project was funded by individuals to test the viability and success of the concept. however, once the benefits were visible to the community, the organised business community adopted the project and provided funding for most of its activities. Crime is a focal point and

The phalaborwa community police Forum call centre

by Mr Eugene Engelbrecht, south African police service

LEvERAGInGontEChnoLoGYto SUCCESSFULLY COMBAT CRIME


the project is unique in that it harnesses readily available resources, such as cell phones and web-based bulk sms sites to achieve its objective of creating pro-active policing instead of reactive policing.

19VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

there has been no shortage of volunteers to

assist with the project as it is close to the

communities’ needs.

the project is unique in that it harnesses

readily available resources, such as cell

phones and web-based bulk sms sites to

achieve its objective of creating pro-active

policing instead of reactive policing.

Impact

the Police service in Phalaborwa has

become an integral part of the community.

the station management is known

personally by a large section of the

community and the ‘open door policy’ of

the commander has gone a long way to

improve relations between the community

and the police.

Communication channels between the

police and the community are proactive

with an understanding that policing is a

joint responsibility between the police and

the community. the transparency between

the police and the community has vastly

improved through healthy dialogue that

was developed because of the initiative.

as stated earlier, the area of Phalaborwa

and its neighbouring villages were once

under siege because of a high incidence of

car theft, mostly by organised syndicates.

since the introduction of this initiative,

there has been virtually zero theft of motor

vehicles in the Phalaborwa Police precinct.

in addition, the solution has enabled the

police in Phalaborwa to intercept and

recover passing vehicles that have been

stole in other areas. there has also been a

marked reduction in other kinds of crimes, such as abductions and burglary because of the involvement of the community.

dealing with a criminal element that is entrenched in society, is a highly demanding challenge that requires continuity and effort. Crime fighting projects require a mutual collaboration between the police and the community based on transparency and mutual trust.

Conclusion

the Phalaborwa Community Police forum Call Centre project is a typical example of how a committed community working together, in collaboration with the police, can succeed to improve their own livelihood by winning the fight against organised crime, despite the lack of resources.

the project is unique in that it harnesses readily available resources, such as cell phones and web-based bulk sms sites to achieve its objective of creating pro-active policing instead of reactive policing.

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SUStAInAbLEvILLAGESInThE ChRIS hANI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

CPSI Public Sector Innovator of the Year, 2011Overall Winner: 2010 All Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards

by Phillip Wilkinson, Wildlife and Environment Society of south Africa

Introduction

rural communities tend to be at a greater disadvantage when it comes to access to basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity and food. this has major implications for people’s livelihood, particularly the ability of school children to learn. however, there are some rural communities which instead of throwing their hands in the air, have decided to take the initiative to deal with these challenges.

a good example is the innovative work at the Pulamadibogo Primary school permaculture gardens in limpopo which featured in one of the previous editions of the Ideas that Work journal.

from the Chris hani district municipality in the eastern Cape Province, emerged a project which not only provides food to learners through gardening, but also ensures the development of sustainable energy resources and enables communities in the area to take advantage of what their own environment provides to sustain themselves. this is the Chris hani district municipality’s “sustainable Villages” project

which began as a youth and school endeavour, and eventually grew to capture the essence of rural african sustainability and is a flagship project for the district municipality.

Background

during 2007, the Chris hani district municipality initiated a number of school projects under their school greening and environmental health awareness programme which, in turn formed part of the work carried out by the district’s municipal health services department (mhs). the programme involved the establishment, equipping and support of organic food gardens at some identified schools.

although a successful programme in many respects, the mhs staff members were unable to support this large number of schools to ensure ongoing sustainability of the projects. adding to this pressure was the unreliability (in many respects, non-availability) of water supply in the communities serviced by these schools. as a result of this unfortunate circumstance, the programme was unable to flourish as anticipated.

The Municipality’s Sustainable Villages project

towards the end of 2008, the wildlife and environmental society of south africa (wessa), through the esKom/wessa energy and sustainability Programme and under the request of the department of basic education (lady frere district), set up a series of small scale energy efficiency projects at three Crowns Junior Primary school. given the mutually exclusive relationship between food security, sustainability and environmental learning, it naturally followed that the school greening programme and the esKom/wessa energy and sustainability Programme began to work together.

three Crowns Junior Primary school is situated in the lady frere district, which is part of the Chris hani district municipality in the eastern Cape. the school services the surrounding community where many households do not have access to many vital services such as reticulated water, electricity and sanitation.

Purpose of the project

the sustainable Villages project entails setting up a sustainability Commons at a


21VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

communal setting in the village, such as a school to serve as a place where ideas and technologies (both old and new) for sustainable development can be shared, explored and tested. additionally, the Commons serve as a source of support to the local community as they go about establishing renewable energy technologies and sustainable practices in their own homes, thereby creating sustainable interventions for service delivery.

Method of implementation

the sustainable Villages project was implemented in seven phases which are not necessarily consecutive, but interconnected.

the first phase involved setting up sustainable commons comprising small scale, replicable, renewable energy technologies that are appropriate for use in rural households. examples of such technologies include a greenhouse nursery made from recycled plastic bottles, solar cookers, solar water heaters made from recycled plastic bottles, a hot box which allows families to cook hot meals without using dwindling wood resources, eco-circles, vermiculture and hydroponic systems.

these technologies are maintained by a self-driven community champion, that is a member of the local community who is able to undertake development initiatives without assistance (at least initially) from outside organisations.

the second phase of the project dealt with funding acquisition for large scale

integrated, sustainable technologies. in this phase, the project expanded significantly, both in terms of funding required, as well as the level of demonstrable technologies installed at the commons. the original funders and supporters for the project (the esKom/wessa energy and sustainability programme and the Chris hani district municipality), opened up spaces for other partners, notably the development bank of southern africa (dbsa), who supported the growth of the project into this phase.

the second phase focused on large non-demonstrable technologies, which were not only expensive, but also designed for full service delivery to the whole village. these technologies were also installed as a communal facility for everyone’s benefit.

the community champion played an invaluable role in the day-to-day maintenance of the facilities.

during 2009 to 2011 a number of technologies were built at the commons. they include a bio-gas digester with biological water treatment facility, solar/wind energy generator and generators.

during the third phase, social processes for community buy-in were undertaken through environmental learning at the commons. district municipality officials, councillors and provincial government officials visited the commons and village to view the technologies. this helped in fostering strong partnerships with government departments, political structures (national and local), ngos and expertise groups. during this phase, three existing sustainability commons at three villages were included to establish

the concept of ‘ground trotting” (taking theory to practice on a much wider scale and specifically within an african context). the phase also included monitoring and evaluation as its crucial element.

as a way to ensure skills transfer and increase communities’ empowerment, local community members took part in many aspects of the project including construction and maintenance of the technologies. this links with skills for smmes in phase five.

Phase four involved replications of technologies into village homes where the community began to “use” the commons structure. during this phase, small scale sustainability projects were adopted. this phase required significant input through social processes and on-going support for the renewable technologies. workshops continued to be instrumental in building strong relationships in the villages. in addition, community champions continued to play a pivotal role.

during phase five, smmes were developed in the village to ensure local economic empowerment. this phase also saw the emergence of local economic development projects, the sustainability of which will only be a reality given efficient and effective local economic development.

following a recommendation by the community, an aquaculture project was installed as part of a cyclic system comprising fish farming, a hydroponic system (fed by the nutrient rich waters from the fish), and a poultry farm (fed by the vegetable clippings).

the Commons serve as a source of support to the local community as they go about establishing renewable energy technologies and sustainable practices in their own homes, thereby creating sustainable interventions for service delivery.

22 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

the sixth phase addressed some of the opportunities that exist for clustered sustainable agriculture in villages. in this phase village agricultural activities regenerating in sustainable clusters were extended. food security was consolidated. it is also in this phase that the non-existence of rural agricultural extension officers in rural communities came to light. agricultural extension officers propagate farming and development programmes aimed at reaching marginalised farmers or those who have little access to information. they serve as intermediaries between research and village agriculture. they also operate as facilitators and communicators, helping farmers in their decision-making and ensuring that appropriate knowledge is implemented in order to obtain best results.

Replicability of the Project

in order to encourage replicability of the project, the last phase of implementation, that is, phase seven, focused mainly on replication and sustainability of the commons and village concept. much attention was given to ways of dealing with challenges that can negatively impact replication of the project in other rural areas.

regular workshops were held during the implementation of the project to deal with a variety of environmental topics such as designing renewable energy technologies, plant propagation techniques, water sanitation, river water, soil erosion, etc. in addition, a booklet was also produced with step-by-step instructions as well as comprehensive

details on all designs to ensure guided replication.

Conclusion alternative energy technologies that were developed in the sustainable Villages project are easily replicable as they were developed from readily available material and were designed in a simple, non-complicated way.

throughout the implementation of the project, one of the key components was an integrated learning approach. this involved the department of basic education playing a crucial part in promoting the commons as a platform that can be visited by all schools in the district in order to learn about energy efficiency strategies.

23VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

SITA is the key ICT agency forGovernment and has over theyears built a track record ofimproving e-governance andenhancing service delivery toordinary citizens.

Today, SITA adds value to publicservice operations through theguiding principles of the ICTHouse of Values and mandate;m a i n t a i n i n g a s e c u r eenvironment for informations y s t e m s , i n c r e a s i n ginteroperabil ity, reducingd u p l i c a t i o n , l e v e r a g i n geconomies of s ca le andpromoting digital inclusion forall citizens.

As we look to the future andcement our position as thet r u s t e d I C T a d v i s o r t oGovernment, adopt ing arefreshed outlook will enable usto improve service delivery byproviding effective and efficientICT solutions that meet the needsof the public sector.

In the pursuit of excellence, thisvision will help SITA fulfil itsmandate to meet Government’score priorities and ensure valuefor money in the delivery ofrelevant, cost effective services.At SITA , we’re making changesthat matter- becoming the highperforming ICT agency to thepublic sector.

SITA…Delivering ICT value

24 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

QUALItYIN PRACTICE

Farhana cassim, Job shimankana Tabane Hospital, North-West province

This project was a finalist in the 2010 All Africa Public Sector innovation Awards

Introduction

more often than not, whenever people

talk about healthcare in our country,

one is struck by the high level of

dissatisfaction about bad service and

abuse that citizens are subjected to each

time they visit a health care facility.

from the media, citizens continue to

be fed with many spine-chilling stories

about hospitals and clinics. as a result,

there is total disillusionment where most

of us have become somewhat oblivious

of the many commendable efforts by

some public institutions who struggle to

improve their service delivery capacity.

one of these is the Job shimankana

tabane (Jst) hospital, a healthcare facility

tucked away in the north-west Province.

by sheer hard work and a resolute

determination to realise their philosophy

of “KaiZen”, Job shimankana tabane

hospital (formerly known as rustenburg

Provincial hospital), has become a shining

beacon and a model of excellence that is

not only spoken about, but also praised

all over the country.

Background

like many hospitals in our country,

the Jst hospital has had its fair share

of service delivery challenges poor

process management, poor patient

management, human resource

management, (staff performance) as well

as medicine management.

a case in point was the out Patients

department (oPd) Pharmacy area. here

the daily situation was near-chaotic: long

queues of frustrated, exhausted patients

snaked their way around the stuffy,

noisy waiting room, while tired and

over-worked pharmacy staff desperately

toiled away to clear what they could of

the many patient files that lay strewn

all over the place, often deep into the

evening.

a number of interventions were

implemented to improve the quality of

dispensing in the oPd pharmacy, i.e. the

post method and the sticker method.

with the post method, patients

would throw files into a post box

to be attended to on a first-come

first-serve basis. these boxes would

overflow, thereby making it impossible

to dispense according to the order

in which they were submitted, while

others simply got lost. the noise in

the overcrowded waiting room made

like many hospitals in our country, the Jst hospital has had its fair share of service delivery challenges poor process management, poor patient management, human resource management, (staff performance) as well as medicine management.


25VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

it impossible for patients to hear their names, thus further complicating the work of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants.

with the sticker method, patients would sit in the waiting room, each one with a file marked with a different coloured sticker. batches of 10 to 20 files would be read out and collected from patients, labelled and dispensed.

although the sticker method brought a measure of improvement, e.g. better file management and dispensing capacity, several glaring challenges still remained, particularly the management of stickers to ensure order amongst patients in the waiting room. it was very clear that a more innovative and effective strategy was required that would ultimately improve

the dispensing of medication and transform the overall service delivery for both patients and staff alike.

it was then that the famous Japanese KaiZen model was introduced.

The KAIZEN Model

anchored on the philosophy “learning by doing”, the KaiZen model draws from two Japanese terms: kai meaning to correct or change one’s behaviour and zen which refers to meeting moral/right things/good things. Kaizen is the code of daily life for Japanese people which emphasises the importance of correcting one’s behaviour in order to be in the right ethics or morals instead of concentrating on the muda or meaningless, non-value adding processes that need to be eliminated.

Implementing the KAIZEN method

the aim of applying the KaiZen method is to identify and get rid of delaying, non-value adding processes (muda processes) and in their place, identifying those processes that are value adding and are to be focussed on.

this would result in, as anticipated outcomes, drastic improvement of dispensing time and unnecessary overtime, further reduction of patient waiting time and cleaner and less crowded waiting areas.

as indicated above, first in line in the KaiZen method, is identification of non-value ‘muda’ processes. within the Jst hospital oPd pharmacy, such

improvement in back-office processing time achieved through the Kaizen method. the red line indicates the improved time spend per transaction.

26 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

inhibiting processes included cluttered and badly positioned pharmacy shelves, poor patient management resulting in overcrowding and inability to communicate, poor management of files and processed prescriptions.

for value-adding processes a whole range of initiatives were introduced in order to overhaul the system for improved performance.

four dispensing windows were opened, each with its own mini-chem. two officials were assigned per window, namely a pharmacist and an assistant pharmacist to work together. while the pharmacist dispenses, the assistant replenishes stock in the mini-chems to prevent unnecessary disruptions. furthermore, frequently used drugs were identified and organised in mini-chems for quicker dispensing time. flexi-time was introduced during lunch and tea times to ensure that at least three windows remain open.

more improvements were introduced in terms of seating arrangements, including the installation of steel rails and floor markings (footprints) to indicate entrance and exit points. in addition, a first-in first-out (fifo) queuing system was introduced together with new queue management processes that accommodated elderly and disabled patients.

in the waiting areas, good hygiene practices were adopted and enforced,

which included cleaning the areas every day before the pharmacy opens and prohibition of patients from eating or drinking in waiting areas.

a queue marshal was also introduced to guide and manage patients, amongst others making sure that only patients wanting medication, enter the waiting area. additional interventions in this regard included putting up clear notices about the new system written in afrikaans, english and setswana, as well as the numbering of dispensing and enquiry windows. also of great importance, more designated personnel were brought in to provide security.

Evaluation

as the KaiZen method was rolled out, evaluation measures were put in place to assess its impact and success: these included a user-friendly statistics form and recording of patients and items handled at each window for submission at the end of every day.

after the introduction of the KaiZen method, it was not long before improvements were reported in certain key areas of operation within the oPd pharmacy. first off, the quality of service to patients improved drastically as a result of the one-to-one interaction they enjoyed with pharmacists where they could receive the necessary information and counselling. in addition, stories about patients being sent home without

medication became a thing of the past because of the improved file management processes. all these had a positive impact on staff morale.

the KaiZen method has proven to be potentially sustainable. from the level of success in the oPd pharmacy, the method was rolled out to the wellness clinics as well as other referral sites whose performance directly affect the oPd pharmacy.

there too, the level of improvement in operations was quite commendable, thus reinforcing the impact that the KaiZen can have in terms of service delivery.

improvements were visible in many areas, including file management, patient registration, and consultation times for doctors, improved patient compliance with doctors’ appointment, and better patient management between pharmacy and referral sites, resulting in quick turnaround times and of course, increased patient satisfaction, even in the referral sites.

all these considered, what is remarkable and also worth noting is that no extra human resources were requested throughout the implementation of the project. in order to ensure continuity of the work ethic, new staff received in-service training on the method. in addition, teamwork and mutual support were highly encouraged, particularly during staff shortages.

the process of implementing the project began in the second quarter of 2012, with on-site in-service training in may. soon thereafter the various phases of the project were implemented with astonishing results reported thereafter, particularly in turn-around times, patient management and staff performance.

27VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Replicability

while the KaiZen method is expected to be widely adopted and replicated, based on its successes at Jst hospital in the north-west Province, there is one hospital so far that has shown great interest in the method, namely helen Joseph hospital in gauteng.

the process of implementing the project began in the second quarter of 2012, with on-site in-service training in may. soon thereafter the various phases of the project were implemented with astonishing results reported thereafter, particularly in turn-around times, patient management and staff performance.

Lessons learnt

the KaiZen method has proven to be most effective and efficient in transforming

and improving the performance capacity amongst staff members and service delivery to patients at Jst hospital. in addition, since its implementation, the method has yielded a variety of lessons which are worth sharing for the sake of service delivery improvement in our healthcare facilities.

first of these, is that unlike the many methods that continue to be widely praised, the KaiZen method appeared to be more operational than theoretical. it also yields visible changes within a short period after implementation. it is highly contingent and strictly requires proper buy-in and engagement from hospital management, staff and patients as a form of guaranteed ownership and sustainability.

however, two things stand out – firstly that working in a positive, friendly environment makes work lighter and, secondly, that simple improvements go a long way.

Conclusion

it will be a total fallacy to claim near-perfection referring to any method, including the KaiZen method. the reality is, it can and should be continuously reviewed to identify loopholes and possible areas of intervention to meet the dynamic needs of clients.

Possible improvements, based on the Jst hospital experience, include the use of digital displays to signal open counters, availability of computers at all dispensing windows, possible roll out of the project to all other internal departments which directly affect work at oPd and, ambitiously, roll out to all hospitals and local clinics to create synergy and quality of service to patients throughout.

morning 29 July [11:00] (before implementation) morning 30 July [11:00] (after implementation)

28 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Background

sludge treatment and disposal is costly, especially in developing countries. in first world countries, a number of highly technical processes such as sludge incineration and pelletisation are used. however, the use of such processes has always posed a challenge to south africa because of the high cost involved in procuring and maintaining the technology and the fact that they do not support government’s priority of job creation.

sludge appears during the initial wastewater treatment operation when solid matter is separated from raw incoming sewage and from waste micro-organisms used in the biological treatment process. the sludge is digested in concrete tanks at a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius for a period of about 14 days. the product, after digestion, is dewatered on filter belt presses, which increases the solids concentration from about 3% to 18% dry solids. this increase in solids concentration is required to facilitate additional treatment phases in order to comply with the 2006 sludge guidelines.

in the past, the dewatered sludge cake was disposed of in storage dams, an operation which is now in contravention of the new government guidelines. this operation was halted in 2001 and replaced by the transportation of the dewatered sludge by truck to private farms for disposal. although this practice increased the cost of sludge disposal, it complied with the previous sludge guidelines.

however, this was also later discarded because of the increased risk of groundwater pollution and/or sludge runoff to rivers and streams during wet weather periods. it became clear that south africa required urgent interventions that involved innovative and effective solutions to deal with sludge disposal.

in 2006, the department of water affairs published a document titled “guidelines for the utilisation and disposal of wastewater sludge” which later became a legal requirement of the wastewater treatment works licence conditions. at that time, Johannesburg water was not fully compliant with the new requirements and the responsibility for advising the company on finding a sustainable and cost-effective solution to the problem,

belonged to the manager, best Practice. Knowing that non-compliance of wastewater licence conditions is a criminal offence, Johannesburg water was under enormous pressure to resolve the situation urgently.

The Innovation

a new innovative method of sludge treatment was introduced in 2006. the solution adopted by Johannesburg water addressed all the problems listed above in a sustainable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.

in the new system, dewatered sludge is placed on the concrete drying bed, using a front loader, for solar drying of the sludge. when the bed is fully loaded, the sludge is turned daily using a mechanical sludge turner which enhances the drying process. once dried to the required solids concentration, the sludge is heaped and allowed to stand for a period of time to encourage heat generation through the action of micro-organisms.

the heap is turned weekly to ensure aerobic conditions throughout the heap. after a period of 21 days, samples of the

tREAtInGAnDDISPoSInGSEWAgE SLUDgE IN JOhANNESBURg

by Shaun Deacon, Johannesburg Water

Finalist, 2011 CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards


29VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

composting heap are taken and analysed by the laboratory for compliance with the sludge guidelines. only those heaps that satisfy the requirements are screened to remove any oversized material and then re-heaped and left for a further period to cure.

the final product called Jogro is disposed of either on farmland to build up humus in the soil or by nurseries, landscape gardeners, etc. the final product is classified as an a1a (highest classification) sludge in terms of the 2006 sludge guidelines.

solar drying of sludge on open concrete beds is an original concept along with the successful composting of sludge without the need of a bulking agent. Composting with the aid of a bulking agent is common practice throughout the world. the idea of composting without the aid of a bulking agent came about by applying the same requirements for composting with the aid of a bulking agent to composting without a bulking agent. the compost process, using a bulking agent, requires the sludge and wood mixture to attain a solids concentration of >40% dry solids before the composting process can proceed. in the case of Johannesburg

water, the sludge is solar dried to about 45% dry solids. the solar dried sludge is heaped and then composted in the usual manner. the operation reduces the cost of composting sludge by about 50% without affecting the quality of the final product.

Challenges

although composting had been practiced for many years in Johannesburg, there were still challenges that needed to be addressed. the biggest challenge was the problem of rainfall on the solar drying operation. for every day of rain, approximately two days of drying are lost. this only applies to sludge that has recently been spread on the drying beds. sludge that has been subjected to the drying process for some weeks does not appear to moisten again provided that the sludge is not turned while pools of rainwater remain on the drying beds. in some cases, the drying sludge is heaped before the ideal drying period has been completed and in this way, time is not wasted on waiting for pools of rainwater to evaporate. a slightly longer composting period is required for heat generation to occur in this instance. during the composting period, rain does not have any effect since only the outside of the

heaps are wetted and moisture does not penetrate to the interior of the heaps.

the second challenge was to convince farmers to stockpile the final product on farmlands during the non-crop growing season. most are unwilling to stockpile and so storage is created at the compost site during this period. for compost agents, the non-growing season is not a problem since they use the product for blending with other compost products and for the bagging of the blend for sales to nurseries, landscapers, etc. Conclusion

these sludge treatments and disposal method can be replicated elsewhere in south africa or other developing countries. however, due to the specific climatic conditions required for the successful implementation of this technology, areas that experience windy, dry and hot climates with relatively low humidity will benefit most. it is unlikely that coastal towns and cities with relatively high humidity and winter rainfall will implement this system. it is therefore ideal for implementation in most inland provinces of south africa.

30 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

tRAnSLAtIonPRojECthELPS BRIDgE LANgUAgE gAP FOR FOREIgN NATIONALS VISITINg LOCAL CLINICS

the City of Johannesburg in gauteng province, is home to a high number of migrants due, to a large extent, to its vibrant economic climate. the migrant population is estimated at 13% of the total population of the city inhabitants (rsa Census: 2011). each and every one of these people, migrants included, require access to public services, such as healthcare.

most migrants who live in the City of Johannesburg are found in the two suburbs of rosettenville and yeoville where, like everybody else, they also utilise the services of the nearby health services centres. as a result, the rosettenville and yeoville clinics have unique challenges with regard to communication which greatly compromise the quality of healthcare services to the patients. bad communication also fuels zenophobic tension among residents. this highlighted the need for translation services for foreign nationals at these facilities.

Project implementation

observing the enormity of the communication barrier in healthcare

by Oupa Montsioa, city of JohannesburgFinalist, 2011 CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards

facilities around the province, some key stakeholders, including the gauteng Provincial health department, Population Council, the refugee nurses association, african migrants solidarity and the City of Johannesburg undertook discussions on implementing a solution to the problem. a situational analysis was conducted as part of the project to determine the dominant foreign languages that are spoken by patients visiting these two clinics. accordingly, the major migrants’ languages identified included swahili, french, Portuguese, lingala and tshiluba. it was then decided to embark on a recruitment drive for foreign assistant nurses that can help.

the refugee nurses association assisted in identifying suitable foreign nurses that would be able to assist with translation services and also provide health care to patients.

once identified, the nurses were trained in a number of important matters such as the south african health Care nursing standards, the Code of Conduct of the City of Johannesburg and basic hiV and aids counselling and management.

Nature of the project

the newly recruited nurses act as translators and primary healthcare practitioners. in accordance with the project, any patient arriving at a healthcare facility for help and is unable to communicate well in english, is referred to a nurse with the appropriate language ability who then interviews the patient and report to the doctor. the nurse also offers this service during consultation, through to dispensing of medication, to ensure that the patient understands.

Project Successes

the project has been running successfully since may 2010. it has since been introduced in esselen, Joubert Park and mayfair Clinics. since implementation of the project, there are fewer incidents of xenophobic tension between migrants and the local community. there is also improved communication between health practitioners and migrant patients. waiting times have also improved because of the use of translators. furthermore, migrants are now treated effectively because of a


31VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

better understanding of their health issues.

during the three months after the project implementation, a total of 1 244 translations were done. of these 1 170 were one-on-one translations provided in consultation rooms. by July 2011, a total of 3 480 migrant patients were assisted through this project. it is important to note that even amongst migrant communities the number of females (2 652) that were seeking health care, is significantly higher than males. this trend has also been observed amongst non-migrant communities because it is believed that men are less likely to present themselves to healthcare centres because of the reluctance to discuss physical issues they

deem sensitive with health care providers who are mostly females.

the project has been introduced to three additional facilities with funding from the foundation for human rights through african migrants solidarity, and the Population Council. the project has indirectly offered employment opportunities to migrant nurses in a form of allowances to them for their translation services.

Conclusion

though generally successful, the project was not implemented without challenges. the major challenge is that health care professionals depend on the

translators for communication and are not completely sure that the message that is put across to the patient is correct. added to this, was the general nervousness on the part of translators themselves about their reception in these clinics.

however, on a positive note, the project has increased the recognition of refugee nurses as a potential skill pool that the south african health institutions can rely upon to deal with the crisis involving the shortage of health practitioners. this has also attracted interest from the international organisations, such as doctors without borders, that have indicated their interest in the project.

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Background

empathy is not about giving a person money, but by empowering and educating them, as well as changing their mindset. this is a story of a small police station that is not only meagrely resourced, but also services one of the most impoverished sections of our society, a community that is made up largely of farmworkers and ravaged by high levels of unemployment.

spurred on by their unwavering commitment towards service delivery, this group of champions working at the haenertsburg Police station, decided to take the initiative, put on their thinking caps, roll up their sleeves and make a difference in their community.

haenertsburg Police station forms part of the tzaneen Cluster in mopani district. the police station is 70 kilometres from Polokwane and 40 kilometres from tzaneen. a substantial number of people that is serviced by the police station, lives in the surrounding villages and depends largely on the adjacent farms for their livelihood.

the police station serves as a lifeline to this rural farm community. it handles


vICtIMSEMPoWERInGPRojECt:ThE STORY OF hAENERTSBURg POLICE STATION

by Winnie Nkosi - south African police service, Haenertsburg

recipient of the 2012 CPSI Special Ministerial Award

several cases, most of which are domestic violence reported by women. however, the facility doubles up as a multi-purpose centre that provides other non-policing services, such as distribution old age and child grants, as well as distribution of food parcels.

Aim of the project

the Victims empowerment Project (VeP) was set up primarily to help the community to conveniently access vital government services such as social grants and many other services without having to contend with transport challenges to travel all the way to sassa offices in Polokwane or tzaneen, further away from the community. furthermore, through the project, victims of domestic violence are provided with temporary overnight accommodation and food at the VeP centre, while children are given toys to play. in addition, traumatised rape victims and other victims of crime receive immediate counselling from a social worker and volunteers.

the haenertsburg VeP centre also runs various crime reduction activities and crime awareness campaigns to educate and empower women and children with a

long-term objective of totally eradicating crimes committed against them.

The Innovation

the VeP project is an initiative by the station management that targets the plight of farm and plantation communities who actually earn very little for living and may find themselves in dire situations if they become victims of crime.

while several initiatives of this kind rely solely on government funds, the VeP project stands out as a shining example of innovation and hard work, as the total sum of money used to build and equip the centre, was with money acquired through recognition in various awards programmes.

realising how small the haenertsburg Police station was in terms of structures and personnel, the police together with other interested parties changed an old garage and refurbished it into an attractive victim empowerment centre. local people equipped with literacy and understanding were recruited to serve as volunteers to assist the victims of rape, domestic violence and assault, by providing the necessary counselling, food for children

33VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

and overnight accommodation. a local social worker was also recruited to assist in these cases. later on the department of social development was approached to facilitate applications for birth certificates, government grants and to support in other areas of their responsibility.

Impact

the project positively impacts on crime prevention within the area and the reduction of contact crime. of great significance, is the fact that there is growing cooperation between the community and police in terms of investigation, reporting and preparedness to give evidence in court resulting in a high conviction rate. the impact is also experienced internally as members understand their roles and responsibilities when community members report crimes. batho Pele principles are becoming a reality and practically implemented. the project promoted the spirit of ‘people first’ amongst the employees at the station.

People have started to understand the police and their work and as a result citizens cooperate with the police. those who receive services at the centre are satisfied and are also provided with crime prevention guidelines pamphlets with further clarification, where necessary. the centre runs campaigns in accordance with the south african Calendar and observes campaigns such as sixteen days of activism of no violence against women and children, child protection week, etc.

the VeP project centre’s year plan also includes visits to ngos, churches and magoshi on moral regeneration issues. the youth centre --- byatladi, haenertsburg saPs youth against crime, which was established by the social Crime Prevention Coordinator – continues to provide a phenomenal service engaging the youth in different activities, while together with the centre and police they conduct crime awareness campaigns,

drug and alcohol abuse campaigns as well as prevention of early pregnancies.

the use of community members as volunteers has had a positive impact in ensuring good relations and trust in the police, with community members freely sharing vital information, including reporting crimes, thus helping in combating crime.

many people are interested in volunteering, to such an extent that they come to the centre and ask if they can assist with anything. there is an increase in the number of people benefiting from the centre’s services, including food parcels for the poor and unemployed.

Sustainability

the project receives support from the haenertsburg communities that include farmers of the plantations, villages, etc. they provide the project with toys for the children, bed linen, kitchen utensils and toiletries. on a monthly basis, the volunteers together with the Police, are having door to door crime prevention campaigns at the farms, plantations and villages and through this campaign they are not only sensitising the community to crime prevention, but are also marketing the centre.

the volunteers are also trained by the department of social development and funded by them to attend the training workshops, which includes catering. the police station gives in-service training at the station for those who have not yet attended the training workshops.

the cluster management and provincial management are also supporting the centre to ensure its sustainability and growth.

the project has applied for ngo certification at the national department of social development which, once received, will enable the leaders to

formally ask for donations and raise funds for payment of volunteers.

