The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) along with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) is organizing a five-day workshop to introduce the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for adoption by public-sector organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The workshop in Pasig City, the Philippines, 21–25 August 2017, seeks to create awareness of the CAF, an easy-to-use tool that can help public-sector organizations utilize quality management techniques to improve their performance. Twenty-eight participants from 12 APO member countries are attending.
Addressing participants during the opening session, DAP President and Chief Executive Officer Elba S. Cruz said, “The public sector is no different from the private sector in its obligation to deliver quality products or services to its clients, which are, in reality, the citizens of a nation.”

Quoting Winston Churchill that it was no use saying “we are doing our best” but instead one must succeed in doing what is necessary, she stressed that to promote and sustain excellence and uphold the principles of quality service delivery, public-sector organizations must periodically perform a self-assessment to identify areas of improvement and successes worthy of celebration and/or growth toward innovation.

She pointed out that the CAF was one such tool that could be used for self-assessment. “The CAF has proven to be a breakthrough for the public sector, as evidenced by the experiences of the Europe. The model is simple, accessible, and easy to use,” she added, hoping that soon public-sector organizations in APO members would find the tool useful in assessing and formulating techniques and methods to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance.

The CAF was conceived through cooperative efforts by EU ministers responsible for public administration and is based on the premise that excellent results in organizational performance benefiting citizens/customers and society are best achieved through leadership-driven strategy and planning, partnerships, optimal deployment of human and other resources, and more productive processes.

The self-assessment tool helps develop a culture of excellence based on the principles of total quality management and primarily focuses on enabling elements like leadership, people, strategy and planning, processes, partnerships, and resources. It also deals with results in the areas of citizens/customers, social responsibility, and key performance indicators covering all aspects of organizational excellence.

The APO expects member countries to use the CAF as a tool for analyzing and assessing the performance of public-sector organizations to improve their productivity. The model also examines key elements of performance management, as well as the different steps through which organizations carry out self-assessment.
The workshop is being led by three APO-assigned international experts: Bruce Searles Consulting (Australia) Director Bruce Searles; European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) Senior Lecturer Nick Thijs; and EIPA-seconded National Expert Patrick Staes.