I was given an impossible task this week: "Il faut le casser sans le briser". Sometimes the degree of change required to implement a reform reaches so deep into the bowels of an organization that breaking without damaging seems like the simplest way to describe what needs to be done.
Being involved in a government reform in a developing country is somewhat like building a house of cards: it is a slow process where each step brings more weight to a fragile base and a new vulnerability.
According to the United Nations Development Programme there are very few examples, in developing countries where objectives of a reform have been met and sustained.[1] Reforms are high risk ventures and understanding the risks circling a reform reduces vulnerabilities. Due diligence is fundamental to the survival of risk-based ventures – and reforms are definitely a member of that family.
A risk is a possibility that something will occur. Processes for identifying, calculating, prioritizing and mitigating risks abound. Here are a few useful sites:
Nonprofit Risk Management Centre
University of Alberta
The Risk Management Guide
ALARM The National Forum for Risk Management in the Public Sector
Treasury Board of Canada Risk Management
The Institute of Risk Management
[1] Public Administration Reform Practice Note p.19 http://www.undp.org/policy/practicenotes.htm
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