Colombia · Paving the Way for a Results-Oriented Public Sector

The National Evaluation System of Public Sector Performance (SYNERGY) is now being put in place in Colombia by the Special Division for Evaluation (SDE) at the Department of National Planning (DNP). SYNERGY has the potential of turning the public sector from an inward looking, process oriented body that sometimes restrains economic and social progress, to being a more dynamic, results-oriented partner of the community and private sector in development. For this to happen, the evaluation system will need to be: 1) designed properly; 2) supportive of other government initiatives, particularly in the related areas of connecting with civil society and decentralization; 3) implemented as a learning process which will build institutional capacity and pay particular attention to the management of change; 4) set within an institutional framework which is results-oriented, including strategic decision-making, budgeting and personnel administration; and 5) used as a lever to shift as quickly as possible to a comprehensive results-oriented management system. The enormous risks and difficulties the government will face in implementing the system should not be underestimated. The effort has just recently been initiated with pilot projects in the Ministry of Finance, DNP and Ministry of Defense.