Bureaucratic Resilience Key to Good Governance

Context: COVID-19 has raised fresh questions on the resilience and efficacy of governments to frame policies that directly impact public interest.

 Resilient Government System

• Significance:
  • Generates risk-bearing capacity: Resilience means the capacity to withstand pressures to achieve the goal without any major disruption.
  • Facilitates public good: through predefined laws, rules and processes, even if these involve risks.
  • Resilience of the individuals aggregates into organisational versatility: Even spirited individuals may not be able to achieve optimum performance in less resilient system.
• Key features: Determination, vision, self-confidence, self-organisation, problem-solving, self-review, monitoring; these act as a collective responsibility of political executive and civil servants.

 Reasons behind declining Bureaucratic Resilience

• Domination of elected representatives: in civil administration and the role of bureaucracy, has been reduced to a large extent.
• Drastic shift and decline in hallmark qualities: like political neutrality, objective decision-making, fair and just approach, and upholding the rule of law.
  • Civil servants are unable to seed 'public interest' as an essential and non-negotiable aspect of public policy.
  • Laws (based on natural justice, equality, civil liberties and freedom of choice), rules and policies impacting discrimination based on caste and creed, should not just remain in the statute book.
• Preferring individual goals and interests: Failing to resist temptations, they have become risk-averse.

 Adverse impact of less resilient governance systems:

• Political aggrandisement and judicial overreach are considered fallouts of declining resilience.
• Results into a flawed system: where it becomes comfortable to work in a framework, which is undefined, malleable, and inexplicable, even if it works to the detriment of the common man. (Institutional drag!)
• Results into a lack of emotional stability and problem-solving skills: inadequate understanding of resonant decision-making, loss of self-respect, dignity, and a positive attitude in civil servants.
• Fails to effectively interact with the emerging information ecosystem (social media, Internet) and utilise creative and credible policymaking processes.

 Measures for Increasing Bureaucratic Resilience

• Create a mentality of resilience: by strengthening their financial security and functional autonomy through an unimpeachable system, respecting honest and truthful execution.
• Shift focus towards innovative and cost-effective ways: to provide high-quality services from enforcing compliance and minimum requirements of service delivery.
• Improve communication and negotiation skills: in a new information system, else the Internet and social media will induce biases, misperceptions and may even polarise their thoughts and perspectives.
• Impart resilience training and orientation: to address problems of plural and diverse societies and perform a multitude of unique functions (also contain perilous misperception of knowing everything).
• Encourage evidence-based policymaking, skills: for collection and analysis of information without bias using digital technology, and solicit people's participation in decision making.

Conclusion: The conduct of bureaucracy thus holds the key to the government's success.