Howard Tytherleigh describes his role in public sector reform efforts in Sierra Leone. Sponsored by the U.K. Department for International Development, Tytherleigh’s team began a payroll-verification project that involved interviewing all members of the Sierra Leonean civil service. The aim was to correct the payment anomalies, inefficiencies and abuses that were wasting the government's money. The reform was hugely successful, in large part because of strong communication efforts, effective project management, executive involvement through presidential decree, and stakeholder support. Tytherleigh emphasizes the importance of stakeholder involvement, technical capability and physical preparedness for the success of the reform effort.
At the time of this interview, Howard Tytherleigh was an information-technology consultant for the Civil Service Verification Project of the Public Service Reform Unit in Sierra Leone. He came to Sierra Leone from England in 2008 through a volunteer position with VSO (Volunteer Service Overseas). His first project in Sierra Leone was with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and was designed to help develop its communications and IT sectors. In England, Tytherleigh worked as a contract technical manager.