About

NOTE: Please note that HIDA was restructured and the Public Sector Capacity Building Component put under a new institution - PSCBS.

Vision

To enhance capacity of public institutions to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, and transparency in service delivery. A new Vision is under development through the ongoing process of preparing a Strategic Plan for PSCBS

Profile

The Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat (PSCBS) is a specialized Secretariat with a mandate of coordinating capacity building activities in the public sector.
PSCBS also manages the national Capacity Building Fund to support public institutions.
PSCBS is governed by a high-level Steering Committee (which also serves as a “Board”). This Committee is chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN).
The Secretariat is headed by an Executive Secretary supported by a pool of specialists, experts, professional and support staff.
The framework and structure for the Secretariat was designed to allow information flow to various public sector structures for easy and more coordinated implementation.

Background Information

The effectiveness and efficiency of a country’s public sector is vital to the success of the national development agenda. Sound financial management, an efficient civil service, a well functioning legal structure, decentralized governance and effective service delivery constitute key pillars of a capable state.
Recovering from the war and genocide of 1994, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) embarked on reconstructing and restructuring state institutions, systems, procedures, processes, restoring law and order and putting in place an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
The development agenda was underpinned by the MDGs, Vision 2020, Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (PRSP 1) and now the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS).
The recovery and development process involved major reform initiatives undertaken by the GoR and included decentralization of public administration; improving functions of the judiciary; public financial management reforms; restructuring public institutions; right-sizing the civil service as well as building capacities to enhance their performance and strengthening service delivery institutions.
These reform initiatives had implications which needed to be addressed by Government in a coordinated, comprehensive and holistic manner. These implications if not tackled as a matter of priority would present public institutions with a serious challenge to achieve their core mandates.
There was an imperative need, therefore, for a more comprehensive approach to capacity development that encompasses all the three dimensions (individual, organizational and institutional) while addressing issues of capacity creation, utilization and retention. This was a demonstrated need for a well coordinated, holistic and long-term capacity building programme which would build on existing capacity assets such as the high level political commitment to national development.
This philosophy gave rise to the process of developing a Multi Sector Capacity Building Programme (MSCBP) which would coordinate and guide capacity building interventions across the public sector, private sector and civil society. Thus MSCBP was officially launched on 7th October 2005.
In a related development, GoR put in place the Human Resource Development Agency (HRDA) in 2000 to basically fast track development of critical skill areas across government. HRDA was first placed in the Office of the President then transferred to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. However, the challenge was that HRDA was addressing only the aspects of human resources leaving out other equally important aspects of capacity relating to institutional capacity building.
With the advent of the MSCBP as a comprehensive framework not only for human resource development, but also institutional capacity development, it was imperative to have a stronger and better institutional arrangement to coordinate its implementation. This led to the birth of HIDA in 2005 which was established (under Law No. 44/2004, later revised under Law N. 03/2007). The birth of HIDA was necessitated by challenges and inadequacies experienced by the then HRDA in addressing capacity building more comprehensively, which meant that HRDA in its form could not have been the most appropriate institutional arrangement to coordinate MSCBP.
On 8th Oct. 2008, Cabinet took a decision to transfer MSCBP from the President’s Office to MIFOTRA hence separating it from HIDA that went to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) together with other six public agencies;
On 27th Jan. 2009, Cabinet approved a proposal by MIFOTRA on new structures for Ministries which also indicate institutions under their supervision. MSCBP was then placed under the tutelage of MIFOTRA;
Coordination of MSCBP activities needed a legal and institutional framework to continue coordinating current capacity building projects. It was against this background that after a process of participatory consultation among stakeholders in government and development partners, it was recommended that a Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat (PSCBS) be established as an institutional arrangement that shall coordinate capacity building activities in the public sector.

With effect from August 2010, PSCBS has been relocated to be under the tutelage of the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MINECOFIN). Government took this decision so that capacity building could be linked with national planning, M&E and the budget cycle.

NOTE: The Cabinet in its session of 19th June 2009 approved the Prime Minister’s Order establishing PSCBS and the Order was legally assented on by a Prime Minister’s Order No 56/03 of 14/08/2009. Cabinet in its session of 8 June 2010 approved a revised draft Prime Minister's Order detailing out a new Steering Committee and a new structure for PSCBS.

Mandate

The Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat (PSCBS) exists to guide, facilitate and coordinate the implementation of capacity building interventions in the public sector.

Legal Framework

PSCBS has been given a legal and administrative autonomous status. Its functions include the following:

To manage the national Capacity Building Fund (CBF) and oversee capacity building pooled funds in the public sector;
To coordinate capacity building activities across the public sector;
To carry out regular human and institutional audit of public institutions to identify their capacity gaps and provide appropriate mechanisms to closing the gaps;
To develop guidelines and provide quality assurance for capacity needs assessments in public sector institutions;
To establish and update a national database for skills available and skills required for implementation of activities in the public sector;
To monitor progress, assess impact and value for money of capacity building activities in the public sector;
To prepare and present an annual report on the state of capacity in the public sector;
To provide technical support in mobilizing resources required for implementation of capacity building programmes in the public sector;

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About

Vision

Profile

Background Information

Mandate

Legal Framework

Organizational Chart

Location

PSCBS Brochure

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PSCBS