By Tasha Ebanks-Garcia
So you have heard that we are reimagining and while that sounds cool, you are not sure to what end. Let me take you back to the beginning to provide some context for this journey that we are on.
Last summer the Hon. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson approached the Strategic Reforms Implementation Unit (SRIU) and expressed his desire to have a strategic plan for the civil service. His aim for the plan was to improve how the civil service operates and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which the civil service delivers the political priorities.
He gave the SRIU two parameters. First, he said, “I want the development of the plan to engage civil servants from across the service and at all levels of the service, as well as internal and external stakeholders.” Second, he said he wanted a plan that encouraged participants to look for what works as a basis for future planning and change. He wanted a strategic plan that builds on the strengths of the civil service, is owned by civil servants at all levels, and inspires commitment to deliver results.
Armed with marching orders, the SRIU developed a strategic planning process built on an Appreciative Inquiry methodology that creates an effective and inclusive consultative strategic planning process. This process actively engages stakeholders, focuses on best practices, and delivers a 5 year strategic plan for the civil service by February 2016.
The strategic planning process involves a number of stages. These range from determining what topics you are going to explore to the development of action plans and, ultimately, to implementation and tracking.
In stage one, which took place in early September, the SRIU established a Core Team who explored, through interviews, moments when the civil service was operating at its best.
The Core Team is a perfect slice of the civil service, representing individuals from across the civil service, at various levels of the civil service, as well as internal and external stakeholders. The Core Team spent nine hours examining moments when the civil service was at its best in order to understand how those exceptional moments came about. Through their work they identified the five topics that are being explored through this strategic exercise.
We are now in stage two. In this part of the process we are conducting our strategic inquiry by engaging a wide range of stakeholders in formal Summits and through social media and one-on-one interviews in order to discover exceptional moments tied to each of our topic areas and uncover how those exceptional moments came about.
At the end of this stage we will have collectively developed strategic goals that will be taken into stage three where they will be passed on to Innovation Teams who will develop strategic objectives and an action plan. This action plan will be specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, time-bound and will have key performance indicators that will be used to track results. In other words, the plan will allow the civil service to be held accountable and will allow the civil service to celebrate its accomplishments.
Although it comes at the end, it is arguably one of the most important stages in this entire process. Stage four marks the moment in time when implementation takes place, when change begins to take root and where results are tracked and reported. It is in this stage that the reimagining will result in changes that are embedded in the very fabric of our organization so that those exceptional moments that were uncovered become business as usual.
As we move forward in this journey, we encourage you to join us. Let your voice help shape the future of the Cayman Islands Civil Service.
The Hon. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson reading the strategic statements that have been collectively developed by civil servants and internal and external stakeholders.