Replicability

the project can be replicated by other south african police stations in that the plan is very easy to follow and implement. stations with similar challenges and problems can effectively implement the project after adapting it to their unique circumstances. an oil stain effect can be encouraged through presentations and a visit to the station and the centre. the top management can also motivate station commanders to implement the project. the cluster commander of tzaneen has seven stations under his command and can encourage all other stations to implement the project in order to gain the same good results with regard to the crime rate and related problems. all mopani district stations can be motivated by the benefits and results if the project is replicated at their stations.

Conclusion

Public servants should take the initiative to look after vulnerable members of the society, such as women and children. such a commitment begins with a deep understanding of the day to day challenges of the communities that we serve.

34 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

FRESh PRODUCE ONLINE ShOPPINg SYStEMInjohAnnESbURG

there are many, many challenges facing farmers in south africa. however, one of the most serious is selling their produce internationally to other countries outside our borders.

it is for that reason that the Johannesburg market has pulled out all stops to conjure up a solution for that menacing challenge – an online shopping system for buyers from outside the country. this system has enhanced the Johannesburg market’s global reach to compete on a global platform. the Johannesburg market has grown considerably into a food hub for countries in the sadC region and is the first on the continent to offer online shopping of fresh produce.

Background

national fresh Produce markets in south africa are facing stiff competition from chain retailers. this has resulted in a declining volume of trade compared to years ago when the fresh produce industry was regulated. with most municipalities relying on local fresh produce markets as a source of revenue, this suggests that local markets must find creative ways of expanding

their footprint beyond their realm of operation, while adhering to applicable laws and regulations. an expansion programme must be adopted to spread the risks associated with market contraction.

online shopping is one effective way of addressing this challenge. the online shopping initiative has reduced the distance for bulk buyers of fresh produce from neighbouring countries and beyond. instead of having to physically visit the market or appoint a local agent to buy on their behalf, buyers are now able to save significantly on travel and accommodation costs. this also means cheaper food for consumers.

Innovation

the project gives buyers from other countries an opportunity to place orders for fresh produce online. it allows them to view prices with all the grading and sizes. the buyer is also able to select a preferred shipping method virtually, without having to visit the market. this is a critical development because it addresses a number of issues, which includes transforming the way the

market interacts with stakeholders through the use of technology to make business far more efficient.

Impact

the Johannesburg market is the biggest fresh produce market in the world – turning over a million tons a year. the market is a national treasure in south africa and plays a much larger role in ensuring food security, not only in the country, but the continent as a whole.

the highlight for the market’s online system is that it offers buyers from other countries an opportunity to trade online and save significantly on travel and accommodation costs. this is a significant improvement in service delivery to the poor people across the continent as it enables them to have access to fresh produce at affordable prices.

the online shopping system is increasingly becoming a useful tool for generating business leads from buyers located beyond the country’s borders. since its launch, the turnover value of fresh produce purchases by foreign

by Thomas Mawasha, Johannesburg Market

Finalist, 2011 CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards


35VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

against this challenge, the system had to be tested with select buyers who expressed enthusiasm and welcomed the initiative and gave it a thumbs-up.

the other challenge was that fresh produce is normally bought upon sight. to overcome this challenge, images of a large variety of fresh produce are constantly being loaded for buyers to see the quality they can expect to get when shopping online.

the key lesson is that senior management must play a leading role in stimulating a culture of innovation in an organisation. having an open-door policy and demonstrating through action the willingness of management to accept ideas, is important. thus, innovation is only sustainable where there is a supportive leadership and innovative will. this includes encouraging all employees, however junior, to come forward with innovative ideas.

offering incentives for innovative ideas can do some tricks in encouraging staff to share and come up with ideas. it also creates a healthy competition in the workplace which could lead to the improvement of service delivery and the development of even better innovative concepts. embracing new concepts, however, means that braveness has to be exercised to implement the ideas. the fear to take risks and the lack of resources could be barriers in innovation drives.

the Johannesburg market is the biggest fresh produce market in the world – turning over a million tons a year.

buyers has topped r2,2 million in a short period of two years. this is a sign of the effectiveness of the system.

Sustainability

the project is sustained through regular (daily) updating of the product list and prices. advertising in print media also contributes a great deal in alerting potential buyers of the easy way to shop at the market. the market also makes extensive use of its website which currently sees an average of 12 000 visitors per month. with the online shopping system available as a link on the market’s website menu and the logo featuring prominently on the home page, it helps sustain the project and make it relevant.

in addition, research is conducted on a regular basis, while system testing is carried out with selected buyers to ensure the system remains user-friendly, relevant and useful to the target market. to entrench the online shop as an additional channel, phase two of the project will see the system made available in french and then Portuguese languages to cater for the non-english buyers on the continent and beyond.

Challenges and Lessons

the biggest challenge as regards the system entailed developing a fraud-proof online shop which buyers can use without any fear of divulging their personal financial details. to mitigate

36 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

in south africa, road freight has become the most effective mode of transport, particularly when exporting goods to cross-border countries that are landlocked as well as internally, between provinces and to the ports of durban, Cape town, and Port elizabeth via the national roads. this does not come without problems. the heavy reliance on road freight has seen an increase in road accidents involving trucks.

in 2009, following an analysis of accidents on national roads, the department of transport in KwaZulu-natal, through the road traffic inspectorate and road safety, approached n3 toll Concession, a company managing the n3 highway, with the idea of implementing the wellness Campaign in order to manage road freight transport.

Improving the health of Truck Drivers

the purpose of the wellness programme was to provide a resource for addressing the freight industry challenges in the areas of driver safety and wellbeing through strategies that would present opportunities for improved health to

truck drivers. studies conducted have reflected that 80% of fatal accidents on our roads are as a result of driver fatigue. these studies have further found that almost 80% of truck drivers suffer from ailments unbeknown to them. as a result, many of them continuously drive long distances, partly due to pressures exacted by their companies to them, and also the need to continue earning a wage. amongst those who consult health practitioners, very few truck drivers manage to honour their monthly check-up appointments due to the irregular hours that truck drivers work. as a result, this project is thus aimed at making health facilities accessible to truck drivers so that they can receive proper health care at their convenience.

What the project entails

the project is mainly implemented on the n3 highway in the KwaZulu-natal province. the roadside campaign is set up in conjunction with other role players who render services to and support the freight industry. on the day of the campaign, proper signage is erected before the wellness site to inform drivers that the clinic is in

operation. law enforcement officials assist with stopping and parking of the heavy motor vehicles safely away from the road. truck drivers travelling on the northbound and southbound freeways are invited to the clinic for free testing and screening. this affords them an opportunity to rest for a while since stopping on the freeway is prohibited. the roadside clinic screens for the following common illnesses:• Hypertension(bloodpressure);• Eyesight;• Heartdisease;• Malariascreening;• Tuberculosisscreening;• Audiotest;• Nutritionalinformation;• Physiotherapy and exercise

information;• Voluntary HIV testing and

counselling; and• Diabetes(glucose).

Stakeholders and resources

Prior to each campaign, truck companies on the n3 toll Concession route control centre’s databases are notified about the planned event so that they can encourage drivers to participate.

IMPRovInGthEWELL-BEINg OF TRUCK DRIVERS IN KWAZULU-NATAL

P. Parmanand, KwaZulu-Natal road Traffic Inspectorate

This project was a finalist in the 2011 CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards.


37VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

stakeholders involved in the project are rti Pietermaritzburg, road safety, department of health, emergency rescue and medical services, local municipal traffic and south african Police services.

rti and saPs create a safe holding area on the southbound and northbound freeway with a capacity to park at least twelve heavy motor vehicles at the same time. truck drivers are able to receive a wide range of health care services provided by, amongst others, eye care specialists, dieticians, physiotherapists, audiologists, nutrition advisors, VCt Counsellors, tb professionals, healthy lifestyle Counsellors and registered nurses.

the roadside clinic has two modified containers – the one container serves as a fully equipped clinic, with a qualified nursing sister who provides primary healthcare and also has a wide range of medication for various diseases. the second container, which is also very well equipped, serves as an awareness education and training facility.

all drivers that volunteer for testing are given a handy little bag that contains

bottled water, a healthy snack lunchbox as well as promotional and educational material with important nutritional information about healthy alternatives to eat while on the road and also reflective material jackets and armbands.

Impact of the Wellness Clinic

the economy of the country is greatly affected when an accident involving a heavy motor vehicle occurs. the salvaging of these vehicles and the load can take numerous hours causing unnecessary delays to other motorists. the cause of these accidents is mostly due to the health and wellness of the drivers, which could have been avoided. many hours spent by law officials at these scenes prevent them from continuing with their core function, which is law enforcement. the road traffic inspectorate in Pietermaritzburg is taking service delivery out to the people by providing them with the wellness clinic.

the project also educates truck drivers on road safety and on how to lead a healthier lifestyle. the campaign provides an effective platform for long-

term monitoring in terms of disease treatment progress at the truckers’ convenience.

Conclusion

the wellness clinic initiative has created a ripple effect in other towns along the n3 toll route. because of the huge success of this pilot project at the mooi Plaza, n3 toll Concession have encouraged other towns to follow suit. as a result, the project is being implemented in many other locations such as bergville interchange, harrismith, Villiers wilge Plaza, grootvlei, heidelberg weighbridge, and other provincial roads in KwaZulu-natal, e.g. Kokstad.

the project has gone from being a KwaZulu-natal initiative to other provinces such as the free state, gauteng and mpumalanga. this is indicative of the impact and success that the project is having in the country.

38 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

thEInnovAtIonhUB SCIENCE AND TEChNOLOgY PARK

The Changing Face of Africa

when the then british Prime minister, harold mcmillan, made the infamous speech about the winds of change sweeping through africa, he was obviously referring to the political developments on the continent. today, more than 50 years later, you would be excused for evoking the same speech in view of many socio-economic currents that are buffeting our beloved continent with so many changes.

africa is evolving in many facets at a rapid pace. demographically, the population of the continent is largely young, with many lifestyle and commercial implications. between 2000 and 2009, the proportion of economically active people accounted for 71% of the total population, the highest in the world. africa recorded an urbanisation growth of 41%, also the highest in the world. during the same time, literacy grew by 9%. these aspects provide challenges and also opportunities. today, africa is the second fastest growing region in the world, after asia, with seven of the top ten fastest growing countries being on the african continent. the main questions, however, are: what will sustain this growth; and how will africa deal with the emerging challenges of

Mainstreaming Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Gauteng

by Dr. McLean Sibanda

a youthful population and increased urbanisation?

africa has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates globally that exceeds that of developed nations such as the united states and the united Kingdom. for every ten mobile phones owned, nine, i.e. 92%, show some degree of interactivity. while the gross domestic product of the usa is nine times that of africa, africa has twice as many cellular phones as the usa. south africa is ranked sixth in terms of global internet usage. those who do internet browsing on their mobile phones are twice as many as those that use desktop computers. there are significant opportunities to be unlocked from this power of being connected, at both consumer and enterprise levels. mobiles promise to provide real value across all sectors of the population in south africa and africa at large. we have seen the power of mobiles in terms of those that normally don’t have access to banks (the unbankable), through m-Pesa in Kenya, as well as access to markets and information in respect of farmers.

together, these demographic and lifestyle changes amount to a range of new opportunities in africa, from leveraging

transformation in urban-rural and tradition-modernisation relationships, to the reinvention of education, governance and work around mobile communication technologies. mobile iCt is fast becoming a game changer for africa in terms of enterprise levels, bottom of the pyramid applications and service delivery.

South Africa and the Knowledge-Based Economy

the shift from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, places a significant importance on generation and exploitation of knowledge, as the basis for competitiveness and improvement of the quality of life of citizens. whereas resources, typically mineral resources, used to be the currency of a resource-based economy, knowledge or intellectual property is the new currency of the knowledge-based economies. those that are able to create and utilise relevant knowledge will be able to compete globally. an oeCd review of south arica’s innovation system suggests that south africa has relatively weak innovation input, such as low expenditure on research and development (r&d), a short supply of science and engineering graduates and researchers and inadequate innovation enabling skills. these, coupled with some discontinuities

InSIGhtS

39VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

within the ecosystem, account for the weak output such as scientific publications, patents and new products and services from research activities at public institutions. it is therefore evident that to compete in a globally competitive environment, south africa needs to invest in knowledge generation to produce local intellectual property that can, in the first instance, contribute towards addressing the needs of its citizens whilst exploiting the emerging opportunities across the continent and the world.

a renewed investment in the various components of the innovation eco-system, including ensuring a more enabling policy and regulatory environment will start to stimulate the broad-based knowledge generation and innovation enabling skills development required for knowledge generation and exploitation. there is a need to prioritise needs-based or market relevant research through stronger academia-industry-community-government engagements and incentivise private sector investment in innovation to drive competitiveness and growth.

The gauteng Provincial government Innovation Strategy

in recognition of the importance of innovation to ensure gauteng remains a smart Province, the gauteng Province approved the gauteng Provincial government innovation strategy in february 2012. the strategy’s three strategic objectives are:• Improvementof the competitivenessof

firms in strategically identified sectors;• Increasing the efficiency of the public

sector in service delivery; and • Enhancingtheroleoflocalinnovationto

increase the quality of life of the citizens of gauteng through scaling up of frugal innovations.

Strategic Objective 1: Improving the competitiveness of the province’s economy

this objective aims to achieve:• Internal efficiency – calls for the

establishment of an industrial innovation unit that will ensure increased global competitiveness of local industry through supporting innovation in manufacturing processes, industrial design and logistics.

• External environment – improve the environmental factors that support innovation by providing communication networks, innovation spaces, education, enabling regulation (standards), as well as evangelism and advocacy (public awareness);

• Local value chains – implement industry-specific programmes, innovation vouchers and b-bbee incentives to support local industrial development and the ability of strong backward-linked industrial sectors to capture both knowledge and value.

Strategic Objective 2: Improving the efficiency of public sector service delivery

this objective covers three outcomes: • Supply-side stimulation – link

government procurement to innovation community towards

public sector innovation by creating specialised mechanisms to highlight government demand and opportunities for innovation;

• Demand-side stimulation – use government expenditure to fund mechanisms such as innovation competitions and pilot projects to stimulate the development of innovative solutions to specific government service delivery challenges; and

• Commercialisation – identify means by which government-led innovation can be commercialised and disseminated to a wider market, including other government entities.

government procurement is an important tool that can ensure development of local capacity and development of public service innovation.

Strategic Objective 3: Improving the livelihood and quality of life of gauteng’s citizens

this objective highlights two important strategic outcomes that need to be achieved:• Inclusive socio-economic innovation

expanding on the indigenous knowledge and innovation capabilities within communities through identification of alternative economic value chains with potential to provide innovative solutions to address social challenges, such as food and job security in communities; and

• Commercialisation and scaling up ofcommunity originating innovations, with a focus on identifying community

africa is evolving in many facets at a rapid pace. demographically, the population of the continent is largely young, with many lifestyle and commercial implications. between 2000 and 2009, the proportion of economically active people accounted for 71% of the total population, the highest in the world.

40 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

developed innovations or frugal innovations that provide solutions to community challenges and fostering the scaling up of those solutions through replication and incubation.

The Innovation hub

the innovation hub management Company (“the innovation hub”), a subsidiary of the gauteng growth and development agency (ggda), which is an agency of the gauteng department of economic development, manages south africa’s first internationally accredited science and technology park, established in 2005, by the gauteng Provincial government to sustain gauteng’s position as a smart Province. accounting for over 34% of south africa’s gdP, over 56% of patent output and 25% of south africa’s population, gauteng’s economy is important for south africa’s competitiveness. accordingly, the innovation hub acts as the focal agency responsible for catalysing innovative solutions to the social and economic challenges of gauteng.

according to its mandate and focus the innovation hub drives socio-economic development and the competitiveness of gauteng through innovation, by:- fostering skills development and

entrepreneurship and incubating new innovative companies to generate jobs;

- catalysing r&d commercialisation;- creating new business opportunities

and adding value to mature companies in high-tech sectors;

- building attractive spaces for emerging knowledge workers; and

- enhancing synergy between industry, academia and government.

