Administrative reform is necessary and urgent
The Catalan government commissioned a group of experts led by professor of political science and administration Carles Ramió to draft a proposal for public administration reform, a promise that various executives have embraced but that has never been realized with the necessary ambition and capacity for transformation. Well, Ramió's group has developed ten concrete proposals that, if implemented, would represent a true revolution in the public sector, changing everything from the way we work to the selection processes for civil servants and, above all, for the executives who are currently handpicked by political appointees.
Thus, it is proposed to reform the competitive examination system to make it less rote and to take other skills more into account, to professionalize the figure of the public manager so that it is not just a position of trust, to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) in some administrative processes to streamline them - for example with urban planning licenses -, for example with urban planning licenses -, to inform citizens about things to which they are entitled based on their profile, to reform the subsidy system and to strengthen public-private collaboration.
Many of these proposals are sure to meet with strong resistance, both within the administration itself and from political parties, which are the ones that, ultimately, should approve them through a law. For example, the professionalization of public managers would impact the accounts of the parties, since they now oblige these senior officials to allocate part of their salary to political training.
In any case, there is a broad social consensus that this reform is urgent and necessary, and therefore Salvador Illa's government should get started on it as soon as possible. The goal of turning Catalonia into a prosperous and cohesive country is inextricably linked to the challenge of modernizing and updating an administration that still retains many nineteenth-century traits. This isn't about the usual demagoguery about civil servants, but rather highlighting that public management is so important that we must find ways to ensure the best can access it. Also, obviously, we must leverage technology to simplify procedures as much as possible, reduce response times, and increase transparency. Bureaucracy shouldn't be an obstacle to a country's development.
It would be good if all parties now took a position on the Ramió report and established working groups to advance these proposals. This term, theoretically focused on Catalonia's economic recovery, could also be the year of administrative reform if the government and the parties work together on this issue. A reform of this magnitude could never be achieved without a cross-party consensus, both politically and among economic and social stakeholders. The consensus is there; therefore, what is needed now is political will and the collaboration of public servants.
