Suggestions to Improve Knowledge Transfer in the Government Transition of Power

An efficient and effective knowledge transfer is one of the key to soften the disruptions effect of power transitions (as one of my blog highlights).

1. Create a curriculum of governments administration systems

When I was in the orientation month on becoming a Civil Servant, we have a topic that covers this, which is called SANRI (National Administration System of the Republic of Indonesia). I will not comment on the content of this topic, since it is very much in-adequate with the growing progress of the political structure of Indonesia.

I believe that we need to develop a knowledge transfer place (or what Nonaka said as "Ba") so we could reduce the learning curve of the new leaders, usually in government, they conduct orientation week or month. Then we must design a curricula that reflects to the daily and strategic questions of the leaders, such as

• How do deploy an agenda/a program to the administration systems?
• How to read and interpret regulations? and how to address "different" translation of the regulations?
• How do we navigate the world of politics from legislative, oversight bodies, anti-corruption agency and law enforcement agencies who each has their own agenda that need to be recognized? (worst these agenda is dynamically different depending on the "political climate")

This curricula is must supported by team of experienced educators.

2. Local Governments administration systems must be shielded from political interventions so they become government professional managers

Government stafs are basically managers, they must be professionally develop to conduct their work. We need to develop regulations to forbid them to become political candidates, from the vice head of local government units to the district or provincial secretary. They must agree and abide a regulation that forbid them to enter as candidate as the head of government. Why is this important? It is necessary to distance the professionalism of government managers to the influence of politics.

3. Simplify the administration process

We urgently need to simplify the administration process, I do not mean the streamlining of the government (reduce government employee) but we need to reduce the process and transactions by eliminating or automate non-value adding process. We should focus the human touch to what matters, not on conducting routine things. We have technology for that, focus the human touch on what can not be replaced by technology: direct public services and analysis.

Simplify does not means to take it simple but to make it simple. Make it simple requires effort, deep considerations and analysis which usually not simple. The government system needs what we call in the business, business process re-engineering. With so many things changes, we need to redraw new process (of course with the knowledge of the previous process). Not just one department or sector, but the whole government sectors. Primarily on what strategic guru Porter mention as the support activities: administration & infrastructure (financial, communications, decision making systems), procurement, human resources development and product/service development.