Skills Development and Leadership Programme

in contributing to stimulation of competitiveness and innovation within

firms and across government, tih has a number of programmes directed at industry relevant human capability expansion with a focus on ensuring employability of youth. one of these programmes is the Coachlab skills and leadership Programme, a partnership between the innovation hub and industry. this programme, supported by miCt seta, has received funding from the Jobs fund to enable its expansion from 31 students in 2012 to 100 students in 2013. run over a period of nine months, Coachlab seeks to build industry-tailored business leadership and technical skills in the iCt sector. Post graduates are placed in a working environment to gain relevant, practical, hands-on experience. based on its success, this programme has been expanded to the Joburg Centre for software engineering at the university of Johannesburg, with further expansion to the Vaal area in 2013.

Entrepreneurship Support

the innovation hub’s maxum business incubation is the flagship enterprise development programme with a focus on fast tracking the establishment and growth of early stage technology and knowledge-based businesses. it operates mainly in the iCt, mobile, green economy and biosciences sectors, with linkages to egolibio business incubator and mlab both located at the innovation hub. since inception in 2001 this programme has assisted over 84 companies. Currently, maxum houses 21 companies in the pre-incubation stage and five start-up companies in the main incubation stage.

in addition, the innovation hub, in partnership with the Council for scientific and industrial research (Csir), the world bank, the finnish government through the department of science and technology, and nokia established a mobile application laboratory known as mlab southern africa (“mlab”). this is the second mlab in africa. the first one was established in

nairobi, Kenya. mlab provides a platform for young entrepreneurs to develop iCt applications that can run on mobile phones to cater for a variety of needs within communities, government, as well as business. a number of workshops have been held in the past year, supported by companies such as Vodacom, nokia, microsoft and google to support mobile applications development.

another ground-breaking endeavour for the innovation hub is the launch of the gauteng accelerator programme in biosciences (“gaP: biosciences”), focussed on building entrepreneurial skills in the biosciences sector as well as identification and incubation of the most promising biosciences ideas with a potential for socio-economic development impact in gauteng. this programme, in collaboration with the emory university in atlanta, georgia, usa, is supported by the department of science and technology.

The green Economy

the innovation hub has also started implementing the Climate innovation Centre (“CiC”), based on a business plan developed through a stakeholder consultative process by the innovation hub together with infodev, a world bank unit. the CiC, a green accord project, is directed at reducing gauteng’s carbon emissions through supporting climate change and green economy innovations of smes. the CiC has already launched a number of projects to demonstrate its commitment to the green economy, and ensure realisation of some of the objectives of the gauteng green economy strategy.

another green economy project is the moringa olifeira beneficiation Project based in moloto Village near tshwane. this project involves the planting of a tree called moringa, an indigenous indian plant. the tree can be beneficiated into a large number of value-added products, such as biodiesel, acid oil, food

41VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

supplements, flocculants and animal feed as well as food. Currently, the tree has been planted over an area of 74 hectares and has already provided a number of jobs to the moloto community. a local company in moloto has been set up to manage the commercialisation of products derived from the moringa and also acts as a nursery for moringa seedlings.

in the previous year, tih’s green economy team also piloted an off-grid power project by providing to over fifty indigent households in winterveldt, tshwane, with solar powered electricity and gas heating systems. whilst there is a strong interest in identifying more sustainable energy and food sources for citizens, a key principle in all these projects is the provision of jobs and creation of local businesses.

Stimulating Innovation in the Public Sector

the gauteng innovation strategy highlights the importance of inclusive innovation as well as open innovation approaches. these approaches are increasingly becoming common in the private sector. for example, Proctor and gamble has recently adopted a strategy of Connect and development (“C&d”) as opposed to the traditional research and development (“r&d”) approaches

based on reliance on in-house r&d. the C&d strategy recognises the potential of innovative solutions from parties outside P&g’s research laboratories and seeks to harness these solutions to complement its limited r&d efforts and provide more competitiveness.

this open innovation approach has the potential to also stimulate entrepreneurship and fast-track adoption of innovative solutions to address government service delivery challenges, as well as private sector needs. tih has launched the innovation hub open innovation solution exchange, to facilitate engagement between government departments and private entities, based on open innovation principles, as a way to address service delivery challenges and also provide competitiveness at a firm level. a number of challenges of both the public and private sector have already been published, including seeking solutions to improve the detection and reporting of crime in informal settlements, eliminating duplication in the dispensing of medicine from clinics, and detection and avoidance of electricity meter bypassing. the tih is working on ensuring that the public sector does not spend money developing solutions that may already exist. it is important to ensure that procurement regulations

recognise the power of innovation and enable adoption of innovative solutions identified through the innovation hub’s solution exchange.

the gauteng innovation Competition, another programme run by the innovation hub to identify solutions that can easily be deployed to improve service delivery, assists in identification and supporting budding innovators in gauteng.

Conclusion

there is a need to ensure that a culture of innovation is inculcated throughout our society, with each employee in municipalities, state-owned enterprises, government and private sector being encouraged and incentivised to come up with solutions to address barriers affecting their efficiency. in general, the role of the innovation hub is critical in encouraging collaboration. innovation cannot be left to chance and requires nurturing. the innovation hub provides venues, including its state of the art conference venue, for emerging knowledge workers to meet, network and collaborate and continues to work at creating an enabling environment for innovation in its broadest form. it contributes towards cultivating tomorrow’s leaders today.

another ground-breaking endeavour for the innovation hub is the launch of the gauteng accelerator programme in biosciences (“gaP: biosciences”), focussed on building entrepreneurial skills in the biosciences sector as well as identification and incubation of the most promising biosciences ideas with a potential for socio-economic development impact in gauteng.

42 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

as countries across the globe scramble to find ways to put a halt to the growing threat of climate change, south africa has also not been resting on its laurels.

earlier this year, the minister of environmental affairs, ms. edna molewa unveiled zero emission electric vehicles, also called green cars.

this ground-breaking project is, in essence, south africa’s contribution to the global call for the reduction of environmentally harmful gases that continue to destroy the ozone layer, resulting in global warming.

south africa, together with several other countries, signed a commitment in Copenhagen to reduce its levels of carbon emission and thereafter formulated policies that would guide the process to achieve that.

south africa hosted the CoP17 Climate summit in durban in 2011 which gave impetus to the whole idea of building green cars.

nEWSbRIEFS

ELECtRICCARSON ROADS SOON

according to minister molewa, the green transition in the automotive sector represents an enormous opportunity which south africa cannot afford to miss. south africa is the 18th largest manufacturer of vehicles in the world and represents 80% of the continent’s vehicle output.

the need to move towards a more energy-efficient economy presents opportunities for the country, molewa said. “the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy can create large numbers of green jobs across many sectors of the economy and indeed can become an engine of development,” she said.

the department of environmental affairs considers itself the conscience of the nation when it comes to safeguarding the environment and intends to step up on its drive to green most of government’s infrastructure to be environmentally friendly.

speaking at the event, energy minister, ms. dipuo Peters, said for government to achieve the greenhouse gas mitigation target of 42% by 2025, practical solutions needed to start now. mr. Peters explained that south africa’s target should be zero emissions.

according to the minister the automobile sector was accountable for about 60% of oil consumption and 30% of carbon emissions in the country.

a number of companies in the automotive industry are increasingly showing interest in environmental issues. according to mike whitfield, managing director of nissan sa, his company is unwavering in investing in electric vehicles and this is in response to the growing global expectation.

“what we see here today is only the beginning. we are thrilled to enter into this partnership with the south african government. the 100% electric vehicle has been successfully introduced in many countries around the world,” whitfield said.

electric vehicles are powered by electricity generated from solar panels so their drivers do not have to worry about going to a filling station.

to charge the vehicle at home can take about seven hours using the normal home charger while quick charging at a public station can take approximately thirty minutes. the challenge of these cars is that they do not produce any sound and in the uK this was raised as a safety concern. – sanews.gov.za

43VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

in april 2013, the south african health

sector witnessed a groundbreaking

achievement with the roll-out, for the

first time, of the fixed-dose combination

(fdC) of antiretrovirals (arVs).

this move has been widely acclaimed

as a much anticipated relief by many

patients across the country who would

most likely default at some point in their

lives because of the daunting challenge

of having to swallow three pills every

day to boost their immune system to

ensure the body’s defence against the

development of the condition.

last december, health minister dr

aaron motsoaledi, announced the

inclusion of the fixed-dose combination

for use in the first line treatment of hiV

positive people. this move aims to

improve adherence to treatment and

patient outcomes.

the fixed-dose combination –

containing emtricitabine, efavirenz and

tenofovir – is a multiple antiretroviral

drug combined into a single pill, which

helps reduce pill burden.

FIXED-DoSECoMbInAtIonARvs RELIEF FOR PATIENTS

health deputy minister, dr gwen

ramokgopa, said the department was

very excited that through research and

innovation, the health sector has been

able to produce the fixed-dose

treatment.

“one of the priorities in

the our 10-point plan is

to improve research and

innovation in the health

sector. a fixed-dose tablet

will enable patients to

have it easier to take their

medication. adherence

will improve and it will

also create space in health

facilities.

“it will also reduce abuse by

others because sometimes

these tables are stolen

for other uses and it will

reduce those other risks,”

ramokgopa said.

she explained

that when the

announcement of the

fixed-dose treatment was made,

the stock was already available and

each province will implement roll-out

according to their programme.

roll-out of the fixed-dose

combination (fdC)

of antiretrovirals

(arVs) will see

the three tablets

being phased out

– sanews.gov.za.

one of the priorities in the our 10-point plan is to improve research and innovation in the health sector. a fixed-dose tablet will enable patients to have it easier to take their medication. adherence will improve and it will also create space in health facilities.

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44 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

south africa has relaxed its tax laws.

south africa could become the mecca of innovation where scientists and engineers are able to develop technologies – thanks to the recent tax breaks aimed at stimulating research and development in oil, gas and mineral exploration

before october 2012, taxpayers could not claim r&d expenditure incurred in oil and gas, mineral exploration or prospecting in south africa.

the introduction of new legislation allows for r&d expenditure in these fields to be claimed back. to top it all up, also included is a “super” tax incentive that applies to other industries conducting r&d work.

taxpayers can claim up to 100% of money spent on research and development, plus an additional 50% “super” tax incentive on pre-approved projects. based on a tax rate

nEWSbRIEFS

SAtobECoMEthEMECCA OF INNOVATION

of 28%, this equates to a net r14 tax saving on every rand of identified r&d expenditure.

the initiative is jointly run by the department of science and technology, the treasury and the south african revenue service (sars).

many companies have welcomed amendments made to the income tax act and a number of mining companies that never participated in the programme have now applied for the r&d tax incentive.

since the announcement of the new tax breaks last year, various establishments including oil and gas and mining companies have shown significant interest in the initiative. this include, most impressively, some london-based clients who moved most of their research and development components to south africa thus reaffirming our potential position of the innovation hub of africa.

on average, energy and resources companies spend about 1.2% of total turnover on r&d, whereas the average spend in south africa is 0.8% of turnover.

in total, south africa’s investment in r&d as a proportion of gdP is about 0.92%, according to the latest figures. the mining sector contributes only 10%.

australia’s mining sector contributes 24% to the country’s 1.4% r&d-to-gdP ratio.

the recent amendments to the tzx laws will stimulate growth in south africa’s r&d expenditure and growth. additional r&d will in turnboost the country’s knowledge base and its infrastructure. this can onoly be good news for the economy to grow and create employment - sanews.gov.za

45VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

there is a growing concern about the

historically bureaucratic and over-

regulated working environment in the

public service which chokes and throttle

all effors of innovation.

according to Professor lekoa

mollo, director-general of Public

administration, leadership and

management academy (Palama) leaders

in government and public institutions

must allow research and innovative

thinking in their organisations. he

explained that a culture of research

in any organisation brings about

sustenance of good practice.

speaking at a joint Commonwealth

association for Public administration

and management (CaPam) and

Palama regional conference, mollo

said research entails a systematic

process and method of exploring,

analysing, and verifying knowledge

in the construction of theory or good

practice.

“the critical role of CaPam in enhancing

good governance and excellence

in public administration across the

Commonwealth is through focused

RESEARCh,InnovAtIonNEEDED IN PUBLIC SERVICE

research and the delivery of expert

workshops, learning programmes and

thematic conferences,” he said.

the conference took place over a period

of three days under the theme: “Public

Service Research and Innovation: A

quest for sustained service delivery.”

according to the conference

organisers, participants were given

ample opportunity to interact with

political leaders, international experts

and eminent practitioners. the main

objective of the conference was to

examine the gains and challenges of

research and innovation in the Public

service and the role of leaders and

management practice at all levels of

government.

this would further motivate public

servants to engage on possible means

to enhance the knowledge base and

service oriented practice in the public

service.

Various issues that are pertinent

were discussed at the conference.

these include leadership change

for productivity and innovation,

entrepreneurship in public service

innovation, research orientation of the

public service, training and development

for state delivery capacity enhancement

and fostering a culture of responsive

leadership and management.

as a non-profit association, CaPam

represents an international network of

1100 senior public servants, heads of

government, leading academics and

researchers located in over 50 different

countries across the Commonwealth.

the association is guided by

international leaders that believe in the

value of networking and knowledge

exchange and the promotion of good

governance for the betterment of

citizens across the Commonwealth. –

sanews.gov.za.

[speaking at the same conference,

the Ceo of the CPsi, ms thuli radebe

emphasised the important role of

public sector entrepreneurs in ensuring

sustained service delivery. referring to a

number of examples, the demonstrated

how innovation in the public sector is

driven by such entrepreneurs - ed]

the main objective of the conference was to examine the gains and challenges of research and innovation in the Public service and the role of leaders and management practice at all levels of government.

46 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

earlier this year, transnet and the Council for scientific and industrial research (Csir) signed an agreement which will see the two working together to identify possible areas of cooperation in all areas of transnet’s operations. these areas include port, rail and pipeline operations. to date, thirteen specific projects have been identified, including looking at energy usage and reducing deaths at railway level crossings, among others.

the contract signed is for a three-year period. however, transnet hopes for a permanent arrangement in the future. over the next seven years transnet will be encouraging innovation among artisans.

safety at railway level crossings has been identified as an area for cooperation between transnet and the Csir.

according to transnet group Chief executive officer, mr. brian molefe, transnet is looking at different technologies that will make it difficult for drivers to try and beat the trains at level crossings. this is in order to reduce the number of fatalities at level crossings.

tRAnSnEt,CSIRSIGnINNOVATION, RESEARCh AgREEMENT

transnet will spend r150 million per year on the partnership.

Csir Chief executive officer, dr. sibusiso sibisi, said the Csir was excited about the project. “the on-going interaction really is a milestone for south africa,” he said, adding that the agreement was likely to last well over the three-year period.

work between the two has already begun. transnet has previously used the

services of the Csir on various specialised projects that include monitoring of the quality of water in all ports as well as waste water monitoring for the durban to Johannesburg fuel pipeline.

the Csir is one of the leading research and development, technology and innovation institutions on the african continent. - sanews.gov.za

work between the two has already begun. transnet has previously used the services of the Csir on various specialised projects that include monitoring of the quality of water in all ports as well as waste water monitoring for the durban to Johannesburg fuel pipeline.

nEWSbRIEFS

47VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

recently, dr. aaron motsoaledi, the minister of health, launched a government initiative to boost human resources development in health research and innovation.

this important project which was named the national health Phd scholars Programme, is a partnership between government and the private sector. it has a seed funding of r15 million of which r5 million will be contributed by government and r10 million by the private sector.

the objective of the programme is to produce one thousand Phds in all health professional fields over the next ten years.

