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	Capacity building for public service management

The Bonn Agreement provided for the establishment of an independent Civil Service Commission, which was established by Decree in May 2002. An amendment to that Decree in June 2003 extended the responsibilities of the Civil Service Commission into an Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission

The British Council’s Development Services is now working with the Independent Administrative Reforms and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) on a major capacity building project under the World Bank’s ‘Second Emergency Public Administration Program’.

Reform of the Afghan public administration system is seen as pivotal in the reconstruction and development process for Afghanistan, and strengthening the capacity of the IARCSC to deliver government-wide reform is a key element in that process. The British Council will deliver technical assistance and training to help build capacity in three core areas:

Appointments and Appeals

We are working with the Independent Civil Service Board of Appointments to assist with the development of merit-based appointments, particularly for senior civil servants, which will help the IARCSC fulfill its mandate under the Bonn Agreement. We are also developing the capacity of the Independent Civil Service Board of Appeals to develop robust and transparent appeals procedures.

Civil Service Management

We are assisting the Civil Service Management Department with the development of a new Civil Service Law and will be assisting the Department in the development of its Human Resources (HR) policy and strategy. We are also working with the Civil Service Training and Development Department to identify priority training needs amongst senior civil servants.

Administrative Reform

We are supporting the Administrative Reform Secretariat within the IARCSC to develop robust monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms for key reform programmes, including Priority Reform and Restructuring (PRR) in the Ministries. We will also work with the Secretariat to develop and implement a communications strategy to better inform existing civil servants and the wider public about the reform process.

Citing unseasonable rains as “auspicious”, Vice President Hedayat Amin Arsala helped to officially launch the Project on 13 July 2004. The project team is led by Clive Parry, formerly of the UK Government’s Cabinet Office, and will deliver technical assistance and training to our Afghan partners for the next two years.

For further information, please contact richard.weyers@britishcouncil.org or jason.potter@britishcouncil.org

To find out more about the work of Development Services, please visit h ttp://www.britishcouncil.org/development.htm

Useful Links :

World Bank Afghanistan http://www.worldbank.org/af

Government of the Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan http://www.af/

Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit http://www.areu.org.af/index.html