Support to centre of government

ASI is supporting the Iraqi Government in developing Centre of Government mechanisms to allow policy to be formulated, agreed and implemented more effectively and in line with the government's strategic objectives. The collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime left a vacuum at the Centre of Government; rapid De-Ba'athification removed layers of key administrators from the government service. Prior to June 28, 2004 none of the Centre of Government institutions existed in their current form.
Since 2004 we have been helping establish and providing support to the Council of Ministers Secretariat (COMSEC) the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Government Communications Directorate (GCD). The project has achieved significant results, despite the challenges of operating in an environment characterised by security threats and a political environment involving a broad-based coalition government representing many different parties and social groupings.  Specific activities in respect of each institution include:
 
Council of Ministers Secretariat

• Establishing and embedding a corporate development process, getting stakeholder buy-in and communicating outcomes to staff.
• Building basic principles of management accountability, including development of a basic performance management system and Personal Responsibility Plans.
• Reviewing and strengthening the secretariat support to the Council of Ministers within the Ministerial Affairs Directorate.
• Improving the management of COMSEC correspondence to ensure that it is dealt with effectively at the correct level and in a timely manner.
• Ensuring strong relations with the PMO, so that COMSEC can be responsive to the needs of Prime Minister of the day.
• Supporting the establishment of a Human Resources Department, facilitating the recruitment of key HR staff and developing an initial work plan to regularise employment policies and procedures.
• Conducting a review of the operation of Cabinet committees and the adequacy of COMSEC support and making recommendations for ways to strengthen committee roles and functions.
• Supporting the transitional government and COMSEC to design and implement a transition plan.  Preparing papers on key policy issues and proposals for COMSEC and PMO structure and organisation for discussion with incoming government.

 
Prime Minister's Office

• Developing an advisory unit to assist in policy formulation with the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
• Supporting the PMO in setting the Government's agenda and prioritising government business.
• Provide continuing support to the PMO on key components of its communications strategy.
• Strengthening PMO oversight of ministries and following-up policy decisions to monitor their implementation.
• Institutional strengthening of the PMO, including a review of organisational structure, diary management and briefing, management of correspondence and other issues to ensure that the Prime Minister's time is managed as effectively as possible.

 
Government Communications Directorate

• assisting in the development of a message grid to co-ordinate government messages within the centre of government and across ministries.
• building capacity in media monitoring.
• integrating a range of press and media facilities under a single umbrella.
• using GCD as a centre of excellence to build capacity in ministry press offices.
• Developing a code setting out ministerial roles and responsibilities for policy-making and for managing their interactions with civil servants;
• Establishing mechanisms, based on principles of accountability and collective responsibility, to ensure that state policies are formulated soundly and given informed consideration before being approved and implemented.