SAbooStShEALthRESEARCh CAPACITY

minister motsoaledi described the launch of this much anticipated programme as a dream come true. south africa has, for a long time, been striving to improve the overall quality of health.

at the launch of the programme, dr. motsoaledi also named the first thirteen recipients of the scholarship. within the context of dwindling expertise, these men and women symbolise a spark of hope in the future of the country’s battling health sector. they will conduct valuable research in various critical areas of healthcare and will be expected to return to their institutions after completing their doctorates.

said dr. motsoaledi to the thirteen recipients, “our expectation is that you will become a new generation of health researchers, who will contribute immensely towards increasing the production of properly trained healthcare workers in the large numbers that the country requires.”

the new health research leadership produced under this scheme will also address the dire need for academic healthcare professionals to train and inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals in existing and new universities.– sanews.gov.za

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48 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Introduction

according to the united nations (un)

world Population Prospects 2008

revision, the world population has

reached 6,8 billion with 5,6 billion (82%)

people living in the less developed

regions. it is projected to reach 9,1

billion by 2050, an increase close to the

combined populations of China and

india today. most of this growth will

be in developing countries, where the

population is projected to more than

double, from 835 million inhabitants in

2009 to 1,7 billion in 2050.

there is general agreement that human

industrial activity has released vast

quantities of greenhouse gases, about

900 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, 450

of which have stayed in the atmosphere.

about 80% of carbon dioxide emission

is caused by industrialisation and

FUtUREWAtCh

POPULATION DYNAMICS AND CLIMATE ChANgE: WhAtAREthELInKS?

Prof. Judith Stephenson, University College London, UK,Karen Newman, population and sustainability Network, UK and Susannah Mayhew, London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

A version of this article was first published in the Journal of Public health 2010, Vol. 32 No.2, pp. 50 – 56

the remaining by land use, such as

deforestation. there is strong evidence

that the burning of fossil fuels since the

beginning of the industrial revolution has

already caused a 0,75°C rise in global

temperatures and 22 cm rise in sea level

during the twentieth century. during the

twenty-first century, the earth’s average

surface temperature rises are likely to

exceed the realistic target threshold

of 2°C above preindustrial average

temperature. the intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (iPCC, the

leading body on climate change,

comprising over 2 500 international

scientists) estimates that by 2100, global

temperatures could rise by 1,1 to 6,4°C

and sea level by 28 to 79 cm. in addition,

weather patterns will become less

predictable and extreme climate events,

such as storms, floods, heat waves and

droughts, will occur with increasing

frequency and severity.

it is already clear that the impacts of

climate change will fall disproportionately

upon developing countries and the

poorest sectors within all countries,

thereby exacerbating inequities in health

status and access to adequate food,

clean water and other resources. a recent

lancet uCl Commission on managing

the health effects of Climate Change

identified climate change as ‘the biggest

global health threat of the twenty-first

century’. the principle cause of climate

change is high consumption in developed

countries, while the impact of climate

change will be worst on poor people in

developing countries. fast population

growth, fuelled by high fertility, hinders

the reduction of poverty and the

achievement of other internationally

agreed development goals. while fertility

has declined throughout the developing

world since the 1970s, most of the least

developed countries still have total

a recent lancet uCl Commission on managing the health effects of Climate Change identified climate change as ‘the biggest global health threat of the twenty-first century’.

49VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

fertility levels above five children per woman, resulting in rapid population growth and pressure on natural resources, weak infrastructures and the ability to adapt to the effects of climate change. yet, population is arguably the most neglected dimension of climate change.

how is population growth related to climate change?

Mitigation and adaptation

it is important to recognise two distinct ways in which population issues can be linked to climate change: mitigation (reducing the greenhouse gases that cause climate change) and adaptation (reducing vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change). few experts doubt the importance of population in relation to climate change adaptation, but the link between population and climate change mitigation is more controversial.

the statement that ‘people cause climate change’ is often made to emphasize that climate change, as it currently unfolds, is a human-induced, rather than a natural, phenomenon. however, the principle cause of climate change is high consumption by people in developed countries where population growth has been low or negative. at national level, therefore, there is a lack of association between growth of greenhouse gas emissions and growth of populations during the last century. it is more accurate to say that consumers, rather than people, cause climate change; there is enormous variation in greenhouse gas emissions between individuals with high consumption levels in developed nations with low fertility rates, and individuals with low or negligible consumption in poor nations with high fertility rates. in other words, climate change is driven more by consumer behaviour than simply by population numbers.

while acknowledging the lack of association between population growth and greenhouse gases in the past, the relation between these two dynamics in the future becomes more critical. lower-middle income nations, such as China, with rapidly developing economies, are already contributing an increasing proportion of the growth in global greenhouse gas emissions. in simplistic terms, it is the pattern of development and consumer behaviour in such countries that will determine the nature and extent of links between population dynamics and climate change in the future. this does not detract from the view that ‘larger future world populations will face greater challenges than smaller ones in achieving climate-sustainable emissions’ and that ‘the total human impact on the earth system scales with population’.

in starker terms, China has claimed that its one-child policy, which is estimated to have reduced the population of China by 500 million (from a projected 1,8 billion without such a policy to the current level of 1,3 billion) should be seen as contributing to its overall actions on climate change.

rapid population growth has a negative impact on human development, provision of basic services and poverty eradication; these effects are magnified and become more urgent in the context of climate change. reducing the rate of population growth has long been a development goal because of the detrimental effect of rapid population growth on economic development.

no country, barring a few oil-rich states, has risen from poverty while still maintaining high average fertility. in developing countries, where birth rates have successfully declined (particularly asia and latin america) by 25% to 40%, the resulting economic growth can be directly attributed to fertility decline. the

link between slowing population growth and enhanced economic development is well documented, particularly at the micro level.

rapid rates of population growth in sub-saharan africa are impeding its ability to even contain the number of people living in extreme poverty. although there has been a significant reduction in the percentage (from 45% in 1990 to 41% in 2004), the actual number of people living in extreme poverty continues to rise (by more than 55 million) due to population growth. high population growth, fuelled by high fertility, impedes progress towards achievement of the millennium development goals (mdg) and sustains poverty, the central phenomenon underlying vulnerability to climate change. this situation is illustrated by a series of developing country-led reports, the national adaptation Programs of action (naPas), which document the most pressing vulnerabilities to climate change impacts and the most urgent adaptation priorities. nearly all (37 of 40) naPa reports refer to population growth as a significant factor that exacerbates the harmful impacts of climate change. they describe the impact of population growth on fresh water availability; on land degradation and soil erosion through over-grazing; deforestation and migration to coastal areas that are vulnerable to rising sea levels, floods and cyclones.

In brief:

rapid population growth acts in tandem with climate change to deplete key natural resources, such as water, fuel and soil fertility;

rapid population growth can cause a significant increase in demand and often mismanagement of natural resources that are compromised and in

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decline due to environmental variability and climate change;

Population growth heightens human vulnerability to climate change in numerous ways and may force people to migrate to areas that are either environmentally marginal or more at risk to the negative impacts of climate change. for example, population growth in ethiopia is resulting in soil degradation, dwindling land holdings and low agricultural productivity, which increases pressure on poor people to move either to environmentally marginal or urban areas. this leaves them more vulnerable and more likely to exploit new resources in an unsustainable way, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and degradation.

Migration

migration is a crucial aspect in the link between population and climate change. large-scale population movement is likely to intensify as changing climate leads to the abandonment of flooded or arid and inhospitable environments. the resulting mass migration will lead to many serious health problems both directly, from the various stresses of the migration process, and indirectly, from the possible civil strife that could result from chaotic movement of people.

millions of people now living in low-lying coastal areas may need to leave their homes if sea levels rise as predicted by most climate-change experts. Protracted and severe droughts may drive more farmers from rural areas to cities to seek new livelihoods. residents of urban

slums in flood-prone areas may migrate to rural areas to escape danger. and in some instances, gradual environmental degradation may erase income-earning opportunities, driving some across national boundaries. the reasons for which people migrate or seek refuge, are complex, making it hard to forecast how climate change will affect the future of migration. nonetheless, climate change seems likely to become a major force for future population movement, probably mostly through internal displacement, but also to some extent, through international migration, particularly for small island states.

the majority of environmental migrants have so far come from rural areas within the least developed countries. but in the future, there may indeed be unprecedented levels of environmentally induced migration out of urban areas, as rising seas threaten to inundate densely populated coastal areas, where 60% of the world’s 39 largest metropoles are located, including twelve cities with populations of more than 10 million. one-third of the world’s population currently lives within 60 miles of a shoreline. there is an urgent need to encourage the growth of cities in climate-safe areas.

it is not only rapid population growth, but rapid urbanisation that is causing problems for the poorest countries. while fertility in urban areas is generally much lower than in rural areas, in-migration can be high and by 2050 it is estimated that 80% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, putting huge pressures on

infrastructures important for health (water, sanitation and health services) as well as employment opportunities. social support networks in urban areas are often weak as rural family bases are weakened. informal urban settlements are growing and people living in them are often faced with severe health problems. Climate change could exacerbate these problems by increasing in-migration to urban areas from rural agricultural land that is threatened by climate change, or by increasing migration from very poor to moderately poor countries, thus increasing pressure on their infrastructures, as well as by direct impacts on the populations of coastal mega cities.

migration is a coping strategy employed by many rural communities. migration associated with environmental decline is usually characterised by short distance and long-term movements, and while there are dire predictions for huge numbers of environmental refugees, these very high figures are unlikely to materialise. however, migrant groups are more vulnerable to a range of stressors including impacts from climate change and poor access to health care.

Why is discussion of population and climate change a sensitive issue?

links between population dynamics and climate change are complex and often controversial. it is politically and ethically important that any discussion of the links between the two recognises that northern countries with low population growth are overwhelmingly responsible for climate

migration is a crucial aspect in the link between population and climate change. large-scale population movement is likely to intensify as changing climate leads to the abandonment of flooded or arid and inhospitable environments.

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change, and that southern countries with high population growth have so far contributed very little to climate change.

sensitivities in discussing ‘population’ at government or international levels have persisted since human rights concerns were raised in the 1960s and 1970s over aggressive ‘population control’ policies, notably in india and China. in 1994, the landmark international Conference on Population and development sought to dispel notions of coercive family planning by promoting a broad rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health. nevertheless, sensitivities remain and discussion of family planning and ‘population’ in the context of development has only re-emerged in the last couple of years.

at the community level, the legacy of ‘population control’ programmes casts a long shadow. there is frequently suspicion about the motivation of those who seek to put in place family planning programmes, particularly in developing countries where cultural, social or religious practices oppose ‘artificial’ or ‘foreign’ methods of reducing fertility. barriers to the acceptability of family planning take many forms, including religious opposition, particularly from the catholic church, adverse political influence, including the us administrations of recent Presidents bush and regan, and legal and policy prohibitions, despite convincing evidence that maternal mortality and morbidity can be significantly reduced by increasing access to family planning services.

the complexity and sensitivity of the issues make it imperative that debate is rights-focused and constructive. if the present scenario continues, in which the

industrialised north does not radically reduce its carbon emissions, then advocating reduced population growth in the south risks appearing to blame the victim, i.e. blame climate change on population growth in the south, instead of acknowledging that the south will suffer most from climate change caused by consumption in the north. recent publicity on links between population growth and climate change has tended to polarise the issue, with advocates for significant reductions in carbon emissions identifying population growth as, at best, a distraction from the main issue, and, at worst, an attempt by the ‘population control’ lobby to attract climate change funding for their work. in fact, very few organisations deny that reductions in both consumption in the north, and global population growth are important; it is often a question of which they emphasise more.

What can be done now to improve the situation?

discussion of strategies to reduce carbon emissions is beyond the scope of this article. however, one strategy, contraction and convergence,16 must be highlighted because population is a key factor in its chance of success. Contraction and convergence seeks to reduce overall carbon emissions to a sustainable level, according to an equal share of emissions per person globally. industrialised countries would dramatically reduce their emissions while developing countries would increase theirs up to an internationally agreed ‘ceiling’ level, to allow for, and stimulate, development and poverty reduction. Population is the major denominator of this model and a major determinant of whether a globally feasible

and equitable per capita emission figure can be achieved.

second, increased investment in family planning is urgently needed for achievement of both development and climate change goals. family planning offers a unique solution among medical interventions. it reduces poverty, and maternal and child mortality; increases primary schooling, and women’s education and empowerment; increases environmental sustainability and mitigates the effect of climate change through stabilisation of global populations.

recent evidence indicates continued high levels of unmet needs for family planning and other reproductive health services. despite gains in recent years, an estimated 215 million women who want to avoid a pregnancy are not using an effective method of contraception. some countries have experienced little recent change in the use of modern family planning and others continue to have very low levels of use. in bangladesh, Kenya and Pakistan, the use of modern methods appears to have stalled at about 47%, 32% and 20%, respectively, among married women of reproductive age. in a number of west african countries, such as niger and nigeria, fewer than 10% of married women practice modern contraception.

the impact of family planning in reducing maternal mortality, unsafe abortion, infant and child mortality, makes it an extremely cost-effective investment, as confirmed by the latest figures. if all women needing modern contraceptives were to receive them, the cost of family planning services would increase from the current level of $3,1 billion to $6,7 billion, but substantial savings would accrue. for example, reducing unintended pregnancies by meeting family

recent evidence indicates continued high levels of unmet needs for family planning and other reproductive health services.

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planning needs would save $5,1 billion that would otherwise be used to care for pregnant women and newborns. the cost of providing a package of family planning, maternal and new-born services to all women in developing countries who need them, is equivalent to an average yearly cost of $4,50 per person ($3,30 for maternal and newborn care and $1,20 for contraceptive services). this cost compares favourably with other cost-effective health interventions such as anti-retroviral therapies and childhood immunisations.

despite the evident need for family planning services, their contribution to achievement of the mdgs and their cost-effectiveness, there is a lack of global investment in family planning. the decline in funding for family planning over the last fifteen years must be reversed.

although there was global agreement following the international Conference on Population and development (1994) about the value of sexual and reproductive health and rights for a wide range of international development priorities, funding for family planning services has declined over the last fifteen years. this has, in part, been due to the lack of visibility of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the mdgs’ framework — an omission that was partially addressed in 2005 by the addition of target 5b, under the maternal health goal, to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health by 2015. substantial evidence exists to demonstrate the contribution that sexual and reproductive health and rights can make to the mdgs.

Recommendations for action on population and climate change

• increased investment in family planning to address unmet needs, promote rights-based development and contribute to climate change adaptation.

• increased investment in female education to enable control of fertility and develop a skilled labour force to maximise potential demographic dividends.

• effective leadership to ensure that population and its importance in relation to climate change is discussed at the most influential levels, nationally and internationally, to bring about joint action.

• expansion of successful, locally-led action on climate change, including the national adaptation Programmes of action, to ensure that climate change adaptation reflects local knowledge, skills and expertise.

• forward planning in relation to services, housing, land and property to accommodate expected changes in migration patterns in response to the effects of climate change.

• stronger initiatives to encourage development of cities in ‘climate-safe’ areas.

What are the major gaps in knowledge about population dynamics and climate change?

