Success in an unlikely place

Three years ago, peacefare.net published Patricia Powers Thomson’s A call to action from South Sudan, which advocated founding of a School of Public Service in South Sudan. Despite all the difficulties since, the aspiration has been fulfilled. Here is her account of how: 

Q: It has been three years since you called for a School of Public Service in South Sudan. What has been accomplished?

A: The major accomplishment is that the School has been established and is now in its second year.  We recently prepared a Status Report comparing our progress to the path laid out in our Strategic Plan, and it goes into a lot more detail about our efforts.

In a nutshell, after releasing A Call to Action: Establishing the South Sudan School of Public Service in October 2013, I recruited a Board of Advisors through the good auspices of the Ebony Center and their Development Policy Forum.  This Board was instrumental in establishing the School.  After a competition, the Board  decided to house the School at the University of Juba –the country’s flagship university.  We spent about a year developing our programs and courses. By late 2014, the University’s Dean’s Board and Senate had approved the School. The University Council officially established it on June 13, 2015. So in less than 2 years we were up-and-running.

Q: What programs does the School offer?

A: Our first program is a 2-year MPP.  Our pioneer class of 41 finished their first year in May.  In September they were joined by a second class of about 50 students.  I really believe our students represent the best of South Sudan – smart, committed public servants. They come from all its regions, and work with government, nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations.

Q: These three years have been difficult ones, marred in particular by the power struggle between South Sudan’s President and Vice President, including widespread violence. How has that affected your project?

A: The last three years have been heartbreaking.  Everyone in the country has been touched by the recent conflicts.   Actually, let me correct myself. The conflicts are not “recent.” They have been simmering for a very long time, but ignited into violence in December 2013.   Amazingly, SPS continued to operate without disruption during and after the 2013 fighting, as well as the fighting this past July.  The credit for this really belongs to my outstanding team and to the University’s leadership, particularly Dr. John Akec who has been one of our strongest advocates since the beginning.

Q: You say the conflict has been simmering for a very long time.  What do you see as the drivers of this conflict?

A: I have lived in South Sudan for 5 years, and the situation here is one of the most complicated I’ve encountered.  I see at least four related drivers. Many people in the international community have come to believe kleptocracy is behind much of the country’s instability. I agree. Minimizing kleptocracy is fundamental to creating  a stable state, but even more fundamental is building capacity. You can’t fight kleptocracy without capacity. Quite frankly, there isn’t a critical mass of competent people working in the public sector. People with the mindsets, as well as skillsets they need to succeed, including management and leadership skills.

Let me be more specific, most  of  the provisions of the current peace agreement require skilled South Sudanese working within government and civil society.  And when peace comes, when we succeed in making  “war more costly than peace,” South Sudan will still be faced with the challenges of building effective institutions and engaging in long-term development. Again, both require a cadre of capable public servants.

So yes, greed and the quest for power are a big part of the problem, but so, too, is lack of capacity. There are many smart, motivated, and honest people in South Sudan who are unable to impact the mammoth problems their country faces because they do not have the necessary skillsets and mindsets.

Q: You mentioned four things driving the conflict, including lack of skills and kleptocracy. What are the other two?

A: There is definitely an element of tribal competition, age-old animosities between tribes. This is driven by fear, as well as pride; when people are insecure they tend to coalesce along familiar ethnic, tribal, and familial groups.  And lastly, there has been a lack of consistent political will to make peace.  This lack of will is fed by the first three drivers, as well as trauma and exhaustion. 

Q: The international community has spent  millions of dollars trying to build  capacity in South Sudan. It doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact. Is this really part of the solution? 

I would argue this is a problem in execution, not strategy.  The international community still has a lot to learn about building capacity. Its performance in this arena has been very spotty. Here are some pertinent questions…Is building capacity an explicit goal in all grants and contracts (and corresponding evaluation plans)?  If so, has money been set aside to evaluate whether capacity has actually increased? Are donors willing to accept that projects are more costly and take longer  if capacity-building is the top goal? Are locals being positioned to lead?

On that point, let me diverge for a minute and tell you a story: not too long ago the government of South Sudan wanted to require international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to fill key management positions with South Sudanese staff. The NGOs objected, many claiming there wasn’t a pool of qualified staff from which to draw.  Now many of these NGOs have been working in the country for more than 5 years.  My question to them: why hadn’t they put in place internal training programs to groom local staff for leadership positions?  Of course, now that SPS exists, they can send promising staff to us…(laughter).

Getting back to your question, capacity-building projects haven’t always been well-designed, but it’s more than that.  Are the people hired to build capacity really experts? Do they have access to deep reservoirs of expertise and best practices in their home offices?  Do they know how to TEACH, as well as how to DO?   Also,  you can’t build capacity without commitment – and her sister, patience. So tours need to be longer – you don’t even know what you don’t know in a year, nor have you had time to build meaningful relationships. Similarly, programs need to be longer. For example, SPS is one 10-year program, not ten 1-year programs.

Finally I really encourage internationals to get out of the “expat bubble,” to live and work more closely with the locals  – it entails risks, but it also helps build relationships, it cost less, and it facilitates a  better understanding of local cultures, histories, and needs.

