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Military bureaucracy needs ‘urgent‘ overhaul, says report
By STEPHEN THORNE
OTTAWA (CP) - The Canadian Forces urgently needs to pare down its bureaucracy and change its management practices or risk obscurity in a rapidly changing security environment, says a government-commissioned report on military administration.
The 137-page paper, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, suggests there are too many employees at Defence headquarters in Ottawa. It recommends they be cut or reassigned to shore up the country‘s fighting and peacekeeping forces. "A reduction of 1,000 civilian employees or contractors at NDHQ would make available approximately $60 million to $70 million in savings for re-allocation," says the report, commissioned by former defence minister John McCallum in January 2003.
"The reduction of military personnel at NDHQ would make these available for employment in operational forces."
McCallum appointed a panel of four experts - a chartered accountant, an ex-logistics officer, a corporate executive and a former vice-chief of defence staff - to find $200 million in administrative savings.
They found about $128 million that could be re-allocated, Defence Minister David Pratt said in an interview Tuesday.
The report warns that "without a fundamental transformation of national-level management framework and practices . . . the CF will not be able to transform itself rapidly enough to adapt to Canada‘s changing security environment.
"Fundamental transformation of Defence‘s national-level management framework is an urgent priority. . . . a business-as-usual approach will not suffice."
Despite the urgency, insiders say the document has been gathering dust since it was filed Aug. 21.
Officials say it is unlikely any significant action will be taken until after a federal election, expected this spring.
Pratt said his office is committed to "the whole issue of re-allocation" and there has been significant progress made on the recommendations.
"We‘re seeing what we can do to prioritize within the budget so that we are getting the most out of our defence dollar," he said. "There‘s still more work to be done."
The report calls for the appointment of a full-time "change agent" - a senior official for a five-year term - to monitor progress on its recommendations.
"The committee . . . encountered many areas where clear inefficiencies exist and have gone unchecked, or where identified opportunities to improve efficiency were not implemented," it says.
"The institution is not well-positioned, from a management perspective, to meet the strategic-level challenges it is facing."
Among the problems:
- Strategic planning tends to get "deferred or even pushed aside" in favour of more narrow transactional management.
- Defence relies "extensively" on consensus as a decision-making philosophy at the cost of accountability.
- Risk tolerance is too low, meaning managers resist "all but the most incremental change."
- Procurement is a "slow and cumbersome process that does not fully respond" to Defence needs. Acquisition of major military systems takes an average of 15 years.
"Fundamental improvements to the governance and strategic management of Defence and its $13-billion budget will result in very significant savings . . . in dollars, personnel and time," the paper says.
Specifically, it says $20 million to $30 million could be saved with a more efficient procurement process; $15 million to $45 million could be reallocated with reduced reliance on professional service contracts.
Another $10 million to $30 million could be saved by using communication technologies instead of travel, and $5 million to $15 million could be found by rationalizing human resources and oversight organizations.
Found this to be a good read, this new defence minister that Paul Martin brought in (renowned) is looken to do a much better job then what the past minister did. Lot of hope left in them yet... lets just hope the report doesn‘t keep collecting dust eh?
By STEPHEN THORNE
OTTAWA (CP) - The Canadian Forces urgently needs to pare down its bureaucracy and change its management practices or risk obscurity in a rapidly changing security environment, says a government-commissioned report on military administration.
The 137-page paper, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, suggests there are too many employees at Defence headquarters in Ottawa. It recommends they be cut or reassigned to shore up the country‘s fighting and peacekeeping forces. "A reduction of 1,000 civilian employees or contractors at NDHQ would make available approximately $60 million to $70 million in savings for re-allocation," says the report, commissioned by former defence minister John McCallum in January 2003.
"The reduction of military personnel at NDHQ would make these available for employment in operational forces."
McCallum appointed a panel of four experts - a chartered accountant, an ex-logistics officer, a corporate executive and a former vice-chief of defence staff - to find $200 million in administrative savings.
They found about $128 million that could be re-allocated, Defence Minister David Pratt said in an interview Tuesday.
The report warns that "without a fundamental transformation of national-level management framework and practices . . . the CF will not be able to transform itself rapidly enough to adapt to Canada‘s changing security environment.
"Fundamental transformation of Defence‘s national-level management framework is an urgent priority. . . . a business-as-usual approach will not suffice."
Despite the urgency, insiders say the document has been gathering dust since it was filed Aug. 21.
Officials say it is unlikely any significant action will be taken until after a federal election, expected this spring.
Pratt said his office is committed to "the whole issue of re-allocation" and there has been significant progress made on the recommendations.
"We‘re seeing what we can do to prioritize within the budget so that we are getting the most out of our defence dollar," he said. "There‘s still more work to be done."
The report calls for the appointment of a full-time "change agent" - a senior official for a five-year term - to monitor progress on its recommendations.
"The committee . . . encountered many areas where clear inefficiencies exist and have gone unchecked, or where identified opportunities to improve efficiency were not implemented," it says.
"The institution is not well-positioned, from a management perspective, to meet the strategic-level challenges it is facing."
Among the problems:
- Strategic planning tends to get "deferred or even pushed aside" in favour of more narrow transactional management.
- Defence relies "extensively" on consensus as a decision-making philosophy at the cost of accountability.
- Risk tolerance is too low, meaning managers resist "all but the most incremental change."
- Procurement is a "slow and cumbersome process that does not fully respond" to Defence needs. Acquisition of major military systems takes an average of 15 years.
"Fundamental improvements to the governance and strategic management of Defence and its $13-billion budget will result in very significant savings . . . in dollars, personnel and time," the paper says.
Specifically, it says $20 million to $30 million could be saved with a more efficient procurement process; $15 million to $45 million could be reallocated with reduced reliance on professional service contracts.
Another $10 million to $30 million could be saved by using communication technologies instead of travel, and $5 million to $15 million could be found by rationalizing human resources and oversight organizations.
Found this to be a good read, this new defence minister that Paul Martin brought in (renowned) is looken to do a much better job then what the past minister did. Lot of hope left in them yet... lets just hope the report doesn‘t keep collecting dust eh?