Population dynamics have not been integrated systematically into climate change science. research is urgently

needed to clarify the contribution of population growth, migration, urbanisation, ageing and household composition to effective climate change mitigation and adaptation programmes.

relatively little research has been conducted to explore the links between population dynamics and climate change. the most comprehensive modelling analysis to date using climate forecasts from the iPCC identifies population growth, economic growth, technological change and changes in patterns of energy and land use as the major driving forces of Co2 emissions. however, the treatment of population in the models has been questioned.

while the modelling generally shows positive associations between population size and emissions outcomes, other important variables such as urbanisation, ageing and household size have not been adequately taken into account. thus far, the iPCC has not addressed population dynamics, or the potential policy implications in relation to climate change in any depth.

Climate change could exacerbate these problems by increasing in-migration to urban areas from rural agricultural land that is threatened...

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2012CPSIPUbLICSECtoRINNOVATION AWARDS FINALISTS AND WINNERSEvery first Friday in November is an important event on the CPSI Calendar. The 2nd of November 2012 was even more important as it marked the 10th aniversary of the cpsi public sector innovation Awards. Ligbron Academy’s innovative eLearning project received the coveted Public Sector Innovator of the Year Award from the deputy Minister for Public Service and Administration, Ms Ayanda dlodlo.

AWARDSAnDACCoLADES

2012 CPsi innovator of the year, ligbron academy received their award from the deputy minister of Public service and administration, ms ayanda dlodlo.

the ePharmacy management system at the dihlabeng hospital, department of health in the free state won in the category innovative use of iCts for effective service deliverydepartment: dihlabeng hospital, healthProvince: free state

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mpumalanga department of rural development and land administration’s CrdP (Coordinated rural development Programme) initiative won in the category innovative Partnerships in service delivery.

Permis, the electronic Performance management information system from the limpopo department of department: Co - operative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs won in the category innovative enhancements of internal systems of government.

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AWARDSAnDACCoLADES

in January 2013, eGov Connect was named by the innovation hub as the winner of the mobile category of the gauteng innovation Competition. eGov Connect pulls communication between citizens and government, as well as fault reporting and social media into a unified user experience to enable easy interaction with public officials. Smokeless Coal won the green category for its combination of waste coal, clay and water to produce a

INNOVATION hUB’S gAUTENg InnovAtIonCoMPEtItIonWInnERSAnnoUnCED

smokeless energy source that burns longer than conventional coal.

the gauteng innovation Competition is an annual contest that seeks to foster innovative entrepreneurial ideas to spur growth in the gauteng economy whilst contributing to job creation and the reduction of poverty. this year, the competition focused on issues that are critical to municipalities.

the competition is run by the innovation hub, africa’s first accredited science and technology park. it is one of the initiatives of the gauteng innovation strategy approved by the provincial cabinet in february 2012.

the innovation hub is a subsidiary of the gauteng growth and development agency (ggda), which is an agency of the gauteng department of economic development (ded).

mr. mclean sibanda, the Ceo of the innovation hub; mr younaid waja, tihmC board member; mr andrás findt, e gov Connect winner in mobile technology; honourable nkosiphendule Kolisile, meC for gauteng department of economic development; mr Joshua leibstein, e gov Connect winner in the mobile technology; dr thele moema, ggda board member; and mr Zeth malele, tihmC Chairperson of the board.

front from left to right: ms maria dhliwayo; ms annikie Khumbuza; ms rose rhulani baloyi; ms onica thandi matsheke. back from left to right: mr siphiwe ngwenya, acting group Ceo of ggda; mr mclean sibanda, Ceo of the innovation hub; meC nkosiphendule Kolisile; dr thele moema, ggda board member; mr Zeth malele, tihmC Chairperson of the board with smokeless Coal green technology winner.

Issued by The Innovation hub Management Company. For more information, please contact Linah Nematandani, Communication and Marketing Manager on [email protected], alternatively call 012 844 0030 or 076 7179878, follow us on twitter @Innohub and Facebook InnohubZA

the gauteng innovation Competition is an annual contest that seeks to foster innovative entrepreneurial ideas to spur growth in the gauteng economy whilst contributing to job creation and the reduction of poverty.

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Vela Tsotsi was named as second prize winner in the mobile category for its ussd-based crime reporting tool, while Gov + Me took third prize for its use of mobile location information to connect citizens with government information, specific to their area of residence.

in the green category, SavvyLoo won the second prize for its low cost, waterless toilet which is easy-to-assemble and clean, presenting a sustainable alternative to prevent water pollution from waterborne sanitation and pit latrines.

Handy Power Chargers was named as third prize winner in this category for its kinetic chargers used for laptops, desktops, cell phones, lamps and radios where there is no grid electricity supply.

over one hundred submissions were received by the time entries for the competition closed on 14 november 2012. this was followed by an intensive adjudication process to identify the top ten submissions in each category. the stringent competition called for innovations that address specific focus areas identified by sector and municipality representatives, and required innovators to complete a draft business plan indicating their expected market and likely investment requirements.

there were specific focus areas within the two themes. the green technology theme prioritised entries related to four main areas including solar energy, waste to energy, energy efficiency and water management. the mobile technology theme prioritised mobile applications that can improve Citizen safety, Citizen Participation, and transport and traffic management.

the meC for the department of economic development in gauteng, nkosiphendule Kolisile, said: “the gauteng innovation Competition is an important mechanism for building a culture of innovation within the province. this is critical for new enterprise development and creating new opportunities for decent employment

creation. the finalists for this year’s competition represent a new generation of entrepreneurs who will lead the economic transformation of our province and country towards a prosperous and inclusive society”.

the acting ggda Ceo, siphiwe ngwenya commended the finalists for reaching this stage of the competition. “the finalists in each category have responded to specific challenges that affect our society and we expect that these innovations will have a significant impact on service delivery, economic growth and job creation in the future. we congratulate the winners and the innovation hub on their success and look forward to seeing these innovations come to market,” he said.

according to the innovation hub Ceo, mclean sibanda, the gauteng innovation Competition has once again attracted a mix of concepts from individuals and small enterprises across the province. “the winners will receive significant support to commercialise their innovations, not only in the form of prize money, but also through mentorship, intellectual property advice and linkages to additional funding sources”, he said.

Previous winners of the first gauteng innovation Competition have made significant progress in the development of their innovations and in accessing potential market partners. a mobile railway information service application developed by mobility, GoMetro, which was a prize winner in last year’s innovation Competition, has been adopted by metrorail in the western Cape and in gauteng.

About ggDA

the ggda, previously known as blue iQ and geda, is a merged entity by the gded. the ggda is the implementation arm of the gded and assists the department in leading, facilitating and managing sustainable job creation and inclusive economic growth and development in the gauteng City region. for more information

on ggda, please contact mr. stephen watson, executive: group marketing, Communications and strategic Promotions on + (27) 83 380 3359.

About The Innovation hub

the innovation hub, a subsidiary of the ggda is africa’s first internationally accredited science park and a full member of the international association of science Parks (iasP). it is strategically located in tshwane, south africa’s executive capital in the ‘smart’ province of gauteng. as the leading knowledge-intensive business cluster in south africa, the innovation hub implements initiatives identified in the gauteng innovation strategy and green economy strategy to advance the economic development and growth of the province through innovation. the innovation hub has created a unique space for high-tech entrepreneurs, world-class businesses, academics, researchers and venture capitalists to meet, network and prosper.

For more information visit www.theinnovationhub.com or call +27 12 844 0000, follow us on Twitter @InnovHub and Facebook InnovHubZA.

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IntERnAtIonALInnovAtIonS

ELECTRONIC SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMEnt(e-SLA)

if you asked people anywhere in the world what exactly contributes to the failure of many projects and programmes, whether in government or the private sector, the most common answer that you will most likely get, is the lack of monitoring and evaluation. the government of the national Capital territory (nCt) of delhi is no different.

a number of years ago, the government of the national Capital territory (nCt) of delhi in india introduced a department wise Citizen Charter in accordance with the “delhi (right of Citizen to time bound delivery of services) act, 2011”. the Citizens’ Charter is meant to be a tool kit of initiatives and ideas to raise the standards of each service.

of particular importance regarding the charter, is that it compels government to always follow the principles of accountability, performance measurement and transparency.

furthermore, the government implemented an electronic monitoring platform, named e-sla, to strengthen the ability of monitoring government’s performance in meeting target deadlines, as well as standards of services delivered to the citizens of delhi.

Background

before implementation of the e-sla platform, the government of nCt of delhi faced a myriad of basic service delivery challenges, most of which had to do with protracted bureaucratic processes which resulted in long queues at the service counters. for instance, to obtain a ration Card, a citizen would submit an application at the food and supply office. because of the usual delay in issuing the card, subsequent tracking of the status of the application by the citizens was a pretty costly exercise.

with the new system in place, the applicant receives a unique application id as soon as they submit the application at the department. using this, the applicant is able to track and monitor the status of the application online.

how it all began

at a conference held in may 1997 and attended by Chief ministers from various states of india, an action Plan for effective and responsive government was adopted for all levels of government. this followed the observation by the Central department for administrative reforms and Public grievances (darPg) that “neglect in quality service delivery is a punishable offense”.

to take this further, the government of nCt of delhi introduced the electronic service level agreement (e-sla) enacting “the delhi (right of Citizen

Government of the National Capital Territory of delhi, India

a number of years ago, the government of the national Capital territory (nCt) of delhi in india introduced a department wise Citizen Charter in accordance with the “delhi (right of Citizen to time bound delivery of services) act, 2011”. the Citizens’ Charter is meant to be a tool kit of initiatives and ideas to raise the standards of each service.

a version of this case study was published in Commonwealth innovations review Vol. 18, no. 3, september 2012

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to time bound delivery of services) act, 2011” in september 2011 to give its citizens the ‘right to service’ in a time bound manner.

the e-sla system consists of the following processes:• Theprovisionofauniqueapplication

id to a citizen applying for any service, to allow him to track the status of the application online (www.esla.delhi.gov.in).

• Officially gazetted delivery times(deadlines) for various departmental services that are binding.

• In case of a delay in deliveryof a service, a citizen can claim compensatory cost of rs.10 per day per application to a maximum of rs.200. this cost will be paid immediately by the officer involved in the service delivery.

• Every department has to appointofficers who will act as “Competent officers” and “appellate authorities”. the Competent officer will have the power to deduct a penalty from a defaulting government servant in case of a delay in service delivery. in case the government servant is not satisfied with the imposition of the penalty, he may appeal to the appellate authority against the penalty.

as per the act, where a officials fail to perform their duty resulting in the delivery of services beyond the stipulated time period, they are liable to pay a compensatory cost to the citizen. this compensatory amount is deducted from the salary of the erring official who failed to deliver the service in time.

the e-sla project has been designed for efficient and time bound delivery of citizen services. with the help of this project, departments are able to define the responsibility matrix for various citizen services. since the inception of the e-sla project, higher officials of the government are able to monitor the delay in delivery of public services. moreover, it is easy and convenient for a citizen to track his/her application on the internet with the help of an application reference number. Citizens can track the application status online so there is no need for the citizen to visit the departments multiple times, which ensures less direct interaction with government officials. improved and simplified government processes can be seen as an outcome of the project. the departments have done process re-engineering of the service delivery.

Lesson learned

improving the service delivery system is a big challenge for any government and the result through e-sla system has proved this right. with the implementation of such a monitoring tool, it is realised that “getting monitored through dashboard can be a good deterrent for inefficiency”.

the e-sla monitoring system successfully reflects how iCt tools can be leveraged for complementing government processes and ensuring a transparent manner of functioning. this system presents an example of the direction that service delivery should take. with e-governance on the rise,

software on the lines of e-sla can prove handy for monitoring service delivery and ensuring timely service provision and transparency across the country.

Conclusion

there were many objectives linked to the Citizen Charter including: 1 setting clear standards of service

that users can expect; monitoring and reviewing performance; and publishing the results, following independent validation, where possible, to instill confidence in users.

2 to ensure that government is accessible to citizens and provides them with full information about services they require.

3 Consult and involve citizens as well as relevant stakeholders to ensure responsive and relevant service delivery.

4 Promote equality and fairness and respect of privacy in the delivery of services to all citizens.

5 ensure the effective use of all government resources by providing value for money services to citizens and maintaining balance between efficiency and effectiveness (quality not sacrificed for savings).

6 innovation with a view to improve service delivery capacity by encouraging creativity and the pursuit of excellence using new technologies.

improving the service delivery system is a big challenge for any government and the result through e-sla system has proved this right. with the implementation of such a monitoring tool, it is realised that “getting monitored through dashboard can be a good deterrent for inefficiency.

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IntERnAtIonALInnovAtIonS

E-COURT - CREATINg SOLUTIONS FoRtIMELYjUStICE

Background access to justice is arguably one of the most fundamental human rights universally – hence the saying ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. and yet in malaysia the provision of justice was a nightmare, not only to the wider community, but most importantly, the officials themselves because of tardy and convoluted processes and systems.

the system was all paper-based and thus riddled with many challenges. retrieval of hardcopy files was very difficult and time consuming, made even more difficult by the way in which they were stored.

there was enormous frustration amongst lawyers who had to stand in long queues outside the registrar’s Chambers and various courts waiting for their cases to be called out.

these gremlins came to a dead end, thanks to the e-Court system, an innovative technology-based system that revolutionised and improved the entire system, making it more effective and quick.

The Innovation

the courts in malaysia have long been cognisant of the benefits of digital

technology in improving their system of delivery and expediting the disposal of cases. the Judiciary was able to effect substantive changes to the workplace when the top leader of the Judiciary released his blueprint for reforms and changes. this began with the computerisation of the courts in 2009 with the introduction of the e-Court system, which continued through 2010. with the e-Court in place, the courts have been able to improve their delivery system to the public. the e-Court has transformed the adjudication system, enabling the public to reap significant benefits while modernising and globalising the Judiciary. initiatives and efforts continue to be implemented to allow for an optimum utilisation of the system.

based on the concept of ‘green court’ with less usage of papers, two high courts in Kuala lumpur were used as pilot projects in 2004. the complete e-Court system in malaysia began in march 2011.

the e-Court system comprises the Video Conferencing system, Case management system (Cms), Queue management system (Qms), Community and advocate Portal system and Court recording and transcription (Crt). an e-filing system (efs) was later introduced to complement the e-Court

system. the programmes are aimed at reducing time and costs, not only to the court, but its stakeholders too. significant changes have entirely led to efficient court management.

the Case management system (Cms) provides an integrated system for the management of cases. its objective is to allow for computerised file tracking, scheduling of trials, retrieval of statistics, management reports and monitoring. Previously, all cases were registered manually at the registration counter where the clerk in charge would open the case file and cause the registration to be recorded in a ‘cause book’ for case tracking from the time of registration to its final disposal. the Cms alleviates the problem of delay in retrieving files and general tacking. this Cms has not only improved the management of court system, but lawyers too, get the benefits of the system by managing their court diaries efficiently.

the Queue management system (Qms) is designed to manage the scheduling and waiting time for cases, which are fixed for hearing before the registrars, each day. with its implementation, lawyers record their attendance using the kiosks provided in the Court premises. Confirmation of case listing and availability of opposing party is

Federal Court’s Office, Malaysia

A version of this case study was published in Commonwealth Innovations review Vol. 18, No. 3, September 2012

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provided. it also registers attendance and provides information in relation to the venue of the hearing. the lawyers also have the option to register for a short messaging system (sms) alert, which enables them to get information via sms when their case is ready to be called. Previously, before the Qms was introduced, lawyers had to queue outside the registrars’ Chambers, along the corridors of the courts, waiting to be called in. the calling of cases was done by the clerk of the court.

the Court recording and transcription (Crt) system enables proceedings to be recorded digitally in Court. this obviates the need for judges to laboriously record the proceedings manually in handwritten format. the video recording can be converted into various forms, such as Cdr, dVd or on a flash drive. lawyers can apply for

a copy of the recording at the end of the day. the Crt provides visual and auditory recordings of proceedings in Court with the use of video and sound recording systems. with this system, authorised users can watch live proceedings while security and privacy controls are retained.

the efs enables lawyers to file legal and court documents online anytime and anywhere they like. Payment can then be made via internet banking. lawyers can search for files, extract files and know the status of their documents filed. Previously, hard copy files were used and they occupied a lot of space. retrieval of these files was largely dependent on file searches which usually took a lot of time. files moved from table to table and, unless they were properly recorded, there often was a problem with mislaid files. the problem was also caused by hard copy

files not being properly stored. with the efs in place, all these problems were overcome.

