• Budget process reforms and MTEFs
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Public Expenditure Reviews
• Public Finance Diagnostics
• Public Service Reform, Capacity Building, Training
• • Human Resource Management and Development
  • Performance Management
  • Change Management
  • Training and Capacity Building
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative surveys
• Statistical and econometric analysis

Change Management

All change is implemented by people, and at OPM we understand that even the best technical solutions to problems will be no better in practice than the capability of the organisation to introduce and manage change through people. Many technically excellent reform initiatives become unstuck because of shortcomings in the way the changes involved in implementing them are handled, which is bad for morale, damages the reputation and standing of senior management, and leads to a serious waste of time and resources.

These issues are particularly pertinent when introducing reforms in developing country organisations, which typically are much less well endowed with skills and other resources than those in developed countries.

Many reform projects involve significant change management challenges, and in addressing them we are mindful that each reform situation is unique and that appropriate change management solutions need to be tailored to the local cultural and organisational context, and the precise circumstances of each engagement. To do this we employ a seven-step process that we have found effective in a variety of settings, involving the following:

• Leadership and vision – developing consensus around the purpose and key objectives of the project, and identification of the type of leadership required to make it a success.
• Stakeholder management and communications – identifying the key stakeholders in the reform process and developing engagement plans for each stakeholder using a variety of communications approaches.
• Skills analysis and identifying gaps – including both technical/professional and organisational competences.
• Organisation design – reviewing how far stakeholders’ and their teams’ formal organisational roles and relationships support rather than impede the reform process, and the scope for improvement.
• Culture – assessing whether organisational norms, values, beliefs, incentives and behaviours are well-aligned with the reform process.
• Performance – identifying indicators for measuring the success of the reform project, and translating these into team and individual performance indicators
• Integration planning – bringing all of the above into project work plans, milestones, targets and timelines; developing programme management procedures, including risk management plans.

Project Examples