THE WEBER PROTOCOL: OUTSIDE-IN GOVERNANCE APPROACH FOR TRANSFORMING BUREAUCRACIES

The world has changed since the invention of Bureaucracy. Most of the public officials and institutions who defend their bureaucratic arrangements as the reason for ineffective, non-responsive and irresponsible governance and public service are increasingly halted by a growing movement of dissatisfied, disengaged and angry mass public. There is now nowhere to hide, we either reinvent government or we perish. The global citizen has zero tolerance for broken bureaucracies - from Arab Spring to Venezuelan Crisis, to our characteristic Nigerian Citizen dissatisfaction in its varying manifestations.

It was the German sociologist, philosopher, jurist, political economist, Max Weber who first used the word “Bureaucracy”. A word that he coined more than hundred years ago to describe an institutional arrangement he believed would drive, restore and sustain social, governmental and political order. Weber’s most significant work was based on his interrogation of rationalisation, secularisation, and "disenchantment" that he associated with the rise of capitalism and modernity. This word “Bureaucracy” formed the basis for his proposition of a system of organisation that allowed for the effective and efficient management of resources of nations. He once stated that,

 “The decisive reason for the advance of bureaucratic organization has always been its purely technical superiority over any other form of organization…. Precision, speed, unambiguity… reduction of friction and of material and personal costs – these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic administration”

Any serious student of Weber would note that he meant for Bureaucratic Institutions to be designed from the Outside-in, as responsive organizational arrangements to the social and political citizen needs of the day. He gave extensive diagnostics of socio-political dynamics of that era in proposing the structure of governance and government institutions that had to respond to it. Sadly, this is not the case today. Bureaucracy has gone from outside-in to inside-out with damning consequences.

For more than a century the bureaucratic organization formed the foundation of the Government of Nations that would we now call Developed Nations or Advanced Nations. In fact, almost every African Colony including Nigeria inherited a form of Bureaucratic Organisation from their Colonial Masters at the time of independence. The challenge is the world has changed since then. We face a significantly higher order of magnitude of risks and threats, but also opportunities than were available in the 1960s. The externalities have radically change, while the core operating systems of many bureaucracies haven’t, indicating serious deficit in responsive public leadership to bring the outside in.

The 21st Century presents a scale, scope and size of national and global challenges that the world has never seen before and it is essential that this generation of leaders rise to meet the challenges. As every generation faces the opportunity and responsibility to meet the challenges of its era. Our bureaucracies for many years stayed the same while the challenges of government escalated, resulting in a current, where governance structures are grossly inadequate to meet the needs of today and opportunities of tomorrow.

'We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking  that created them’  Albert Einstein

An assessment of the Nigerian Legislation that directly impact the Business Environment was conducted by National Assembly Enabling Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) reveal over 150 laws that were either outdated, irrelevant or in direct hindrance to Nigeria’s economic growth. Some were so old that their meaning could only be interrupted by some colonial era interruption. Luckily, NASSBER is aggressively reviewing these laws and replacing them with new legislation that creates the future, liberating opportunities that have been trapped by laws that would keep us in pre-70s era of development. This Outside-In Governance Approach of NASSBER is transforming how legislative governance is delivered. One of the most comprehensive proposals for the transformation of the Nigerian Bureaucracy is the National Strategy on Public Service Reforms (https://bpsr.gov.ng/index.php/publications/bpsr-resources/strategy-documents) But this Reform plan like its predecessors last a Willing Reformer in Government and a poorly resourced and inadequately Reform Office. Thus, sustaining outdated and mundane public institutions in world of globally competitive governments.

This outdatedness pervades all aspects of the Bureaucratic Institutions of Government. Such outdated systems, institutional and governance framework are failing the stress test of the VUCA (Volatile-Uncertain-Complex-Ambiguous) operating environment. To be successful, Government Executives and Political Leaders require a Sea Change in Approach to a more Proactive, Agile and Responsive Governance Paradigm.

Thankfully, there are a few champions of the Outside-In Governance Approach in Nigeria that are deeply engaging citizens, emphatically seeking to understand the public interest and transforming the public institutions into Proactive Public Service Delivery Organisations. One of such attempts is the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and its ground-breaking short action cycles, that leverages President Executive Orders to accelerate reform initiatives that eliminates obstacles to ease of business. But so much more needs to happen.