By the way, we’re giving a course next semester called Fundamentals of Capacity-Building for anyone interested in this important work.

Q: What are the biggest obstacles you have faced? How have you overcome them?

We don’t have a lot of money, the country has been unstable, and we have issues with our own lack of capacity, but let me reframe my answer around several things we did right.  When you are building an organization you have to think about structure, procedures, facilities, and equipment, but by far the most important things are your team and your organization’s culture. Early on I obtained the support of a committed and influential group of people – our Board of Advisors, chaired by Dr. Luka Monoja.  The Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University also served on the Board…before they were appointed as VC and DVC!  And, by the way, the first thing this group did was signal the culture we wanted to build, by developing core values for the School.

In addition to strong patrons, I was blessed with an excellent Deputy, Mr. Samuel Garang Akau, and a strong team.  They get a lot of the credit for our success.  It’s worth noting that about a third of our instructors are “lost boys” who returned to South Sudan. Also, SPS Instructors have degrees from Harvard, Oxford, Syracuse (Maxwell), Kampala University, the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, the Ethiopian Civil Service University, and the University of Toronto.

Let me just mention a couple more “keys to success.”

• When developing our curriculum, we solicited the input of hundreds of practitioners and academics, as well as benchmarked the world’s highest-rated schools of government, public policy, public administration, and NGO management.   But we also customized our program – we didn’t shy away from questioning conventional wisdom, or the way it’s done elsewhere.   As a result our MPP program offers a robust mix of management, leadership, and policy courses relevant to the region.
• We started with a big vision, but are mobilizing in phases using a detailed plan. This has allowed us to move quickly and helped us focus on doing things right in the short-term, while building for the future.
• We’ve been willing to experiment. In fact, we made sure our founding statute (approved by the University Council) allows, indeed, encourages us to experiment, and to share what we learn with the broader university community. Some of the results of our experimentation include evening programs, a teaching quality assurance program, and a remedial math program.
• We also incorporated elements of competition into our operations. We held a competition to see who was best suited to house the School. The University of Juba won. Our admissions process is also competitive, as is our hiring process. We’re trying to build a meritocracy.
• And last, but not least, we secured a grant from Democracy International and USAID to buy furniture, equipment, supplies, AND internet. They  have been great partners. Having a well-supplied and well-equipped operation has made things a lot better for our team and students.

Q: You mentioned mobilizing in phases.  What other programs do you hope to offer?

A: There are so many.  Programs for legislators; programs for diplomats; an MPP in Nonprofit Management; and an Executive Leadership Center where Undersecretaries and Directors General can learn in an open and professional environment. We’d also like to offer  programs for local government, particularly state officials and mayors (similar to the Bloomberg-Harvard Cities Leadership Initiative). In addition, we’d like to establish a Center for Applied Statistics and Research to address the country’s significant  gap in statistical and critical thinking skills. Finally, we hope to partner with other colleges at the University to offer specialized degrees like an MPP in Economic Policy and Management or an MPP in Education Policy and Management. Funding and capacity will continue to be a challenge, but the needs are great, and we have to be proactive. 

Q: What is unique about the School?

A couple of things stand out.  First, we have a “bias to action.” We’ve worked hard to stay agile and flexible, viewing the School as a national resource, well-positioned to support education and training needs emerging from the peace process, as well as the longer-term development of South Sudan.

Second, we focus on mindsets as well as skillsets. Since its inception, the School’s founders have underscored the importance of developing mindsets, as well as skillsets, as reflected in our Core Values. We recognize that if graduates leave SPS with strong technical skills, but without the right mindsets, they will be unable to reform their organizations – and develop their country. By mindsets we mean things like a commitment to service, a focus on excellence, the disposition to take initiative and solve problems, teamwork, hard work, accountability, and the courage to act.

We also balance theory and practice, or as we like to say, “knowledge and know-how.” All of our classes use things like group exercises and case studies to help students apply what they are learning. Also, we offer evening classes which allows students to work and attend school at the same time.

Q: You have decided to resign as Dean of the School. Why?

A: My decision to turn over the Deanship to a South Sudanese successor was difficult, but very important.  I feel strongly that the School of Public Service is a national institution of which South Sudan can be very proud.  It should be led by a South Sudanese. The decision wasn’t  just symbolic, however. Local ownership is essential to the long-term health and sustainability of the School. And we were very lucky that Dr. Ann Itto agreed to serve as our next Dean.  She has served as a Minister and as a political party executive. She is an experienced leader, a stateswomen, and a successful businesswomen.  She’s already doing a great job, especially reaching out to potential partners. I’m thrilled to be working with her.

Q: What difference do you think your students will make in the future?

A: SPS is only one part of the solution to South Sudan’s many problems, but if you believe people drive change, it’s a big part of the solution.   Looking just at our MPP program – within a few years, SPS  will have graduated hundreds of public servants.  They will be working in government, as well as with NGOs and IOs. In addition to being effective leaders, they will also be change agents – positively impacting their organizations, as well as the thousands of people those organizations serve.