Long-term Significance

the e-Court has brought significant changes to the court management and justice delivery system, especially in two main areas - filing and trial systems. the introduction of information technology recording systems in the criminal courts has significantly reduced the duration of trials, as opposed to the manual recording of the evidence before. apart from saving judicial time, this system enables the judge hearing the case to concentrate on the witnesses and their evidence. a case that used to take four days to complete now takes only one quarter of the time. this is the greatest impact of the e-Court which benefits the public at large, especially those involved with the court.

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during her speech rendered at the occasion of the official launch of the open government Partnership (ogP) held in september 2011 at the united nations, dilma rousseff, President of brazil, said: “open data government is not only an instrument of information technology aimed at monitoring the public budget, but fundamentally, a good platform for the construction for broader citizenship and, as a by-product of this process, improving the delivery of public services.”

this was, in essence, an affirmation of the importance and relevance of open government as a pillar in strengthening participatory democracy and accountability.

the open government Partnership (ogP) initiative is co-chaired by brazil, south africa and six additional founding countries, plus nine civil society organisations. Presently, there are fifty-seven countries and numerous organisations operating under ogP standards. this demonstrates the success of this partnership.

Open government in Brazil

as a founding member and co-chair of the open data government initiative, brazil has emerged as one of the forerunners and leading champions in the adoption and promotion of open government as

an ideal model of good governance and clean administration.

brazil views the open government Partnership (ogP) as a pillar that inherently supports some of the fundamental objectives of the brazilian constitution on good governance and accountability. ogP

is, in essence, a form of collaboration that is primarily aimed at consolidating principles that are enshrined in articles 2 and 37 of the Constitution of brazil (1988), which establish obligations for control, check and accountability of public officials horizontally, through institutions, and vertically, by the people.

oPEnGovERnMEnt IN BRAZIL

by Alexandre Navarro, Vice-Minister of State of National Integration

Article based on a resentationmadeattheUnPAn-CPSIworkshopon“nextStageinopenGovernmentData:UsingDatafortranspar-ency, Accountability and Collaboration” held in Cape Town, October 2012.

IntERnAtIonALInSIGht

63VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

this system, which essentially promotes the implementation of checks and balances, can be traced back to the original framework that was introduced in the distant eighteenth century by madison and hamilton from the united states of america.

brazil acknowledges and reaffirms, additionally, the necessity of the expansion of ogP, as well as creating new procedures for complete exposure of public information, whether individual or organisational in nature, of a government body or public official, in both cases all financial, contractual or property data.

this task is more urgent when estimates indicate a new configuration in world geopolitics in the coming years, principally for developing nations. studies from PricewaterhouseCoopers project that, by 2050, brazil will be, according to a criteria that calculates gdP by us dollar parity, the fourth largest economy of the world, with a gdP of nine trillion us dollars, behind China, the united states and india, each with fifty-one, thirty eight and thirty-one trillion, respectively.

this projection, if confirmed, will produce more financial flows towards local governments. Consequently, if control mechanisms are insufficient, it is probable that there will be an increase in the levels of corruption.

ogP, therefore, supported by efficient hardware networks and broadband systems, associated with higher qualification of public services, is the best architecture to deal with this new world scenario.

in brazil, citizen engagement processes began in 1988. the process started as a people’s initiative with participatory budgeting and legislation, aimed at producing popular laws and monitoring investments in public works. on the political front, the truth Commission, a notable collegiate, was charged with elucidating crimes carried out during interim regimes and, more recently, with the advent of the law on access to information, citizens are able, with minimum bureaucracy, to obtain information from the public administration.

these processes of citizen engagement in the creation of public policy, have helped brazil in its trajectory, from a management point of view, become increasingly transparent, a relevant founding principle of ogP, and may be emulated by other nations.

one of the very interesting and highly focused initiatives of these open data systems is the Civil defence Payment Card (CdPC).

The Civil Defence Payment Card

the Civil defence Payment Card (CdPC) was created by the ministry of national integration in partnership with the office of the Comptroller general and bancodobrasil. the CdPC is “plastic money”, which is deposited in a specific account, for emergency use in natural emergencies such as droughts or floods. its expenses are bound to the tax return id number of a high ranking public servant, that is, when the expense is made, for example, in the purchase of water or drugs, the operator is immediately identified through his tax id, as well as the companies’

registration number and the location where the expense was made. operating under this mechanism, there is a remote possibility of fraud.

in a recent case that took place in the state of rio de Janeiro, following the floods that killed a thousand people, two mayors were apprehended for fraud with the help of CPCd. it is through these innovative means that the public agent must operate and ogP is the benchmark which we must use for greater transparency, accountability and collaboration around the world.

Conclusion

as countries attempt to consolidate and mainstream their various government functionaries to achieve good governance and solid administration, the need for accountability, transparency and vertical and horizontal collaboration becomes even more fundamental. as brazil and other countries continue to demonstrate, technology, if innovatively used, can become a critical instrument that effectively helps in enabling and monitoring good governance and clean administration. fundamentally, it can also serve as a good platform for the construction of broader participatory citizenship and responsibility.

technology has immense potential. as a platform for the construction of participatory citizenship, it directly promotes participatory democracy and accountability where government enters into a partnership with citizens over service delivery and administrative functions. beyond that, it forms a pillar of economic growth and development, where it critically supports developmental barriers such as fraud and corruption.

it is through initiatives such as the open government partnerships that countries are able to benchmark against theirs peers in terms of innovation and most importantly collaborate to share and exchange expertise.

64 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Introduction

in what i consider arguably one of the greatest ironies of our times, david Cameron, Prime minister of great britain, said: “the internet has revolutionised every aspect of our lives except government services.”

in a world where technology continues to develop at such a rapid pace, and has invaded every aspect of daily living, it is incomprehensibly ironic that many governments increasingly find themselves trapped on the wrong side of the digital divide.

one would ask: is it by choice that these governments appear to be oblivious to the changing facets of their societies, that is, how they choose to interact with the world around them or the ever-changing sources of truth?

to citizens, it remains an ever frustrating reality that even in the face of such advanced technologies, their

governments remain unintegrated and thus can barely coordinate various service delivery functionaries. why is there such insignificant or no capability at all for them to engage and interact with government the same as they did with the private sector? why, citizens would want to know, is the public service unable to adapt and use the new emerging technologies as viable solutions to the various challenges that impact on their lives.

these questions which citizens continue to ask, are fuelled by the positive experiences that technology through the internet is giving them, such as increased and accelerated access to information anytime, anywhere. any government choosing to continue ignoring these concerns will only do so at its own peril.

The case of Canada

like many states, the federal government of Canada faced growing

concerns from citizens who were frustrated about their government’s inability to harness technology to improve its service delivery capacity.

the solution came in the form of an adoption and subsequent wholesale shift by the entire federal government to what is called ‘open government’. following a great deal of engagements and consultations, the Canadian action Plan for open government was issued in early 2012, followed by the formation of a widely-representative advisory Panel on open government to oversee the implementation process.

Streams of Open government

the project to implement open government in Canada is being pursued through three main streams: • Open data – which is about offering

government data in a more useful format to enable citizens, the private sector and non-government

thERoADtoOPEN gOVERNMENT

RobertP.taylor,CEo–InstituteofPublicAdministration,Canada

PresentationmadeattheUnPAn-CPSIworkshopon“nextStageinopenGovernmentData:UsingDatafortransparency,Accountabilityand Collaboration” held in Cape Town, October 2012.


these questions which citizens continue to ask, are fuelled by the positive experiences that technology through the internet is giving them, such as increased and accelerated access to information anytime, anywhere.

65VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

organisations to leverage it in innovative and value-added ways.

• Open information – which is about proactively releasing information, including on government activities, to all citizens on an ongoing basis. by proactively making government information available, it will be easier to find and is more accessible for Canadians.

• Open dialogue – which is about giving citizens a stronger say in government policies and priorities, and expanding engagement through web 2.0 technology.

Paving the way for Open government:

with high levels of resistance anticipated in the implementation of open government, the institute of Public administration of Canada sought to engage public sector officials in round table discussions on open government as a form of research. these were conducted during 2010/11.

areas of focus included: the need for innovative solutions to tackle increasing complexity; the need for performance-focused change that highlights efficiency and productivity; recognising the power of data and information; keeping pace with other jurisdictions; increasing demands for programmes and services from citizens; and the need for the public to have greater input into government decision making.

Implementing Open government

The province of British Columbia

soon after the adoption of the Canadian action Plan for open government, the province of british Columbia became the first within the federal government to embark on a transformational course towards open government. this saw the province take on the role of a trailblazer in terms of a number of innovative initiatives. these include: being the first province to have social media guidelines and the promotion of open use of tools such as facebook, twitter, etc, by all staff that is preceded by rigorous training of all senior executives.

in its implementation of open government, the Province of british Columbia built around a philosophy and a strong belief that releasing government data will stimulate innovation, create service opportunities and deepen public discussion.

for the Province of british Columbia to stand as a shining example for its award-winning open government transformation, it is due, to a large extent, to high level support by Premier Christie Clark.

in what is called the Premier’s open data direction, she advocated, amongst others, that: ministries take steps to expand public access to government data by making it available online unless restricted

by law, contract or policy; reprioritise and expand data collection efforts towards those that enable citizens to create value from government data; and adopt british Columbia’s open licence for data and ensure data accessibility.

the document also called for the amendments to freedom of information and Protection of Private act; transformation and technology planning across government; ongoing growth of volume, depth and quality of approach within each programme; and continued clear and unequivocal direction of ‘the top’ to make open government a public service norm.

The City of Toronto

in the City of toronto, the open data programme is an enterprise information management initiative that also includes an open data policy and licence (attribution and legal purpose). it follows guiding principles for open data per u.s. sunlight foundation which promotes identifying and making data accessible to the public to ensure that they are informed and enjoy engaging with an open and accessible government.

data sets are published to allow everyone to develop digital applications to improve government transparency and public participation. in compliance with provincial and federal legislation, the City adheres to strict confidentiality principles as regards confidential proprietary and/or personal information.

with high levels of resistance anticipated in the implementation of open government, the institute of Public administration of Canada sought to engage public sector officials in round table discussions on open government as a form of research. these were conducted during 2010/11.

66 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

Public Service Without Borders (PSWB)

Central to Canada’s success in transforming towards open government is the notion of Public service without borders (Pswb). this is “an open and secure communication tool that supports and encourages the development and sharing of knowledge across the global public sector.”

it is a social media platform that was developed by the institution of Public administration of Canada and opentext Corp. the tool boasts an open and secure platform as that used by g20 nations. it is also compatible with mobile devices and cloud-based which makes it accessible anywhere and anytime. it has more than 5 000 users currently registered on it.

Barriers against the implementation of Open government

at the core of open government, is an imposing, profound change that affects many aspects pertaining to how government will work henceforth. and, as it is with change, the likelihood of resistance from many affected quarters as well as other challenges, will quite expectedly be prominent.

in its adoption and implementation of open government, the Canadian federal government encountered numerous such challenges which range from attitudinal to

socio/political concerns. these include:• attitude that data has value and

therefore should be sold;• that technology moves too fast

resulting in investments being quickly outdated;

• significant political risk – vulnerabilities exposed);

• that public sector are under greater scrutiny than private sector;

• that information is power and thus releasing information means losing control over power;

• losing control over the message and thus losing privacy; and

• the difficulty of building capacity in government.

Solutions

in order to counteract the above listed barriers, the federal government of Canada introduced the following initiatives as solutions: • Created open data policies, principles

and guidelines;• adjusted legislation to encourage/

support open data while at the same time mindful of privacy;

• Lobbied for the development andsupport of champions (especially executives);

• Strengthened the management ofrisks;

• Determined objectives and alignedthem with strategic direction;

• Monitored and moderated sites toensure proper use;

• Educatedand trainedstaffandusersalike; and

• Introduced regular performancemeasurement systems to evaluate and measure successes and failures.

Lessons emerging from the Canadian experience

modern day technology can offer governments cost-effective and yet highly efficient solutions to the many service delivery challenges that they confront. and, as the private sector has led the way in this respect, the consequences following the inability of governments to keep up with technology developments, can be more devastating.

modern day citizens have dynamic needs to which they require answers in the form of information that is available anywhere and anytime. beyond that, they prefer instant interaction and engagement as a form of participatory government, rather than being passive receivers of information.

by implementing open government, the federal government of Canada has shown that open data makes government data available in machine readable format for citizens, private sector organisations and not-of-profit organisations to reuse in innovative ways. open data initiatives foster innovation, job creation and improved community service for Canadians, and help create new business or research opportunities. they also allow citizens to access data and learn about and participate in government.

by implementing open government, the federal government of Canada has shown that open data makes government data available in machine readable format for citizens, private sector organisations and not-of-profit organisations to reuse in innovative ways.

67VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

If you are a government employee and have not

yet made the move to the Government Employees

Medical Scheme (GEMS) you are missing out

on an important employee benefit. With close

on 680 000 principal members, representing

approximately 1,8 million covered lives, GEMS

has enjoyed unprecedented growth year after

year precisely because we offer good value, great

benefits and accessibility. We also make every

effort to remain in touch with our members so that

we can meet their every need.

When choosing a medical scheme consider the

following points in order to make the most of your

medical scheme benefits:

1. How affordable is your medical scheme?

Sometimes cost alone will determine what option

and which scheme you can afford to belong to.

However, when comparing the different costs

of medical schemes always ensure that you

are comparing apples with apples and that you

take into account all the necessary benefits. And

remember, it is always better to choose the cover

that is most appropriate to meet your needs and

your pocket.

GEMS has always made an effort to deliver the

finest possible healthcare benefits at the most

affordable rates to its members. The benefit plans

on offer from GEMS are on average 15% less

expensive and are often also better than those on

offer from most other medical schemes.

2. Are you getting true value for money from

your medical scheme? Always enquire what the

average scheme increases were over the past

five years. Check if benefits were decreased or

increased as some schemes may well reduce

benefits while increasing contribution. At GEMS

the average contribution rate increase has always

been lower than the industry average while benefits

are enhanced.

3. How does your medical scheme square up in

terms of benefits? You should check what you

are covered for and which waiting periods are

applicable to you. At GEMS there are no waiting

periods. Remember, schemes do place limitations

on hospitalisation and that is why you should check

that the benefits offered will meet your specific

requirements.

4. How accessible is your medical scheme?

Despite its considerable size the Scheme has

remained close to its members by touching the

lives of thousands of people each day. Well over

11 000 members are contacting the GEMS call

centre daily while at least 1 000 visit our regional

walk in centres around South Africa. As many as

90% of GEMS members are now located within 10

kilometers of a GEMS healthcare network provider.