To create the level impact that 180 Million Nigeria’s desire and deserve, Sea Change is required – National, Sub-National, State, Local, Community, Organisational, Departmental and Individual.

To reinvent Government and transform Bureaucracies, we must agree with the Spirit of the meaning of the bureaucratic concept - precision, speed, unambiguity… reduction of friction and of material and personal costs. We must agree that purpose of public institutions is to deliver public value with precision of results, speed of responsiveness to citizen needs, unambiguity in management of public resources and funds, and state entrepreneurship that seeks to reduce the cost of governance while increasing the value created for the governed.

The question is therefore how to create massive, measurable and perceivable value that meets the expectations of the citizens and justifies the spending of public funds and taxpayers’ money. Like I have said a thousand times, the 21st Century Public Leader must have a deep-seated conviction that the purpose of government and the public sector is to create public value, and reflect a commitment to the pursuit of public service excellence.

While the debate rages about the primary responsibilities of public managers and leaders, the essence of their work is to create public value. The business of government is to provide a choice of services to citizens, at the lowest possible cost (what we now call 'Entrepreneurial Government''), while balancing this responsibilities with the preservation of public values such as equity, accountability and citizen voice. 

Albert Einstein also said, 'The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.'

So, we need new thinking. I would like to recommend seven (7) key pillars for the Transformation of Bureaucracy and Reinventing of Government for 21st Century:

1.  Establish Mission Driven, Customer Centred Governance Culture
2. Serve Citizens, not Political Actors – Target Service Delivery Systems and Processes of Governance to deliver World Class Citizen Experience and Satisfaction
3. Seek and Value Public Interest above Political Interest
4. Create Community Owned Governance Structures that empowers Citizens to act
5. Build Government Capabilities that are Competitive with Private Enterprises
6. Enhance Governance Institutional Frameworks to be Anticipatory Not Reactive
7. Decentralise Power to Increase the Agility of Government to act, while creating Participatory Accountability in the Decentralised Governance Structures
8. Achieve the right balance between controlled Due Process and Responsive Adhocracy

At the heart of these 7 Principles is an Outside-In Governance Approach and Public Value Creation Proposition that deeply understands that Global and Local Threats and Opportunities across the Political, Social, Economic, Technological, Legal and Environmental spheres, and is deeply committed to listening and engaging its citizens and stakeholders. This deep Governance Diagnostic base provides a robust External Intelligence and Awareness for the application of these principles to change Bureaucratic cultures, systems, processes, practices and mindsets. A great place to start is to reinvent the public services that the public experience daily – public health care, public education, citizen application processing, business permit/approval processing, utilities services (power, water, sanitation) – areas where little improvements make a huge difference in results. For example, Patient Waiting Time to See Doctors in Public Health Care Institutions.

Hopefully in our time, we would be able to say, as Max Weber of our public institutions, that they have “technical superiority over any other form of organization…. Precision, speed, unambiguity… reduction of friction and of material and personal costs – these are raised to the optimum point” in our public serving organisations. Rather than defending bureaucracies we transform them. This is possible to us, if we stand on the shoulders of those that have already reinvented governments in other countries – Australia, Singapore, Canada etc.

  “The wise philosopher responded: "Who sees further a dwarf or a giant? Surely a giant for his eyes are situated at a higher level than those of the dwarf. But if the dwarf is placed on the shoulders of the giant who sees further? ... So too we are dwarfs astride the shoulders of giants. We master their wisdom and move beyond it. Due to their wisdom, we grow wise and are able to say all that we say, but not because we are greater than they” - Jewish tosaphist Isaiah di Trani (c. 1180 – c. 1250)

We can and should astride shoulders of giants in Reinvented Governance. Once we have developed a solid benchmark of what the Citizens want based on robust external intelligence, we are equipped to articulate an Outside-In Governance Reinvention Strategy that is tailored to match public marketplace. We then need to execute with urgency - the sustainability of our communities, economies and nations depend on transforming Bureaucracies - in many of cases it is a desperate and urgent need for reformation. Lastly, we desperately need the emergence of the Willing and Radical Reformer in government and on the political landscape. And they must be willing to stake all to transform institutions, inspire change, deliver massive public value and free us all from the shackles of dead bureaucracies into a future of powerful, productive, peaceful and prosperous nationhood.

It is time get this done!