Center for Governance Studies
Since the 1980s, the winds of change are blowing in public administration across the world. This change was triggered by poor economic performance, inefficient public expenditures, sluggish bureaucracy, and a high debt burden. With the reform movement which originated from Anglo-Saxon countries and focused predominantly on public financial management and the Soviet Union's collapse, the entire structure of the state and its functions were questioned.
Turkey fell behind the wave due to its political and economic instabilities throughout 1990s and only managed to catch up towards the end of the decade. Change accelerated only after the EU accession process stabilized the country.
The legal arrangements Turkey introduced recently reflect reform efforts, radical in both financial and administrative terms. These reforms, in line with new public administration principles, entail unprecedented localization/delegation, direct public administration towards strategic thinking and solution-oriented and performance-based accountability.
These ongoing changes will significantly improve the operation of public institutions and their relations with the public. The center's tutelage over local government will change character and legislation compliance, conformity audits, and administrative controls will be replaced by public service-oriented performance audits geared to the establishment of democratic processes.
The tools and institutions aiding reform efforts however, are not sufficiently developed. What is more, there are significant differences between the institutions' capacities. We can therefore conclude that a simultaneous reform throughout Turkey bears serious difficulties.
TEPAV believes that good governance of this process and the support of relevant stakeholders are vital for sustainable development. Our Governance Studies department works to develop the capacity of central and local administrations, increase transparency in public administration, localize government, institutionalize good governance and carries out other activities to ensure efficiency in public administration.