5. How well do you understand your benefits? Make

sure you understand your medical scheme and its

different benefit options. Read the membership

guide and brochures and familiarise yourself with

the scheme rules. If you do not understand certain

of the benefits or rules insist on a comprehensive

explanation. And remember, the membership

guide will not only give you important information

regarding general procedures to be followed, but

also very specific information regarding the extent

of medical cover available to you.

6. How innovative is your medical scheme? GEMS

is known for its unrivalled innovation and ability to

design and implement benefits and services that

meet and exceed the needs of its members.

7. Does your medical scheme ‘know it all’?

Despite the many successes achieved by GEMS

the management of the scheme knows all too well

that they cannot sit back and rest on their laurels.

In so doing the key focus of GEMS is on providing

members with “Access to excellent healthcare that

is both affordable and administratively efficient”.

8. Does your medical scheme listen and act on the

suggestions of its members? At GEMS, we conduct

regular surveys in order to assess service and to

research the opinions of individual government

departments, members and service providers.

The needs and requirements of members are of

utmost importance to the scheme and feedback

is always appreciated and acted upon. For

example, there is a dedicated ‘suggestion’ email

address ([email protected]), which gives

members an efficient avenue to communicate

their suggestions to the scheme. A great many

good ideas are received and implemented in the

process.

9. Make a choice: frills or no frills? Many schemes

are offering loyalty programmes that include

anything from travel benefits to inexpensive movie

tickets. It is important to decide whether the

benefits are so compelling that you are prepared to

pay extra for them.

At GEMS we have chosen the no-frills route. We

offer excellent healthcare services and highly

specialised healthcare programmes aimed at

improving your health and wellbeing. After all is that

not what you expect from a medical scheme?

Bringing health within your reach

Call Centre number: 0860 004 367 • Website address: www.gems.gov.za • Email: [email protected]

Your health and that of your family is your most precious asset. That is why the monthly

amount you contribute towards your healthcare cover is one of the most important

investments you will ever make. But, are you always getting the very best value for your

money when it comes to healthcare services, and more specifically, healthcare benefits?

Are you a good healthcare consumer?

How to make your medical scheme and its benefits work for you

CPSI Journal Advertorial_3.indd 1 2013/03/05 12:01 PM

68 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

on 25 and 26 september 2012 nsizwa dlamini and Kgatliso hamilton from the CPsi attended a conference in tbilisi, on invitation from the republic of georgia. the conference was organised by georgia’s ministry of Justice under the theme “Public service delivery of the future ii – focusing on modern solutions”. the conference was funded by the usaid, deutsche gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (giZ) and the german federal ministry for economic Cooperation and development (bmZ). while the programme was dominated by current innovations and planned innovations by the republic of georgia, there were presentations from other countries such as lithuania, ukraine, denmark, finland, Kazakhstan and azerbaijan. this article highlights selected areas of interest from the conference.

remarkable about the country is, despite gaining independence from the ussr (russian federation) only in 2003, georgia has made a lot of progress to develop their country, even in the face of the many socio-economic challenges that they had to face after becoming independent. at independence, georgia had the same challenges as south africa, i.e. an inefficient and in many cases

corrupt public service. their approach was to reduce the public service and by default reduce the cost of maintaining it. however, the transformational model that was applied in georgia would not be wholly successful in south africa because of some profound differences that exist between the two countries that would have serious impact on development. for instance, georgia has a population of 5 million citizens, compared to south africa’s 50 million, highly diverse citizens.

Open government one of the themes that came out strongly during the conference was that of ‘open government’ and it was featured especially in a presentation by the world bank titled ’global integrity and the usaid’. the presentation emphasised that open government would improve transparency, which would lead to accountability and, in turn, promote democracy. also emerging from the conference was that open government creates an ideal platform between government and its citizens where the former can source service delivery improvement solutions from the latter. essentially, this means that successful development is fully dependent upon

participatory citizenship, where citizens are well empowered and informed about their government and are able to play a prominent role in contributing towards its development.

south africa plays a prominent role in the open government Partnership and forms part of its steering Committee.

Co-production of Public Services

this concept of co-production of public services is linked to the open innovation. Co-production of public services as a source of innovation is a best practice from estonia in which government engages citizens as active partners and role-players in the delivery of services. in one of the projects, using a google earth based programme, government identifies garbage dumping sites and engages citizens to clean up such sites.

this model holds many benefits for south africa. in the first place, it serves as a potential solution for the development of smmes to manage projects such as the one in question. secondly, it contributes towards job creation while also building environmentally sustainable communities.

GEoRGIA’SPUbLICSERVICE OF ThE FUTURE

by Nsizwa Dlamini and Kgatliso hamilton, centre for public service innovation


69VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

e-Services

the conference also featured presentations on innovations with regard to a wide spectrum of e-service delivery and were presented by different countries. these included e-procurement, e-recruitment of staff, e-auction, e-health (pharmaceuticals, medical aid schemes, etc., which will be linked to exchange information), e-tax, e-democracy (which enables citizens to comment on state legislation online) as well as e-agriculture, e-architecture, etc. importantly, the conference put particular emphasis on the need of moving beyond rhetoric to action, thereby imparting practical steps on how to implement these initiatives.

the republic of georgia gave a presentation on how it dealt with the challenge of lack of access to internet and high computer illiteracy. the solution entailed the establishment of the georgian Computer literacy society and the erection of Community service Centres in 300 of georgia’s largest villages. subsequently 600 people received training so that they can in turn train communities in computer literacy and help with access to the internet for e-services.

regarding the same challenge of internet inaccessibility and low computer literacy, ukraine and denmark used existing government infrastructure, such as libraries, to teach citizens computer skills, while also providing access to the internet. ukraine reported having 18 000 public libraries. however, their main challenge was effective implementation of this model on broadband.

south africa also faces the same challenge and, similar to ukraine, in order to effectively implement this model, our country would need to invest massively in broadband infrastructure to allow the majority of citizens access to the internet. in the same breath, the model could also supply leverage in the wide penetration of mobile technologies within the country.

all the countries gave presentations on the need to increase citizen access to the internet, to empower citizens with computer skills and strengthen broadband technology. Combined these would result in easier and convenient citizen access to government services.

Mobile Public Service Centre

another model for accessing services for rural areas in the republic of georgia is the mobile Public service Centres. these are vehicles that are fully equipped to provide services to citizens in remote and rural areas.

The Public Service hall

this model was launched for the first time in september 2012 in tbilisi, the capital of georgia, as part of an innovative approach to public reform. georgia is setting up centralised locations or public service halls to deliver public services in its major cities. georgia’s first attempt to deliver services using a “one-stop shop” had failed, mainly because individual departments and organisations resorted to setting up their own one-stop shops, instead of providing central access to all services.

under the new service delivery model whose slogan is: “everything in one place”, the georgian government would provide all government services in public service halls that are equipped with computers and internet access.

a site visit was made to the Public service hall in tbilisi and a great deal was learned about how it functions. the hall offers more than 300 government services. the facility has a drive-through facility where citizens can collect their ids and passports without leaving their vehicles. inside, there are self-service monitors and free wireless for internet access. here, citizens are able to access all government services without the inconvenience of standing in different service queues. the public service halls are more advanced than our south african thusong centres.

Conclusion

the republic of georgia is making considerable progress as a result of the public service innovations and reforms taking place in the country. in a classification during 2003 where countries were classified in terms of their convenience for doing business, the republic of georgia was ranked 137 out of 153 countries because of public service red tape, inefficiency and corruption. georgia’s ranking has now improved considerably with the country being rated as one of the least corrupt countries in the world and is easy to do business with. Certainly, as a country, south africa needs to take a leaf out of georgia’s book.

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tIMEtothInK: LISTENINg TO IgNITE ThE hUMAN MIND

the book seeks to create a comprehensive discussion on the theory and the model of human behaviour, by looking at the impact of listening as a tool of enhancing a thinking environment.

as we strive as individuals, teams and organisations to improve service delivery for the citizenry of this country, most ideas we think of fail to come to fruition due to the constant interruptions caused by our impatience to listen to them.

listening can be a powerful tool that can create an environment that is conducive to generating ideas and addressing solutions for service delivery challenges.

time to think: listening to ignite the human mind is indeed a very inspiring book that gives a deeper understanding of the power of listening.

it is creatively, innovatively, easily and practically outlined with regard to the way the thinking environment operates. the book portrays how the power of listening can be implemented while we are battling to create solutions for our day to day challenges.

the book outlines the importance of listening at an individual and organisational level. the knowledge in this book can be used as tools where positive outcomes are desired and can also be implemented to achieve the following:• Buildingofpowerfulandproductive

individuals• Highperformingteams• Creating a thinking environment

at a personal and organisational levels

as we strive to create an environment that can be conducive to solving service delivery challenges and coming up with innovative ideas, this

book illustrates the effectiveness of using our listening skills and abilities to provide a platform for creating good and useful ideas.

nancy Kline eloquently divided the book into four practical parts namely:• Part one: Ten components of a

thinking environment• Part two: Creating a thinking

environment• Partthree:Thethinkingsociety• Partfour:Athinkingfuture

this book will equip innovators and managers who seek to institutionalise innovative thinking within their organisations with the tools to create a listening and thinking environment.

Authors: Nancy Kline

Classification: ISbN: 978-0-7063-7745-3

release date: 2011

REvIEWS

listening can be a powerful tool that can create an environment that is conducive to generating ideas and addressing solutions for service delivery challenges.

71VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

LEADInGPUbLICSECtoRInnovAtIon: CO-CREATION FOR A BETTER SOCIETYAuthors: Christian bason

publisher: London: The polity press

release date: 2010

Reviewer: Howard A. Doughty, Faculty of Applied Arts and Health Sciences – Seneca College in Toronto, Canada

Christian bason is a professional lecturer, government advisor, author and the director of mindlab, a cross-ministerial unit in the government of denmark. in leading Public sector innovation, he takes a refreshing turn. arising out of his work at the danish “mindlab,” a “cross-ministerial innovation laboratory, which is both a physical space and a research and facilitation unit,” and drawing from self-consciously designed co-operative innovation programmes in brazil, the united Kingdom, the united states and australia, he outlines an approach and cites promising experiments in the creation of public sector cultures of innovation. what’s more, off the drawing board, they appear to have remarkable results.

the aim? to make society better — which is a significant step-up from cheaper.

the essential theme? Co-creation: a model of innovative design in which “solutions are conceived and constructed with people, not for them.”

as bason sees them, co-created innovations provide two crucial benefits. one is “divergence,” which means the

consultation at least, and actual power sharing at best, if optimal results are to be expected.

bason, however, is driven by more than the democratic impulse. he also has a sense of impending calamity. it is a deep motivator. he understands that our species is confronted by all manner of problems, many of which are deathly serious, and most of which call out for “radical” solutions. he is acutely aware of the limitations on public resources as well as the public lack of confidence in the capacity of governments to solve problems. the factors arrayed against necessary change, he realises, combine to establish a toxic climate for innovation in the public interest.

yet, he remains optimistic. his hopes are vested in co-creation. what is it? what are its promises, and what are its limits?one of bason’s first prescriptions is to drop the mind-set that leads to undifferentiated pessimism and may ultimately lead to nihilism. he admits that there are real barriers to public sector innovation — organisational, psychological, economic, ideological and the like. still, he insists that we look again. innovation takes place every day, in the

inclusion of citizens in the definition of problems and the design of solutions — a process that allows diversity of thought and encourages a certain energy and amenability to adventuresome experiments along with the exposure of previously suppressed insights from the margins. the other is “execution,” a term that presumes that people who are authentically involved in innovation, will not be resistant to it.

bason further defines resistance as a complaint usually expressed by people who seek to impose new policies and practices on people, but who are inexplicably surprised by the defiance of both public sector workers who were to implement the changes, and the public who were ostensibly to gain from them. this resistance is commonly attributed to irrational individual fear and innate organisational inertia, when it more likely arises from a sensible suspicion and a structural alienation from the political and administrative process. Christian bason seems to understand, more fully than most, that overcoming sullen resistance is not a matter of better communication and sales skills on the part of “change champions.” it requires authentic inclusion and genuine

72 VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 2013

pleasantly darwinian-sounding manner of “random incrementalism.” if nothing else, we can be confident that we have not yet descended into organisational entropy.Change, he suggests, is not normally accomplished from the top down through loudly heralded plans and massive efforts to achieve some major cultural shift. the problem is whether we can sensibly await the evolutionary process if we are to survive looming challenges — real and imagined, environmentally imposed or artificially induced — that are available in abundance: think thomas malthus and unsustainable population growth; think Karl marx and the growing asymmetry of wealth and power both domestically and globally; think climate change, human migration, civil liberties in an era of mass surveillance, technological dehumanisation. think immediate problems in geriatrics and early childhood education. take your pick or add to the list.

when you do, bason is waiting for you. in addition to the successfully adaptive “natural evolution” of public sector organisations in the process of ongoing adaptation to external change, Christian bason argues that there is an almost desperate need for a “more explorative, open and collaborative process of co-creation that can deliver more radical change. government,” he says, “needs both.” he tells us explicitly and with geometric logic exactly what co-creation is.

Co-creation is an approach that appears to have much in common with the bulk of standard “theoretical” works on public sector innovation. attention is paid, and familiar graphics give expression, to the commonly identified systemic factors that frame most discussions of change. attractive figures comfortably display the “innovation ecosystem,” a conjuring that is comprised of nicely alliterative C-words: consciousness, capacity, co-creation and courage.

“research,” but they reinforce rather than remove the barriers between government and citizen, while reifying the citizen as client-consumer. bason adds to these tools. he advocates concepts such as “professional empathy,” calling on public service innovators to find and release their “inner anthropologist.” it is essential, in his view, to see the public service from the perspective of the people it is intended to serve.

Christian bason articulates that it is not about power and authority, but perceptions that must be shared. those who endure the culture of poverty, the experience of illness or the state of ignorance have much to teach social workers, physicians and educators; however, bason does not urge the takeover of the factories by the workers, the schools by the students or the hospitals by the patients. instead, he endorses the development of what german sociologists used to call verstehen — the deep understanding of experience from the standpoint of those compelled to live it. such awareness does not detract from professional competence, but is essential to it.

they relate, of course, to concepts of awareness, structure, process and leadership.

Courageous leadership, i am pleased to report, comes last and gets the shortest space, a scant fourteen pages compared to a substantial one hundred and three for co-creation, an ample eighty-two for capacity, and a modest nineteen for consciousness. this is significant. most calls for creativity, cleverness and conversion to a new “paradigm” focus on leadership, which is usually the least important part of the picture. while not at all discounting leaders, more attention is paid to other matters.

bason also downplays the primacy of perception. material changes do not come fully developed from the head of some well-publicised genius. so, the chapter on consciousness involves only an introductory discussion of the origins of innovation and the importance of “mapping the landscape.” it includes a brief, but salutary exploration of the centrality of “value” in his construction of what are basically the tried and untrue “systems models.” these have been the stock-in-trade of bureaucrats and students of bureaucracy since david easton purloined the vocabulary of engineers to generate “input-output-feedback” diagrams for social systems over fifty years ago. the resulting fashion has done more to obfuscate than to illuminate organisational behaviour. i am, however, prepared to cut bason some slack in this regard. the reason is that he insinuates into this “paradigm” a novel respect for the pachyderm in the parlour — the people themselves.

in recent decades, the best that the public seems to be able to expect from government is the common collection of marketing tools in the form of opinion surveys, roadshows for the many and focus groups for the few. these amount to what is called “consultation” and

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graPhiCs by sithembile mtolo as originally Published in the

star newsPaPer of 24 may 2013

ThE SOUTh AFRICAN PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION...

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