Implementing Change by Continuous Learning: The Public Service Reform Programs in Tanzania

Abstract

The talk you hear … about adapting to change is not only stupid, it's … dangerous. The only way you can manage change is to create it. By the time you catch up to change, the competition is ahead of you. Peter Drucker This article proposes that implementation of public service reform programs in Tanzania has been a source of new ideas and innovations. It is proposed that the reform history and its management contribute to the learning achieved, associated with incremental changes. The incremental changes occur in the context of a series of reform efforts each formulated from and building on the experience of the other. In reforming the public service there have been some challenges from which remedies have emerged. In the new program for public service reform, PSRPII, a new approach to engaging public service entities has been developed to coax improved ownership and achieve increased level of commitment to reforms. This demand-led approach is explored, the implementation methodology examined, and challenges observed. The new approach to reform is considered an innovative outcome of both reflections from experiences arising from capacity enhancement and learning over time.