The second round of restructuring and modernization of 38 MDAs of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) was conducted during the whole year of 2018 (where 10 MDAs were already restructured in early 2017) supported by the CIP and spearheaded by the National Civil Service Commission (NCSC). *
A 9-day validation workshop was organized to finalize the restructuring and modernization assignment and to bring together all 38 MDAs and the four international consultants to discuss the final touches of the work, and to cross-check the overlapping mandates and functions of the assessed MDAs. The senior civil servants’ participants from the various MDAs displayed real buy-in to the change management process by contributing positively to the discussions. The final reports were validated over the course of these workshops and included change management and implementation plans.
The objective of this assignment was to provide technical assistance to support the organizational assessment of the 38 MDAs in the Federal Government of Somalia with the aim of reviewing their mandates, functions, organizational structures, and staffing needs. The consultants identified, described and categorized key functions and responsibilities of each MDA and distinguished them to ensure clarity and reduce duplication. After an in-depth organizational functional review, the consultants proposed a new and improved organizational structure and organogram complete with optimised function clusters of the expertise mix as well as job descriptions for the various positions to ensure efficient delivery of services.
The process
The FGS has requested consultants to approach this assignment as a team and harmonize their efforts to achieve standardized information and critical policy documents. In the preparatory stage, the relevant baseline information from the selected MDAs was gathered and a wide range of tools such as questionnaires, interviews, data analysis, observation and consultative group meetings were employed.
Participation of key staff at all levels at the institutions themselves was of high importance for management of change inertia and adoption of the recommended changes in the government. The
focal persons supported the consultants to contextualize the information to an FGS and Somali perspective for acceptability and implementation as well as support in translation of the information where necessary. This ensured that the reports held adequate data and had the necessary information directly from the institutions.
