Commonwealth Forum of Ministers - COMMUNIQUÉ

1. The Commonwealth Secretariat convened the first forum of Ministers responsible for public service in Sydney, Australia on 26-27 October 2006. The Forum was delivered with support from the Government of Australia and the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM).

2. The aim of the Forum was to advance public sector development in the Commonwealth. The Forum focused on public management issues and developments, on the implications and challenges for governments and on experiences and lessons learnt from the delivery of public services. Ministers were asked to set the forward agenda for public sector development.

3. Thirty Commonwealth countries were represented at the Forum. In addition, five Commonwealth and regional stakeholder organisations observed the proceedings. One hundred delegates attended the Forum.

4. Ministers discussed the trends and challenges of public sector development and agreed upon the following priorities for action relative to the three themes of the Forum.

Modernising Governance for Integrated Service Delivery:

• Lead and sustain the momentum of public sector reform
• Monitor, evaluate, and report publicly on the outcomes of service improvement initiatives
• Benchmark Commonwealth good practices
• Develop a better practice guide on integrated service delivery
• Undertake comparative research on alternative service delivery

Renewing Human Resources for Leadership Development:

• Support a global dialogue on building human resource capacity and managing global skills distribution
• Strengthen and enhance the relationship between the political and executive leadership through learning from good practice around the Commonwealth
• Invest in executive leadership capability in the delivery of public services, including through Commonwealth attachments and leadership programmes
• Ensure that there are human resource plans in place to recruit, retain and develop public service human capital

Bridging the Digital Divide for Networked Government:

• Develop a strategy to enable the integration of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) into national development plans
• Promote e-leadership to implement integrated service delivery within the public sector 
• Contribute to the Commonwealth Connects Programme, e.g. including experts, funding, documentation, and other available resources

5. Ministers acknowledged the need to hold future forums. They requested the Commonwealth Secretariat to consider the following initiatives within available resources:

Prepare and disseminate a report on the Forum proceedings as the basis for ongoing consultations

Examine the options for scheduling future forums, including with CAPAM biennial conferences

Facilitate regional ministerial forums

Report periodically on progress against the forward agenda